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DATE  |  July 19th, 2025

TIME  |

  • 12:00 pm, Networking
  • 12:15 pm, Introductions & Incentives
  • around 12:30-12:45 pm, Business meeting (we are not sure how long Intro & Incentives will take)
  • 1:30 pm, Speaker (Zoom)

LOCATION  | Meeting will be Hybrid via Zoom and Vandalia branch of the Dayton Metro Library. 330 S Dixie Dr, Vandalia Ohio 45377

SPEAKER  | Dawn Alexander

TOPIC  | Beyond the Bedroom: Using Physical and Emotional Intimacy to Create Authentic Character Relationships

Intimacy isn’t limited to romance. Authentic character relationships are crucial in all genres, whether you’re telling a love story or building a friendship. This workshop will explore the progression from initial awareness to physical intimacy, as well as the emotional layers accompanying each stage of connection.

Attending Our Hybrid Meeting

Presentation is free for members and prospective members who have not yet visited for two complimentary meetings.

For those members who cannot join us in person, join us via Zoom. The password will be posted in the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Google Group, and on the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Facebook page.

If you are not a COFW member and wish to attend this presentation via Zoom, email cofwpresident@gmail.com.

About Our Speaker

Dawn Alexander is a developmental editor and story coach who collaborates with both emerging writers and accomplished authors to strengthen their stories and refine their voices. Her clients have appeared on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists, as well as the Amazon Top 100.

Leveraging her two decades of experience in education, she designs and teaches writing courses that offer comprehensive insights and practical strategies that can be applied across genres to create compelling plots and authentic characters. She’s been a featured speaker at Inkers Con, Pike’s Peak Writers Conference, as well as local writing chapters, in addition to providing one-on-one coaching to numerous successful authors. When she’s not analyzing plot structures or crafting characters, you can find her spending time with her two college-age kids or off-roading in her Jeep Wrangler with her husband and their dog, Teddy.

DATE  |  June 14th, 2025

TIME  |

  • 12:00 pm, Networking
  • 12:15 pm, Introductions & Incentives
  • around 12:30-12:45 pm, Business meeting (we are not sure how long Intro & Incentives will take)
  • 1:30 pm, Speaker

LOCATION  |  Meeting will be Hybrid via Zoom and Room 2A at the Hilliard Library, 4500 Hickory Chase Way, Hilliard, Ohio

SPEAKER  | Ava Cuvay

TOPIC  | Building Believable Worlds for All Genres

It’s not just a Sci-fi thing. Worldbuilding is a crucial aspect of any story in any genre. Award winning, bestselling author Ava Cuvay outlines why, how, and what to avoid to enhance your worldbuilding thought processes for a truly engaging story. (There might be a few Star Wars references 😉)

Attending Our Hybrid Meeting

Presentation is free for members and prospective members who have not yet visited for two complimentary meetings.

For those members who cannot join us in person, join us via Zoom. The password will be posted in the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Google Group, and on the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Facebook page.

If you are not a COFW member and wish to attend this presentation via Zoom, email cofwpresident@gmail.com.

About Our Speaker

Ava Cuvay is an award-winning bestselling author of out of this world Sci-fi and Paranormal Romance featuring sassy heroines, gutsy heroes, passion, adventure… and the word “moist”.

She resides in central Indiana with her own scruffy-looking nerfherder and teen kiddos who think her “Rizz” is “cringe” but she “passes the vibe check” and her books “hit different.” No cap.

She believes life is too short to bother with negative people, everything is better with Champagne, and Han Solo shot first. Star Wars references are her love language.

Social Media & Other Links
Website – https://avacuvay.com/
Author Facebook – https://facebook.com/AvaCuvayAuthor/
Goodreads – https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/15051407.Ava_Cuvay
Amazon – https://www.amazon.com/Ava-Cuvay/e/B01E5OIZ0I/
Bookbub – https://www.bookbub.com/profile/ava-cuvay
Instagram – https://instagram.com/avacuvay/
Newsletter – https://drinkingthestarspressllc.eo.page/v8296

Leah Lore is a woman with short-cropped brown hair. She is sitting on a large boulder in a field of wildflowers.

