Conference Biographies

Workshop Speakers, Class Info, and Bios for the 2021 conference

 

Master Class Presenters

How to Make Yourself Unforgettable to Agents, Editors, and Readers

Do you understand branding and what your personal brand is? Do you realize how the right branding can make you and the wrong branding can break you? In this course, Christy Hall of Fame author and marketing expert James L. Rubart will teach you how to discover your brand and how to use it to stand out to editors, agents, and readers, as well as how to apply it to your website and to every other aspect of your marketing and career.

After this master class, you leave with an understanding of what branding is (and isn’t); with the tools to discover your own unique brand; with the knowledge of how to apply your brand to your website and all your other marketing materials; and knowing how to develop a tagline that encapsulates your brand.

About James L. Rubart

James L. Rubart is 28 years old but lives trapped inside an older man’s body. He thinks he’s still young enough to water ski like a madman and dirt bike with his two grown sons. He’s the best-selling, Christy Hall of Fame author of ten novels and loves to send readers on mind-bending journeys they’ll remember months after they finish one of his stories. He’s also a branding expert, audiobook narrator, and cofounder with his son, Taylor, of the Rubart Writing Academy. He lives with his amazing wife on a small lake in Eastern Washington.

In his academy, he teaches writers to discover their identity and brand; write bestselling stories; create compelling websites; navigate the ins and outs of social media, email marketing, and the world of publishing; and keep going instead of giving up.

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What Muse? Finding Poetry at the End of Our Pens 

“Where do poems come from?” This question was asked of Rena by an eight-year-old during a Q&A after a reading she once gave. She thought it was one of the best questions she’d ever heard. Where do poems come from? People will also often ask “How do you start a poem?” In this workshop, we’ll begin by sharing our strategies for getting started and respond to a series of prompts to start new poems. We’ll have a discussion about where our poems come from and, if you have a favorite poem you’ve written, she invites you to bring it along and share it, followed by a few words about your process. In this workshop, we’ll learn from each other, and we’ll have a chance to explore and learn by doing. By the end of our time together, you’ll have a fresh set of ideas on which to build new poems.

About Rena Priest

Washington State Poet Laureate Rena Priest is an enrolled member of the Lhaq’temish (Lummi) Nation. She was appointed to serve as Washington State Poet Laureate for the term from April 2021 to 2023. She is the recipient of an Allied Arts Foundation Professional Poets Award (2020). She has attended residencies at Hedgebrook, Mineral School, and Hawthornde Castle. Her debut collection, Patriarchy Blues, was published by MoonPath Press and received an American Book Award. Her second collection, Sublime Subliminal, is available from Floating Bridge Press. Individual poems are featured at Poets.org, Poetry Northwest, Pontoon Poetry, A Dozen Nothing, and elsewhere. She also has published nonfiction pieces in High Country News, Yes! Magazine, Seattle Met, Adventures NW, and Nautilus. She is a National Geographic Explorer (2018–2020) and a Jack Straw Writer (2019). She holds an MFA from Sarah Lawrence College.

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Saturday Presenters

Melanie Dobson

A Road Map to Writing Fiction

This fast-paced workshop will take attendees on a journey to explore all the necessary elements in a compelling, commercial novel. Stops along our writer’s road trip will include character development, opposition, setting, and premise.

 Inside Out: Breathing Life into Fictional Characters

Great characters drive a compelling story, but how do you develop characters that are both heroic and flawed? In this practical workshop, we will discuss how to create believable characters from the inside out and launch each character on a page-turning journey that will reflect their unique past and personality.

About Melanie Dobson

Writing historical and time-slip fiction is Melanie Dobson’s excuse to immerse herself into the past by reading old books, interviewing experts, and exploring fascinating places across the United States and Europe. Melanie is the award-winning author of more than twenty historical romance, suspense, and time-slip novels. Five of her novels, Memories of Glass, Chateau of Secrets, Catching the Wind, The Silent Order, and Love Finds You in Homestead, Iowa, have received Carol Awards. Catching the Wind received the Inspirational Fiction Audie Award in 2018 and was nominated for a Christy Award in historical fiction. The Black Cloister, her novel about a dangerous cult, was named the Foreword Religious Fiction Book of the Year. Melanie enjoys teaching at writers’ events, conferences, and as an adjunct professor. She received her undergraduate degree in journalism from Liberty University and her master’s degree in communication from Regent University. Prior to her writing career, she was the corporate publicity manager at Focus on the Family and owner of Dobson Media Group. She and her husband, Jon, have two daughters, Karlyn and Kiki, and live in the Portland area. When Melanie isn’t writing or playing with her family, she enjoys teaching, dancing, and reading inspirational novels.

