Dates, speakers, and whether we will be in person are subject to change. Speakers often Zoom in.
1/14/2023
January
Date: January 14th 2023
Time: Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at 1:30 pm
Location:
Zoom and Activity Room at the Woodbourne Library, 6060 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville, Ohio 45459
Speaker: Michelle McCraw, in person
Topic: Manage your Writing Like a Boss
Do you struggle with finding time and focus to do your writing? Do you have a writing project that’s languishing from neglect, but you just can’t muster the energy to pick it back up? Does your writing feel like an endless slog? Ever wish you could find more discipline for your writing?
Michelle will teach writers how to apply project management principles to their writing to gain more focus, organization, and discipline.
Time: Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at 1:30 pm
Location:
Zoom and Activity Room at the Woodbourne Library, 6060 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville, Ohio 45459
Speaker: Michelle McCraw, in person
Topic: Manage your Writing Like a Boss
Do you struggle with finding time and focus to do your writing? Do you have a writing project that’s languishing from neglect, but you just can’t muster the energy to pick it back up? Does your writing feel like an endless slog? Ever wish you could find more discipline for your writing?
Michelle will teach writers how to apply project management principles to their writing to gain more focus, organization, and discipline.
About our Speaker: Michelle McCraw Orloff is a certified project manager (PMP) with a master’s in business administration (MBA). While working full time as an information technology program manager, she has published five books in her Synergy contemporary workplace rom-com series since 2021. Leveraging more than 20 years of project management experience, Michelle will teach writers how to apply project management principles to their writing to gain more focus, organization, and discipline.
2/18/2023
February
Date: February 18th 2023
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom meeting and Columbus Public Library South High Street Branch, 3540 S. High Street, Columbus, OH 43207
Speaker: Donna MacMeans, in person
Topic: How to Write a Sizzling Hot Sex Scene
Books across the centuries have included sex, or, at least alluded to it, in mysteries, mythical epics, and wartime journals. How is it that some writers, in describing this fundamental act, are known as authors of hot, steamy, sexy love scenes – while others are simply… adequate? Find out here!
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom meeting and Columbus Public Library South High Street Branch, 3540 S. High Street, Columbus, OH 43207
Speaker: Donna MacMeans, in person
Topic: How to Write a Sizzling Hot Sex Scene
Books across the centuries have included sex, or, at least alluded to it, in mysteries, mythical epics, and wartime journals. How is it that some writers, in describing this fundamental act, are known as authors of hot, steamy, sexy love scenes – while others are simply… adequate? Find out here!
About our Speaker: Donna MacMeans is an award winning, Amazon best-selling romance author, with many foreign additions including a book turned into a Japanese graphic novel. Her first historical romance manuscript went up for auction among three NY publishers launching her into a career of writing sensuous and witty Victorian historical romance and just-plain-fun paranormal romance. Until she retired to pursue the craft of writing, she was a CPA with a small tax practice. (Let’s face it, writing romance is much more interesting than signing a tax return.) She is a frequent workshop presenter and is both traditionally and independently published. Her short stories and novellas have appeared in five anthologies.
3/18/2023
March
Date: March 18th 2023
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Community Room at the Woodbourne Library, 6060 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville, Ohio 45459
Speaker: Scott Ellis, via Zoom
Topic: Audiobook Narration: Psst… Wanna Know the Secrets to Success?
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Community Room at the Woodbourne Library, 6060 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville, Ohio 45459
Speaker: Scott Ellis, via Zoom
Topic: Audiobook Narration: Psst… Wanna Know the Secrets to Success?
Scott will walk through audiobook production, including these and more:
- Narrator & platform search
- Industry Lingo (especially as it relates to pricing and royalties)
- How to vet narrators
- Your responsibilities as the author
- Your questions on being your own narrator
About our Speaker: Scott Ellis is an audiobook narrator having narrated over 70 audiobooks. In addition, he has helped many narrators and authors bring their first projects to audio. With a degree in theater and nearly 30 years as an educator teaching Language Arts, Scott is all about performing and teaching. He is pleased to join this group and discuss the ins and outs of audiobook production plus be a part of helping authors think through all options of putting their stories in audio.
4/15/2023
April
Date: April 15th 2023
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Hilliard Room of Hilliard Branch, Columbus Metropolitan Library, 4500 Hickory Chase Way, Hilliard, OH 43026
Speaker: Beverly Jenkins, via Zoom
Topic: Ask Me Anything
This is your chance to ask the incredible Beverly Jenkins anything you want about writing.
