Your chapter secretary has been remiss, as usual. But here
are the minutes for our May and June meetings. What’s the saying? Better late
than never.
Minutes from the May 3rd Meeting
17 members and guests attended the meeting on May 3, 2018 at
the Runway Café in Greeenvile. Our president Sally Handley (who is far, far
more conscientious than yours truly) brought the meeting to order with gobs of new
business and opportunities for all of us. She and Linda Lovely attended the
Malice Domestic conference and brought back lots of info from SinC national. If
you are a member (and you should be, or you’re missing out on stuff) go to the
SinC national website to find out about Book Club Central—a great way to get
your mysteries in front of libraians and book clubs nationwide! Also the
website outlines guidelines for the SinC education grants—grants given to
members like YOU to attend conferences, or take courses, for your professional
development as an author. Also at the SinC national website is info about this
year’s Bouchercon in St. Petersburg and the one-day workshop SinC sponsors at
that.
Charles Duke reminded us the Golden Doughnut short story
contest sponsored by Writers Police Academy is underway. See the Writers Police
Academy website for details on entering.
And finally our terrific guest speaker, cozy mystery author
Cheryl Peyton, took over. Cheryl regaled us with many amusing tales of her
adventures in life and her other jobs and careers, all of which gave her fodder
for her books. Cheryl enjoys and spends a lot of time on research. She
especially likes Google Earth Pro since her protagonist in her series is a
travel agent/tour guide. And one aside—along with Wayne Zurl, Cheryl is the co-founder
of the Authors Guild of Tennessee. Cheryl was a very entertaining, charming,
and informative speaker! Thank you, Cheryl!
Minutes from the June 7th Meeting
A whopping 25 people attended our June meeting! After our usual
self-intros (we needed them with so many new faces), President Sally Handley
got down to new business with another great opportunity brought to you by SinC
national. Go to the website to learn about entering short stories into the Me
Too short story anthology. Dealine for submissions is July 1, 2018. Also in new
business, on July 28th Elaine Vietts will be the guest speaker at
the SinC Palmetto chapter in Columbia. See their website for details. Sally
also reminded us about the mystery book club our chapter co-sponsors with local
bookstore Fiction Addiction. Linda Lovely hosts one more meeting—the club will
be reading Sweetness at the Bottom of the Pie. Then Sally Handley will take
over leadership for the next three month stint. The book club meets at Fiction
Addiction the 2nd Wednesday of the month at noon. Sounds like fun!
Linda reminded us the deadline for the Golden Doughnut short story contest in
conjunction with the Writers Police Academy.
Then our terrific guest speaker Larissa Reinhart gave us her
presentation about keeping a series alive and fresh. Larissa, who writes cozy
mysteries, offered tons of great ideas! As an author of two cozy mystery series
myself, this was a lesson I, personally, needed to hear! Everything Larissa
said was fascinating, but a couple gems: Why keep a series fresh? Not only to
keep the reader’s interest, but also the author’s. Larissa offered some “easy”
ways to keep things fresh—like changing the setting, the protagonist’s
occupation, or giving an occassional book a holiday theme. And then she offered
more complex ideas about backstories and character arcs. Be sure that EACH character
in your books, not just your protagonist, has a backstory and a character arc. In other words, everyone should be changing
and growing as your series develops! Such great ideas! I’ve been thinking about
all my character arcs ever since! Thank you Larissa!!
In conclusion, the Upstate Chapter of Sisters in Crime meets the first Thursday on
every month at the Runway Café in Greenville. Arrive at 6:15 for some social
time and chatting, and dinner is served at 6:30, and soon after that our
meetings get underway. Trust me, it’s THE place to be on those first Thursdays.
Join us!
Respectfully Submitted,
Cindy Blackburn
Chapter Secretary
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