You can learn more about Melanie Dobson at https://melaniedobson.com/ 

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Mary Lou Sanelli

Literally Speaking: Developing Your Speaking Voice: Tips on How to Present Your Work to an Audience

When you publish your book, you will likely be asked to read from it. Yet, you don’t want to approach the podium as a salesman. People can see through this right away. Instead, the podium is where you want to inspire people. This workshop will give you all the basic information and insight you’ll need if you are going to read your work aloud to an audience. It’s your moment to be heard, your story to tell. Relish it! Your audience wants you to succeed, and they are more patient and forgiving than we know. Learn to slow down, add humor, and speak without falling victim to the singsong voice. Participants are encouraged to bring at least one poem or short prose piece they wish to read aloud if time permits.

About Mary Lou Sanelli

Mary is a professional literary speaker, has published seven collections of poetry and three works of nonfiction. Her first novel, The Star Struck Dance Studio of Yucca Springs, was published in 2019. Her newest collection of essays, Every Little Thing, will be published in September 2021 and has been nominated for a Pacific Northwest Book Award. Her first children’s title, Bella Likes To Try, will be published in the fall of 2021 by Chatwin Books. Her regular columns appear in Seattle’s Pacific Publishing newspapers, Art Access and Dance Teacher magazines. She contributes to the Seattle Times and has contributed to Seattle Met, Weekend Edition, National Public Radio, Seattle’s NPR station KUOW FM, and many other publications and radio stations. She has been invited to speak at TOWN HALL SEATTLE and has been a keynote speaker at local and national conferences.

Also as a dance instructor, she teaches master classes and workshops throughout the world. This training and performance experience enables her to present with skills that surpass the average author reading. She presents her work at corporate events, theaters, writing conferences, festivals, literary venues, book clubs, and many private events. She lives in Seattle.

You can learn more about Mary Lou Sanelli at, http://www.marylousanelli.com/.

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Christina Suzann Nelson

Making Marketing Work on Your Schedule

All the pieces of platform building, marketing, and social media can be overwhelming. Christina will share the techniques she’s developed to trim the time it takes to create a presence online.

Topics include:
1. Finding your potential readers
2. Understanding social media
3. Scheduling posts
4. Building relationships
5. Online services (paid and free) that make marketing easier
6. Growing your email list

The Art and Adventure of Fiction Writing

This class provides beginning writers with a basic overview of the craft. More experienced writers could benefit from the refresher.
Topics include:
1. Creating a sharp hook
2. Knowing your point of view
3. Writing a complete character
4. Watching for adverbs
5. Adding feeling to your story

About Christina Suzann Nelson

Christina Suzann Nelson is an inspirational speaker and the award-winning author of If We Make It Home, Swimming in the Deep End, More Than We Remember, and The Way It Should Be. She writes and speaks about hope after dysfunction. Christina is over the top about her passion for faith, family, fiction, and foster care. When not writing, she works with the nonprofit Every Child Linn Benton, chases escaped steers, reads, breathes in the sweet smell of her horse, hikes with her dog, or enjoys her just-as-crazy family. As the mother of six who lives on a small farm and serves on the board of a foster care nonprofit, Christina doesn’t have extra time for marketing. These are the tips she has learned along the way. She has spoken to homeschool cooperatives, women’s ministries, writers’ groups, and book clubs.

You can learn more about Christina Suzann Nelson at http://www.christinasuzannnelson.com/

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Theresa Scott

Five Top Areas to Cultivate in Your (Fiction) Writing Career

This workshop will focus on five areas critical for writers:

• Knowledge base—writing skills, marketing and promotion, factual research, sensitivity, and empathy;
• Skills—perseverance, and development of writing skills;
• Storytelling—plotting, pansters (seat-of-the-pants writers), and characterization;
• Community—cultivate a writers’ network for writing and advertising;
• Self-knowledge/Self-care—preventing burnout, preserving health and identity, developing yourself as a writer, goal setting, inspiration sources, realizations, life experiences, others’ stories, inner ponderings, movies, classics, myths, sacred beliefs, justice and injustice, criminality, love, marriage, friendship, and partnering.

 Come prepared to write as you explore the topics.

