Monday, October 5, 2009

Guest Sandy Wickersham-McWhorter/Midwestern Dreams Conference



Meet Sandy Wickersham-McWhorter, The Wild Rose Press author and a member of Mid-Ohio Writers Association.



An Indiana native, Sandy's been in Ohio since 1973. Her husband of 36 years, two sons, a daughter-in-law, two granddaughters, two dogs, and some goldfish in an pond all live with her in an 1890s Victorian home. She began writing in third grade by turning her nightmares into stories. She read science fiction and super-hero comic books back then. The adult writing bug bit her in 1990. After realizing she needed the degree most writers seem to have, Ohio State University beckoned. She earned a bachelor’s in English, and sold an essay to Country, wrote for three newspapers and was a feature writer for Choice, a Christian magazine. While writing science fiction, inspirational romance, and women’s fiction, she substitutes in local schools, teaches college English in local prisons, gardens, and does artwork in several media. She’s a proud Veteran of the USAF. In addition to Mid-Ohio Writers Association, RWA, and Central Ohio Fiction Writers, she’s a member of RomVets, an on-line group of Veterans who write romance.




Below is an excerpt of the article Sandy wrote for her local newspaper about the Midwestern Dreams Conference.



Brenda Nixon, Nationally-known parent empowerment author and speaker and award-winning crime fiction author, Craig McDonald, will be the keynote speakers at the second annual Midwestern Dreams conference on October 24th, sponsored by the Mid-Ohio Writers Association. Also, in a first for north-central Ohio, Nan Swanson and Mary Albright, editors from a major publisher of romance fiction will also be speaking and taking 8-minute appointments from romance authors who have a manuscript they’d like to pitch for possible publication by The Wild Rose Press or White Rose Publishing.


Brenda will speak on “Getting Published is Doable if you Pay Your Dos.” She speaks at seminars for parents and has appeared on many syndicated radio programs, and her feature articles have appeared in more than 100 publications and she works with the Regional Parenting Publication (RPP) market. She’s written The Birth to Five Book, A Scrapbook of Christmas Firsts, You Can Speak, and Parenting Power in the Early Years. She’s contributed to 24 other books.

Edgar-nominee Craig McDonald is an award-winning journalist, editor, and fiction writer. He’ll speak on “The Path to Publication in the Mystery World.” His short fiction has appeared in literary magazines, anthologies, and several online crime fiction sites. He was a contributor to the New York Times nonfiction bestseller, Secrets of the Code. His nonfiction books include Art in the Blood, a collection of interviews with 20 major crime authors, and Rogue Males: Conversations and Confrontations About the Writing Life, a collection of interviews to be published by Bleak House Books.

The conference’s seven workshops will be presented by Ohio authors in a variety of genres: “Today's Mysteries Aren't Your Grandmother's Cozies Anymore!”-Craig McDonald; “Writing Successful Poems,”-Poet Connie Willett Everett; “Paralanguage to Heighten Emotions and Sell Your Manuscript!”-jj Keller; “What Betty Said to Veronica-Writing for Young Adults,” Denise Gwen; “Meet the Press on Common Ground: Media Tips, Tricks, & Traps for Authors,”-Keena Kincaid; “Networking Your Way to A Contract,” Kathleen McIver; and “What Does That Mean?” Brenda Nixon.



The cost for the conference is $15 and a continental breakfast and pizza and dessert lunch will be provided. The conference location is the People’s Community Center, 597 Park Avenue East, Mansfield, Ohio, 44905. See http://www.midohiowriters.org/ or http://www.sandywick.com/ (click on Midwestern Dreams page) for complete information. Registration cutoff date is now October 18th.

On October 23rd, Mid-Ohio Writers Association is sponsoring a multi-author booksigning at Holly’s Book Rack, also a first-of-its-kind event for this area. Ten other Ohio authors will be joining MOWA’s published authors from 2:00pm to 5:00pm at 1464 Lexington Avenue next to the Kroger in the Appleseed Shopping Center.

Sandy's Books:





Cottonwood Place-Megan MacCloud knows before meeting him that Ian Hunter is the neediest of the many troubled guests her inn has helped. Estranged from God, neither she nor Ian believe that He can bring them the harmony and love they crave. Ian says he couldn't resist driving across the country to her after her face on a brochure "hypnotized" him. Because of past abuse, her attraction to him is dashed when she learns he drinks. She resists loving Ian, but her family and almost-human pets frustratingly bond with him immediately, proving he's good. Megan, her Grandma, and pets resolve to help Ian stop drinking and be a doctor again. He helps solve major problems with guests and saves several lives as Megan and her mysterious, Navajo-and-White family show him religious and lifestyle philosophies that are foreign to him, yet truly American. When Megan's kidnapped by a guest for unknown reasons, Grandma says that to find Megan and have the life with her that he dreamed of, Ian must first "find himself." What does that mean? Can God use Megan's family, their Navajo ceremonies, and the police to find Megan and help her and Ian "walk in beauty" before she's lost forever?