DATE  |  May 17th, 2025
TIME  |
  • 12:00 pm, Networking
  • 12:15 pm, Introductions & Incentives
  • around 12:30-12:45 pm, Business meeting (we are not sure how long Intro & Incentives will take)
  • 1:30 pm, small group workshopping on your novel or work in progress

LOCATION  | Meeting will be Hybrid via Zoom and Vandalia branch of the Dayton Metro Library. 330 S Dixie Dr, Vandalia Ohio 45377

FACILITATOR  | Leah Lore

TOPIC  | Brainstorming/Plotting in Small-Group SessionsJuliette Hyland plots one of herbooks
Come with your book ideas and get ready to brainstorm/plot in small group sessions, Each person has a turn to share where they could use group help brainstorming anything. For example, are you:
  • Stuck somewhere?
  • Got a plot hole that swallowed a bus and want ideas how to drive out of it?
  • Need ideas for events to occur in the plot?
  • Worried about your characters’ wound and whether it’s strong enough to drive the novel?
  • Want a general sounding board?
Then come for the plotting/brainstorming! Being in person is highly recommended. Those on Zoom will perform this exercise in a Zoom room.
Pictured here is Juliette Hyland, outlining her book Falling Again for the Single Dad, using one of the templates that the workshop provided. This was prior to Harlequin offering her the first contract. In February 2025 she will have 23 published Harlequin novels. 

Attending Our Hybrid Meeting

Presentation is free for members and prospective members who have not yet visited for two complimentary meetings.

For those members who cannot join us in person, join us via Zoom. The password will be posted in the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Google Group, and on the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Facebook page.

If you are not a COFW member and wish to attend this presentation via Zoom, email cofwpresident@gmail.com.

About Our Speaker

Leah Lore is our 2025 Programs Chair. Her debut release, To the Stars, is a sci-fi novelette in ebook that has received Amazon best-seller status. She was a finalist in the 2024 NYCMidnight Short Story Challenge and her short stories have been published in several anthologies.

DATE  |  April 19th, 2025

TIME  |

  • 12:00 pm, Networking
  • 12:15 pm, Introductions & Incentives
  • around 12:30-12:45 pm, Business meeting (we are not sure how long Intro & Incentives will take)
  • 1:30 pm, Speaker (via Zoom)

LOCATION  |  Meeting will be Hybrid via Zoom and South High Library, 3540 South High Street Columbus

SPEAKER  | Kathleen Donnelly

TOPIC  | Incorporating Four-Legged Detectives Into Your Books

From Lassie to Rin Tin Tin, canine characters have captured our hearts. The intrigue of a dog finding a lost person, buried body, drugs, bombs, or risking its life to protect a handler, has long been a source of fascination. Working dogs are showing up in crime fiction more than ever, but what is the real world of working dogs like? Discover everything from how a handler chooses their dog to training to real life scenarios searching with a K-9.

Attending Our Hybrid Meeting

Presentation is free for members and prospective members who have not yet visited for two complimentary meetings.

For those members who cannot join us in person, join us via Zoom. The password will be posted in the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Google Group, and on the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Facebook page.

If you are not a COFW member and wish to attend this presentation via Zoom, email cofwpresident@gmail.com.

About Our Speaker

Award-winning author Kathleen Donnelly is a retired K-9 handler. She worked K-9s for a private company for 19 years. Her debut novel, Chasing Justice, won a Best Book Award from the American Book Fest, a PenCraft Award and was a 2023 Silver Falchion finalist in the Suspense category and Readers’ Choice Award. Her second book, Hunting The Truth, was the 2024 Pencraft Book of the Year, a Silver Falchion finalist and a Colorado Authors League finalist in the mystery category. She lives near the Colorado foothills with her husband and four-legged friends. Visit Kathleen’s website and sign up for her newsletter at www.kathleendonnelly.com, or find her on Facebook at Facebook.com/authorkathleendonnelly, and Instagram @authorkathleendonnelly.