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Hilliard Room of Hilliard Branch, Columbus Metropolitan Library, 4500 Hickory Chase Way, Hilliard, OH 43026
Speaker: Beverly Jenkins, via Zoom
Topic: Ask Me Anything
This is your chance to ask the incredible Beverly Jenkins anything you want about writing.
About our Speaker: Beverly Jenkins is the recipient of the 2017 Romance Writers of America Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award, as well as the 2016 Romantic Times Reviewers’ Choice Award for historical romance.
She has been nominated for the NAACP Image Award in Literature, was featured both in the documentary “Love Between the Covers” and on CBS Sunday Morning.
Since the publication of Night Song in 1994, she has been leading the charge for multicultural romance, and has been a constant darling of reviewers, fans, and her peers alike, garnering accolades for her work from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, and NPR.
She has been nominated for the NAACP Image Award in Literature, was featured both in the documentary “Love Between the Covers” and on CBS Sunday Morning.
Since the publication of Night Song in 1994, she has been leading the charge for multicultural romance, and has been a constant darling of reviewers, fans, and her peers alike, garnering accolades for her work from the likes of The Wall Street Journal, People Magazine, and NPR.
5/13/2023
May
Date: May 13th 2023
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Activity Room at the Woodbourne Library, 6060 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville, Ohio 45459
Speaker: Alyssa Alexander, in person.
Topic: Secondary But Effective: Creating and Using Secondary Characters to Strengthen Your Plot
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Activity Room at the Woodbourne Library, 6060 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville, Ohio 45459
Speaker: Alyssa Alexander, in person.
Topic: Secondary But Effective: Creating and Using Secondary Characters to Strengthen Your Plot
You don’t live in a vacuum, and neither does your protagonist. Every scene involves the protagonist’s relationship to the world and people around them. Learn tips and tricks to create secondary characters to effectively deepen characterization, plot, and emotion, without letting them walk off with a scene.
About our Speaker: Alyssa Alexander is a USA Today Best-Selling Author
6/17/2023
June
Date: June 17th 2023
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Meeting Room 2A of Hilliard Branch, Columbus Metropolitan Library, 4500 Hickory Chase Way, Hilliard, OH 43026
Speaker: Susan Gee Heino, in person
Topic: Cut Out the Middleman
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Meeting Room 2A of Hilliard Branch, Columbus Metropolitan Library, 4500 Hickory Chase Way, Hilliard, OH 43026
Speaker: Susan Gee Heino, in person
Topic: Cut Out the Middleman
Susan will teach us how to prevent the middle of our novels from sagging.
About our Speaker: Susan Gee Heino writes stories highlighting hope, humor, and happily-ever-afters. Her award-winning Regency Romances feature intricate plots, clever banter, and cravat-clad heroes. Her Cold Case Romances with Harlequin Love Inspired showcase mystery, tender emotion, and authentic faith journeys. Under the pen-name Serena Gilley, her Fantasy Romance series explores a sexy Veiled Realm of magical beings and forbidden love.
7/15/2023
July
Date: July 15th 2023
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Community Room at the Woodbourne Library, 6060 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville, Ohio 45459
Speaker: Tobi Doyle
Topic: Be Your Own Developmental Editor – Revisions with Book Maps
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Community Room at the Woodbourne Library, 6060 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville, Ohio 45459
Speaker: Tobi Doyle
Topic: Be Your Own Developmental Editor – Revisions with Book Maps
A book map is a visual guide to your book. It breaks your story down, chapter by chapter, scene by scene, so you can see exactly what you have—and what you don’t. It allows you to be your own developmental editor.
About our Speaker: A hybrid romance author, Tobi has published over a dozen romance books. She writes HEAs with heat and humor, romantic suspense, and cozy mysteries. She is the recipient of the 2022 Romance Writer of America PRO Mentor of the Year, and a Service Award for her work on RWA’s Pen to Paper, a guide to romance writing. She’s also the past President of RWA’s romantic suspense chapter, Kiss of Death, a member of Central Ohio Fiction Writers, West Virginia Writers and other local writing groups.