The Winds of Fall-Unknown to Skye Worthington, the people most important to her are keeping unearthly secrets from her. If not revealed and faced, these secrets will cause death for untold billions of people, Skye included. Rebelling against his family and their deadly, but necessary, secrets which kept him a recluse in a Caribbean paradise, Joe Allen meets Skye. They fall into a love forbidden to Joe. Can two people with unimaginable secrets—and more in common than either know—overcome a force capable of entering dreams and taking humans through outer space without life support to other planets? This is the dilemma facing Skye and Joe as she fights to keep her sanity, and her identity as a human being.





Hi Linda, thank you for allowing me to come on your blog to publicize myself and the Mid-Ohio Writers Association’s annual conference. I think anyone who comes will leave energized about writing and will have learned a ton. They’ll be getting for $15 what most writing-conference goers are charged $100 or more.


You're welcome, Sandy. It's been a pleasure to meet you and learn more about your books.

Readers, please leave a comment for Sandy. Remember, each comment adds your name to my monthly ebook drawing.

Thanks and Happy Reading and Writing!

Linda

18 comments:

  1. Hi Sandy,

    Your books sound fascinating. The themes are nothing like I've heard of before. Very intriguing. Good luck with your conference. By the way, I used to work for a man named McWhorter in Virginia years ago. Don't hear that name too often.

    Stacey
    http://www.staceycoverstone.com

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  2. Hi Stacey, glad you like my themes. I do write about very different things. My WIP is about the ice road truckers from the history channel. Do you remember the man's first name? My husband's family is spread out and we heard he had a half-brother he never met who lived in Virginia.

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  3. Wow Sandy, you are one talented lady. Your varied background must give you lots of ideas for stories.

    What a terrific line-up at your workshop. Can't wait to be there.

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  4. Hi Sandy,
    Wow what a wealth of information! The conference sounds really informative and your books should draw them in! I wish you a ton of luck and know anyone that buys one of your books will be that much richer. Best of luck.
    Sharon

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  5. Hi Mary, thanks for stopping in. You'll give me a swelled head with compliments like that, but I'll take them!!!!!!!!!!!!! I can't wait to meet you and Nan at the conference. I jus hope we get lots more romance authors to come.

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  6. Hi Sharon, we do have a varied bunch of authors don't we? The caliber of our keynotes is even bigger than last year andwe had two fabulous people then! Thank you for the compliment about my books, people do seem to like them, especially Cottonwood Place. I think the covers have helped me sell quite a few. They really get the attention. I hope my ice road truckers book gets a good cover when it comes out someday.

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  7. Sandy what a great book you wrote. Looking forward to more from you. Fellow RomVet :-)

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  8. Hi Kathy, fellow RomVet! Which book did you like? I'm glad you liked it. Thank you for coming to the blogspot!

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  9. I love your stories Sandy. Keep them coming!

    Dona

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  10. Excellent blog, Sandy. Congratulations on the success of your books. You're a creative woman and a giver.

    jj

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  11. Sandy, the synopsis on your books shows depth and interest, conflict and mystery yet all attached to spirituality. There is nothing mundane or preachy, just honest appeal. That is an amazing accomplishment and very much draws us to investigate your work more fully. Plus, the workshop sounds wonderful.

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  12. Hi, Sandy. It was nice to meet you. I'm in awe of everything you've accomplished and are currently involved in. Sounds like you lead a busy, but fulfilling life.

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  13. Hi Linda, thank you for posting and thank you for the compliment! I'm a little too busy right now but it will tone down after October 24th and the conference is over. Then I can get busy on my ice road truckers WIP. I've not done anything different than any other writer\mother I just started when my sons were older and I could devote more time to the writing until I got published, then we'', the rest is history!

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  14. Hi Angelica and Zi, glad you could come visit! I'm glad you like the book. Cottonwood seemed to flow when I was writing it, and it was easy to avoid being preachy because of the subjects and the people involved.The Navajo are a no-nonsense kind of people who don't beat around the bush and that's how they view their religion as well, so I just had to pick the best parts of my research and use it. That's what showed the religious aspect without being preachy because it seemed to be part of the plot and the acutal daily life of the characters. If you get to read Cottonwood Place let me know what you think.

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  15. Hi jj, glad to see you here! You guys have made my head swell with all the compliments, and I do enjoy them! I can't wait to meet you on the 24th at thew booksigning and conference, I juist hope we get a lot of people signed up to enjoy our program. We're offering so much for such a little price that you can't lose! I get a much as I give with the pleasure of writing and talking to other writers, encouraging others when I can. I think that's what God put us writers here for, to use our experiences to help others and entertain them at the same time.

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  16. Hi Donna, thank you for coming! Glad to see you here, but I wish I could really see you someday! That's the bad part of our business, friends with so many p[eople you never met and probably never will!

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  17. Sounds like a lot of fun the Conference. SHAME i'm in the UK LOL

    Thanks for introducing me to an new author, Linda! *Waves at both of you!*

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  18. Hi Ella, I wish you could come to our conference! I'd love to meet you, where in the UK do you live? My family is from Bolney, Sussex. TRhomas WIckersham emigrated here in 1700 on the same ship as WIlliam Penn and they settled together in West Chester, Pennsylvania.

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