About Theresa Scott

Theresa Scott is a multi-published author who lives in the Pacific Northwest. She has published 18 romance novels, including historical romances, comedies, and contemporary dramedies. Her books-in-print sold more than 600,000 copies in the markets of the United States, Canada, Australia, and Britain. Foreign sales included Germany, Holland, and Taiwan.  Her ebooks can be purchased at Amazon Kindle, Barnes and Noble, Smashwords, GooglePlay, and Kobo. She writes multicultural historical romances, with diverse ethnic casts of characters, and does a lot of research. She earned a degree in anthropology, which proved useful for writing novels. She worked 14 years as a technical writer while pursuing her fiction-writing career. She has worked with a book agent and a screenplay agent and published traditionally with four presses, including Leisure, Wild Rose Press, and Encore Ebooks. Since 2013, she has self-published, primarily ebooks. Her most recent historical romance dramedy is set in 1828’s Columbia Territory (Washington State) during the height of fur trading.

You can learn more about Theresa Scott at https://www.theresascott.com

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Mary Stone

While intriguing characters draw fans into the story, protagonists who don’t encounter conflict simply won’t sustain readers’ interest. Conflict ratchets up tension and engages readers, keeping them anxiously turning pages.

• Discover the types of internal and external conflicts essential to prose.
• Enjoy the opportunity to apply the material presented through in-class exercises and to hone wordsmithing skills.

The presenter encourages participants to:
a) Email the instructor two weeks prior to class (maryellenstone@hotmail.com) a brief synopsis of a short story or longer work—whether finished or still in progress.
b) Bring four copies of the brief synopsis to class to share in a small group.
Note: A synopsis is not required to attend the class.

Speech Tags and Narrative Action in Dialogue

Why do some speech tags work while others get in the way of your readers? How do narrative actions anchor your booklover into the scene?

1)  Learn what constitutes a spot-on speech tag and what constitutes narrative action. Even seasoned writers sometimes confuse the two and incorrectly use them. This is an easy fix.

2) Identify how speech tags and narrative action can hook readers.

3) Enjoy the opportunity to incorporate accurate usage of these two components through in-class exercises.

The presenter encourages participants to:
a) Email two pages of a manuscript in progress two weeks prior to the conference at (maryellenstone@hotmail.com).

b) Bring four copies to share in class while working in groups.

If you are a beginner and have nothing prepared, great—no problem as vignette exercises will be provided.

About Mary Stone

As a little girl growing up in rural Nebraska, Mary wanted to write. She loved school and when the end of the year rolled around, she hurried home to play “teacher.” Unfortunately, she had difficulty rounding up students willing to sit under her tutelage. Undaunted, she eventually left for college where she earned a bachelor’s degree in education. Having taught French to secondary students for three years, she decided to add a master’s degree in counseling. After moving to Washington State with her husband and daughters, she was blessed with a 30-year career at a community college. Upon retirement, she was awarded Faculty Emeritus. Her published works include “Run in the Path of Peace—the Secret of Being Content No Matter What” (a finalist in Oregon Christian Writers Cascade Published Book Contest); anthologies: OakTara “I Choose You” and Bethany House “Love is a Flame”; and short stories in Seek, Evangel, Mature Living, Rambunctious Review, The Salal Review, and Ladies Home Journal.

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W.H. “Bill” Cameron

World Building for the Real World

World building isn’t just for science-fiction and fantasy. It’s just as important for fiction set in our everyday world. In this presentation, Bill Cameron discusses strategies and pitfalls when using the settings we know (or want to know) in our fiction.

Areas covered include: theory and practices for both contemporary and historical fiction; use of real vs. fictionalized locations; use of real people and media; research techniques and resources; overview of legal issues; and examples. The presentation includes a slideshow and takeaway handout with links to resources discussed, additional resources, and further reading. The presentation will be timed to allow for Q&A.

Getting to Know Them: Tips and Techniques for Creating Characters Who Jump Off the Page

In this interactive workshop, we’ll work together to create characters who are messy, engaging, troubled, powerful, scary—you name it. Using writing exercises, some individual and some in teams, we’ll explore techniques for creating characters who jump off the page and come to life in the minds and hearts of readers.

The workshop will start with an overview of character development theory and practice, then dive into a number of techniques. Plan to write, share, and engage with other attendees. The presentation includes a slideshow and takeaway handout with summaries of the techniques covered, additional techniques and theory, and further reading. The presentation will be time to allow for Q&A.

