Wednesday, November 24 might fall right before Thanksgiving, and Black Friday, and a nice long weekend, but the DFW Writers' Workshop will meet for our normal read-and-critique sessions. The meeting starts at the usual 7 p.m., and if tradition holds true, a few hardy souls will attend. As always, visitors are welcome.

Chilly winds that howled like banshees failed to scare away dedicated DFWWW members from the November 17 meeting.

In the news, A. Lee Martinez displayed the spring/summer 2011 catalog from Orbit Books which has a full-page ad for his upcoming novel Chasing the Moon. Jimmie Kepler announced that Poetry & Prose ezine invited him to submit more of his poems. Kenneth Ingle had a successful book signing this last weekend at a local arts and crafts fair. Speaking of book signings, Mike McMullen has two of them this weekend for his recent nonfiction release I, Superhero. The first is on Saturday, November 20, at 1 p.m. at Barnes & Noble in Dallas at Interstate 75 and Northwest Highway; and the second is on Sunday, November 21, at noon at Barnes & Noble in Las Colinas.

In the official news, Secretary Kyle White advised that Wednesday, December 1, is the last business meeting of the year and the last chance to qualify to vote in the January election. President Russell Connor reminded everyone interested in running for the 2011 Board of Directors that they need to sign-up by next Wednesday when the nominations close.  

Five visitors joined a standing-room only crowd at the November 10 meeting of the Workshop.

It seemed as if the news and announcements would never end. Candace Havens delivered her newest book, Turn and Dare, to Harlequin. A. Lee Martinez' newest novel, Catching the Moon, was accepted by Orbit. Delacorte accepted Rosemary Clement-Moore's newest work, Texas Gothic, and the book is already available for pre-order at Amazon.com.

Del Cain reported a successful event at the Saginaw Public Library last week. Russell Connor and A. Lee Martinez appeared, along with Rosemary Clement-Moore who was the keynote speaker. This weekend, Rosemary will appear at Readers & 'ritas in Allen, with Candace Havens as the Master of Ceremonies. Also this Saturday, A. Lee Martinez has a book signing at 2 p.m. at the Borders in Burleson.

Finally, President Russell Connor thanked a wide variety of volunteers who unselfishly give of their time each week. Harry Hall who arrives early to set up the building and to make coffee;  Eric Dixon who never fails to monitor one of the read-and-critique rooms; former President Stephen Manning who assists the Board in making the hard decisions; and Jeff Posey, Jason Myers and Michelle O'Neal who work on the annual writers' conference.

Thank you everyone who contributes in some way. As a non-profit, all volunteer organization it takes all of us to keep DFWWW functioning.

The November 3 meeting was busy with four new members joining the Workshop.

In official business, historian Stephen Manning announced book 304 donated to the Trophy Room. (If the numbers keep growing at this pace, could another celebration be just around the corner?) President Russell Connor opened the nominations for the 2011 Board of Directors, with each current Board member describing his or her duties.

In other news, David Alkek had a poem titled "The Doorway" accepted by Abandoned Towers magazine. He also had a successful book signing for his nonfiction work, The Self-Creative Universe, recently in Plano. Del Cain reminded everyone that several DFWWW writers will attend an authors' reception at the Saginaw Public Library, Thursday, November 4 at 6:30 p.m. The public is invited to meet the authors and to purchase signed copies of their books.

Finally, conference chairperson Jeff Posey described a few of the now 50-plus classes scheduled for the 2011 DFW Writers' Conference. The breadth of speakers and topics alone make the price of admission a bargain. Throw in 20 agents and editors, Thriller Master Sandra Brown as the keynote speaker, and you have one of the best values among writers' conferences in the country.

Historian Stephen Manning summarized this momentous achievement by providing some interesting trivia.

• Of the 300-plus novels displayed in the Trophy Room, what is the most commonly used word in a book's title? Texas (no one was surprised).


• The second most commonly used word in a title? Blood (now that surprised everyone a
  
  
  
  bit).


• The third most commonly used word in a title? Gun (notice a trend?).  


• There have been an average of 11.6 titles published per year by DFWWW members since 1985.


• The best year was 1996 when 22 titles were published (all comprised of only two genres: Westerns and horror).


• The second best year was 2005 when 20 titles were published (notable because of the large number of first-time novelists).


• From 1985 until 2000, the Workshop produced mainly Westerns, mysteries and horror novels.


• After 2000, there was an explosion of all genres, with nonfiction works becoming more prominent.

In the news, Kenneth Ingle displayed the audio version of his novel, Saragosa Prime, released by Books in Motion. Carolyn Williamson announced the additional of two new reference books for the Workshop's library.

In official news, President Russell Connor reminded members that next Wednesday nominations open for the 2011 Board of Directors. Secretary Kyle White, who will serve as the election coordinator, advised members on the requirements to run for the Board. Basically, members must have paid their 2010-2011 dues and have attended at least three of the five monthly business meetings prior to the election.