8/19/2023
August
Date: August 19th 2023
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Gahanna Public Library, 310 Granville St., Gahanna, OH 43230
Meeting Room 3
Speaker: Louise Pachella, via Zoom
Topic: Do Dead Bodies Sit Up?: Accurately Portraying Death and Funerals
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Gahanna Public Library, 310 Granville St., Gahanna, OH 43230
Meeting Room 3
Speaker: Louise Pachella, via Zoom
Topic: Do Dead Bodies Sit Up?: Accurately Portraying Death and Funerals
Louise Pachella will provide fundamental knowledge about dead bodies and mortuary procedures to help authors portray death accurately in their work. Attendees will learn about death processes and funeral preparation, including autopsies, embalming, methods of getting rid of a body, and ways to create problems for characters.
About our Speaker: Veteran funeral director, embalmer, and lifelong bookworm, Louise Pachella educates and entertains people about dead bodies and funerals. She dissects macabre topics on her blog, Read in Peace, and is the author of Last Words: A Glossary for Death and Funerals. She lives in Los Angeles, California.
9/16/2023
September
Date: September 16th 2023
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Community Room at the Burkhardt Library, 4704 Burkhardt Ave., Dayton, OH 45403. This is a new location for us, in the Dayton Metro Library System.
Speaker: Katherine Smits
Topic: Veterans in Fiction
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Community Room at the Burkhardt Library, 4704 Burkhardt Ave., Dayton, OH 45403. This is a new location for us, in the Dayton Metro Library System.
Speaker: Katherine Smits
Topic: Veterans in Fiction
Including veteran characters in your fiction will add depth, emotion, and realism to your work.
Discover how to incorporate veterans in your books to address challenges faced by these heroes and their families and relate these issues to larger societal themes.
About our Speaker: Katherine Eddinger Smits grew up wanting to be a mermaid but discovered to her dismay this was not a viable career choice. Instead, she became a clinical social worker and helped veterans and their families.
Now she brings social work training and experience to her stories of mermaids, mages, and magical creatures.
10/14/2023
October
Date: October 14th 2023
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Hilliard Room of Hilliard Branch, Columbus Metropolitan Library, 4500 Hickory Chase Way, Hilliard, OH 43026
Speaker: Lisa Thompson
Topic: High Crimes and Misdemeanors, with a Dash of Divorce.
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Hilliard Room of Hilliard Branch, Columbus Metropolitan Library, 4500 Hickory Chase Way, Hilliard, OH 43026
Speaker: Lisa Thompson
Topic: High Crimes and Misdemeanors, with a Dash of Divorce.
Learn about the criminal justice system, divorce, what it takes to be a lawyer, and more. This program will help you round out your characters, realistically, when it comes to the legal profession.
About our Speaker: Lisa Thompson passed the Ohio Bar in 1997. She spent twenty-three years practicing primarily in the areas of criminal and juvenile law. She has worked as both a prosecutor and defense attorney, and spent time as counsel to the Democratic Caucus of the Ohio House of Representatives. In 2020, she became a Franklin County Juvenile Court Magistrate.
11/18/2022
November
Date: November 18th 2023
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Community Room at the Woodbourne Library, 6060 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville, Ohio 45459
Speaker: Otescia Johnson
Topic: Using the ‘F’ Word in Marketing (Fun)
Time: Networking at 12:00 pm, Business meeting at 12:30 pm, Speaker at approx. 1:30 pm
Location: Zoom and Community Room at the Woodbourne Library, 6060 Far Hills Avenue, Centerville, Ohio 45459
Speaker: Otescia Johnson
Topic: Using the ‘F’ Word in Marketing (Fun)
You will learn techniques to make marketing fun, by mining what you know:
- Identify what makes your characters human
- Apply the breaking news angle
- One link leads to another
- Keep it Real
- Parties, Character Costumes, and Special Appearances.
- GIPHY Magic
About our Speaker: Otescia is the bestselling author of 12 published books and multiple screenplays. Not content to succeed without helping others, Otescia launched a success coaching business to assist aspiring authors and entrepreneurs.
12/??/2023
December
Date: Date TBD
Time: noon
Location: Private Event
Topic: Celebration of all things COFW and writing romance. Awarding pens to our members publishing their first novels, and awarding our member of the year.
Details for this event will be available through the COFW Google Group email
Time: noon
Location: Private Event
Topic: Celebration of all things COFW and writing romance. Awarding pens to our members publishing their first novels, and awarding our member of the year.
Details for this event will be available through the COFW Google Group email
Having trouble with the site? Please let us know!