About Bill Cameron

When not tending his chickens, Bill Cameron shapes unruly words into riveting people in harrowing situations. With six books and multiple short stories set in contemporary and historical settings, Bill has developed techniques for exploring how existing and fictionalized settings can be developed and integrated into fiction in ways that feel rich and plausible, illuminate character, and ultimately advance the story. In reviews, his fiction is often cited for the richness and complexity of its characters. The techniques he will present are those he has used successfully.

His critically acclaimed books include County Line (one of the stirring mysteries featuring irascible Portland homicide cop Skin Kadash); Property of the State (a young adult mystery named one of Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2016); and, as W.H. Cameron, the high desert mystery Crossroad (the first in a series about Melisende Dulac, an apprentice mortician more comfortable with the dead than the living).

You can learn more about Bill Cameron at, https://www.bill-cameron.com/

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Tiffany Pitts

So Funny It’s Frightening

Many people think of humor as a genre unto itself when really, it’s a tool all writers can use. In this class, we’ll look at examples of how humor is employed in genres like suspense and horror to help drive action and ramp up the thrills. We’ll discuss the ways in which humor is dismissed as “easy” and strategies on turning that mindset back on itself to create complex characters and dire situations.

Key points of lecture:

• Classifications of humor types, from affiliative to aggressive. And, through example, how these types of humor can be employed to create diverse characters.
• An in-depth look at the relief theory of humor and how it can be used to heighten tension throughout a scene.
• Strategies for using humor to invest the reader in your characters while simultaneously increasing the stakes against those same characters.

About Tiffany Pitts

Tiffany Pitts is an award-winning author of the Thanatos Rising series, Double Blind, Wizzy Wig, and Parallax.  She’s also a co-producer and props master for UEK productions and leads Brass Ring Writing Retreats, a quarterly retreat for busy people in need of some writing time.

She lives in the suburbs of Seattle with her husband, two children, and her dog, Mr. Thor Michaelson. Thor is well known around the internet for his opinions on vacuuming (and why you shouldn’t). You can read about his plight on the vacuumcleanerdefenseleague.com site.

Follow Tiffany on Facebook (facebook.com/tiffanypittsauthor) or Twitter (@snickerpants) for creative updates and science memes.

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Traci Tyne Hilton 

Advertising Hacks for Indies

Indie authors have unique access to marketing, merchandising, and advertising opportunities at the major online book retailers. Learn the secrets hiding in plain sight to get more readers to your books.

1. An Amazon Advertising Primer
   1. Targeting your ads for success
   2. Pricing your ads for success
2. A Book Bub Advertising Primer
   1. Book Bub Cost Per Click Ads
   2. How to Land a Book Bub Featured Deal
3. Store Specific Advertising Opportunities
   1. Barnes and Noble
   2. Kobo/Rakutan
4. Book Funnel Promotions
5. Resources recap:
   1. Wide for the Win on Facebook
   2. Book Bub how-to Blog
   3. Publish Drive for Hybrid authors
   4. “Master Class” Mailing Lists to get an email invite to all free training webinars

About Traci Tyne Hilton

Cozy mystery author Traci Tyne Hilton teaches publishing at conferences and writers’ groups around the country. Her Plain Jane series has been on the top 100 best-sellers list on Amazon and won the Mystery/Suspense category of the 2012 Christian Writers of the West Phoenix Rattler Contest. Traci has a Drammy from the Portland Civic Theatre Guild and is a member of the Entertainment Industry Association of Educators and Consultants and Willamette Writers. Traci is repped by Chip MacGregor of MacGregor and Luedeke Literary. She has 10 years of successful indie author experience, writing as Traci Tyne Hilton and Tess Rothery. She has used the tools she’ll teach to grow her audience, improve sales on her backlist, and launch new books. She has a degree in history from Portland State University and still lives in the rainiest part of the Pacific Northwest.

You can learn more about Traci Hilton at, https://www.tracihilton.com/

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John C. Hughes

Shut Up and Listen!

Learn how to conduct a compelling oral history. Discover the tools and equipment you’ll need, the questions to ask, and tips for coaxing people to share their stories.  After the interview, what’s next? Learn from Washington State’s chief historian, an Air Force veteran, and a journalist for five decades who has authored a dozen books on Northwest history and the people who shaped Washington state, including Governors Booth Gardner and John Spellman, US Sen. Slade Gorton, and Congresswoman Julia Butler Hansen.

