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.

Longtime Workshop members A. Lee Martinez (Alex to those of us at DFWWW) and Sally Hamilton were married on Sunday, October 24, in a ceremony none of the guests will soon forget.

Sally and her bridesmaids wore traditional matrimonial garb. While Alex and his groomsmen were attired in suit jackets and pants with t-shirts and tennis shoes that depicted their favorite superheroes.  The vows were short and humorous (what else would one expect from Alex?). Then, the wedding party adjourned to a comic book-themed reception with delicious h'orderves, build-your-own candy gift bags, music and great conversation.

Congratulations Alex and Sally from your friends at the DFW Writers' Workshop.

Using Twitter has been likened to "drinking from a firehose." Are you feeling thirsty? A full understanding of how to get the most out of Twitter can help you as a writer do a better job of marketing yourself and your writing. Workshop member Stephen Manning will present a class on smart use of Twitter, 6-8 p.m. on Thursday, Jan. 21, at Texas Christian University in Fort Worth. The registration fee is $55. Please visit TCU's Extended Education web site at www.lifelong.tcu.edu for more details and to register. Register by Monday, Jan. 18 to make sure you get a seat!

Stephen Manning will be speaking about his experiences interviewing Texas World War II veterans at the Irving Public Library at 2 p.m. this Saturday. This is a great chance to hear some of the incredible stories from his non-fiction books, The Courage of Common Men and Texans Touched by World War II. Manning interviewed veterans and family members around the state of Texas to collect their memories of the war years.

The Irving Pipe and Drum Honor Guard will perform several numbers, and then Manning will speak. Bob Moffatt will also talk about the Irving Memorial Park Commemorative Brick Program.

Refreshments will be served after the program.

Irving Public Library
801 W. Irving Blvd.
Irving, TX 75060

Map

Parking is available on the Irving Boulevard and Rock Island side of the building, as well as in the parking garage underneath the Library.

Books will be available for signing, including the very last available copies from the publisher's warehouse of The Courage of Common Men.

The Wednesday, December 3rd meeting of the DFW Writers' Workshop will also be the Christmas Party. Everyone is encouraged to bring something to eat or drink to share with the group. Homemade goodies are especially welcome!

The evening will follow the normal routine of reads, we'll just all have extra joy to impart and sugar to consume.

Candace Havens will have a book signing party for "The Demon King and I" from 2-4 p.m. at the Legacy Bookstore in Plano.

7300 Dallas Parkway, Suite A120
Plano TX 75024
972-398-9888

This new independent bookstore is just north of Legacy on the righteast side of the Tollway, north of the Williams & Sonoma, south of the parking garage.

There will be a reception which will include wine and cake. Yes, that really does say "wine".

A. Lee Martinez will have a book signing at the Legacy Book Store in Plano at 7 pm.

Rosemary Clement-Moore is giving a workshop at the Grand Prairie Public Library at 4:30 pm.

So, you’ve got this idea for a book. Or maybe you don’t. It doesn’t matter, because she will give you hints on how to generate ideas, develop them into exciting stories, and get your stories out of your head and onto the page.

Pizza - Door Prizes - Fun - Get a special surprise when you wear your prom wear!

Candace Havens will have a book release party for "The Demon King and I" at 2 p.m. at the North Richland Hills Barnes & Noble in Hurst.

Don't forget to bring your Halloween-themed read this Wednesday night! Ghosts, vampires, werewolves, short stories, poems, it's all good! It should be an entertaining night of reads at the Workshop.

The only requirement is your entire work must fit into 15 minutes of reading.

For those who aren't into the Halloween thing, no problem. Regular reads will go on as normal in a side room.

Costumes and food items are welcomed! See you there.