About John C. Hughes

John C. Hughes is the chief historian for the Office of the Secretary of State in Olympia. He retired as editor and publisher of The Daily World in Aberdeen in 2008 after a 42-year career in journalism. In 2004 he received the June Anderson Almquist Lifetime Achievement Award from the Society of Professional Journalists. An alumnus of the University of Puget Sound and the University of Maryland, he is a trustee of the Washington State Historical Society. Hughes is the author of 12 books on Northwest history, including Booth Who?, a biography of Governor Booth Gardner; Slade Gorton, A Half Century in Politics, and Pressing On, the story of the family-owned Seattle Times and Wenatchee World. His biography of Congresswoman Julia Butler Hansen—undefeated in 42 elections, from the Cathlamet Town Council to Capitol Hill—was published in November 2020 by Legacy Washington and is now in its second printing.

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Lindsay Schopfer

A Novel in Four Drafts

Every draft of a novel can be more than just another version of the manuscript. It can be an ongoing evolution that keeps improving with each stage until the work is finally the best version of itself. Writers in all stages of production will benefit from this detailed and engaging look at the writing and revision process. Learn what to focus on for each draft—The First Draft: Just Get It Down; the Second Draft: Making the Big Changes; the Third Draft: All the Little Details; and the Fourth Draft: One Sentence at a Time. Discover techniques for effective editing and how to complete that book that never seems to be good enough.  

About Lindsay Schopfer

Lindsay Schopfer is the award-winning author of The Adventures of Keltin Moore, a series of steampunk-flavored fantasy novels about a professional monster hunter. His second Keltin Moore novel, Into the North, won first place in the OXMA Award for Fantasy as part of the Chanticleer International Book Awards. He also wrote the sci-fi survivalist novel Lost Under Two Moons and the short story collection Magic, Mystery, and Mirth. Lindsay’s workshops and master classes on the craft of writing are top-rated in writing conferences across the Pacific Northwest. He teaches creative writing at South Puget Sound Community College and is an active member of the Northwest Editors Guild.

You can learn more about Lindsay Schopfer at, https://lindsayschopfer.com/

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Debby Lee

The Long and Short of It

Debby will share techniques for writing stellar short stories and novellas, no matter the genre, by using themes from blockbuster movies and employing the W plotting method. This easy-to-learn method is a visual, hands-on way to plot major points in short flash fiction and full novellas of 25,000 words as well as stories that fall somewhere in between. It also offers a degree of flexibility that will have you writing short works of fiction in almost no time.

Attendees will then be given their own chart and given the opportunity to fill it out with help in class or on their own.

About Debby Lee 

Debby Lee was raised in the cozy town of Toledo, Washington. She’s been writing since she was a small child but never forgets home. Her sixth collection with Barbour Publishing was released in December 2019. She has published short pieces of fiction in both the indie and traditional market. She has stories in six novella collections with a traditional publisher and four collections independently published. She also indie-published a number of short works on her own. Two of her indie-published short stories were finalists in contests and two of her traditional collections have made the ECPA Bestsellers list. She belongs to the American Christian Writers and Romance Writers of America, where she served as president of the Olympia chapter. She is represented by Tamela Hancock Murray of the Steven Laube Literary Agency.

You can learn more about Debby Lee at, https://www.booksbydebbylee.com/ 

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Jeff Burlingame

Who Needs Fiction when You’ve Got the Truth?

Concocting stories has its place, but NAACP Image Award winning-author Jeff Burlingame finds it more fascinating to write about those whose lives were, or are, so remarkable that he doesn’t need embellishments to weave a captivating story. Using anecdotes from his personal life and past projects, Jeff will share the secrets of creating quality journalism using the truth and only the truth—and occasionally a little assistance from others to help the business side pencil out.

About John Dodge

John Dodge is an author and journalist who spent four decades as a reporter, columnist, and editorial page editor at several newspapers, including thirty-five years at The Olympian, retiring in 2015.

His nonfiction book, A Deadly Wind, tells the story of the 1962 Columbus Day Storm, which was the most powerful windstorm to strike the West Coast in recorded history. The book, a Pacific Northwest bestseller, was released by Oregon State University Press in October 2018.

Dodge has also written articles for the Washington State and Thurston County Historical Society publications and authored in 2020 The Thompson Times, a biography of Southwest Washington state legislator and House Clerk Alan Thompson for the Washington State Legislature’s Oral History Program.

Other essays and assorted personal musings by Dodge are available at johndodgewrites.wordpress.com.