DATE  |  March 15th, 2025

TIME  |

  • 12:00 pm, Networking
  • 12:15 pm, Introductions & Incentives
  • around 12:30-12:45 pm, Business meeting (we are not sure how long Intro & Incentives will take)
  • 1:30 pm, Speaker

LOCATION  |  Meeting will be Hybrid via Zoom and Vandalia branch of the Dayton Metro Library. 330 S Dixie Dr, Vandalia Ohio 45377

FACILITATOR  | Rochelle Bradley

TOPIC  | Independent Publishing 101

Ever wonder what it takes to be a successful indie author?

In this class, local author Rochelle Bradley will lead us through the basics of what it takes to publish independently – from editing to formatting to marketing. This is your chance to get an overview and ask specific questions!

Attending Our Hybrid Meeting

Presentation is free for members and prospective members who have not yet visited for two complimentary meetings.

For those members who cannot join us in person, join us via Zoom. The password will be posted in the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Google Group, and on the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Facebook page.

If you are not a COFW member and wish to attend this presentation via Zoom, email cofwpresident@gmail.com.

About Our Speaker

Rochelle is an award-winning and Amazon best-selling author. She writes romance with sass and shenanigans because the world needs more laughter and love.

She co-hosts (with author CJ Warrant) Wednesday Coffee & Books an Instagram Live show where they interview romance authors.

Born and raised in Cincinnati Ohio, Rochelle developed a love of nature and art. She is a Bearcat, a Buckeye, an interior decorator, and fluent in sarcasm. She currently shares her home with a black cat, a leash trained orange tabby, and her Prince.

Leah Lore is a woman with short-cropped brown hair. She is sitting on a large boulder in a field of wildflowers.

DATE  |  February 15th, 2025
TIME  |
  • 12:00 pm, Networking
  • 12:15 pm, Introductions & Incentives
  • around 12:30-12:45 pm, Business meeting (we are not sure how long Intro & Incentives will take)
  • 1:30 pm, small group workshopping on your novel or work in progress

LOCATION  | Zoom and Karl Road branch of Columbus Public Library, Meeting Room 3. 5590 Karl Rd., Columbus, OH 43229.

FACILITATOR  | Leah Lore

TOPIC  | Brainstorming/Plotting in Small-Group SessionsJuliette Hyland plots one of herbooks
Come with your book ideas and get ready to brainstorm/plot in small group sessions, Each person has a turn to share where they could use group help brainstorming anything. For example, are you:
  • Stuck somewhere?
  • Got a plot hole that swallowed a bus and want ideas how to drive out of it?
  • Need ideas for events to occur in the plot?
  • Worried about your characters’ wound and whether it’s strong enough to drive the novel?
  • Want a general sounding board?
Then come for the plotting/brainstorming! Being in person is highly recommended. Those on Zoom will perform this exercise in a Zoom room.
Pictured here is Juliette Hyland, outlining her book Falling Again for the Single Dad, using one of the templates that the workshop provided. This was prior to Harlequin offering her the first contract. In February 2025 she will have 23 published Harlequin novels. 

Attending Our Hybrid Meeting

Presentation is free for members and prospective members who have not yet visited for two complimentary meetings.

For those members who cannot join us in person, join us via Zoom. The password will be posted in the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Google Group, and on the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Facebook page.

If you are not a COFW member and wish to attend this presentation via Zoom, email cofwpresident@gmail.com.

About Our Speaker

Leah Lore is our 2025 Programs Chair. Her debut release, To the Stars, is a sci-fi novelette in ebook that has received Amazon best-seller status.

Leah was a finalist in the 2024 NYCMidnight Short Story Challenge and her short stories have been published in several anthologies. Leah writes character-driven adventures with an emphasis on mental health and self-worth. She has a MS in biology from Wright State University. Her education and love of nature have been pivotal elements of creating beautiful yet realistic worlds brimming with magic. Follow Leah’s progress on her newsletter, website, and social media: https://linktr.ee/leahlore

DATE  |  January 18th, 2024

TIME  |
  • 12:00 pm, Networking
  • 12:15 pm, Introductions & Incentives
  • around 12:30-12:45 pm, Business meeting (we are not sure how long Intro & Incentives will take)
  • 1:30 pm, Speaker


LOCATION   |   Meeting will be Hybrid via Zoom and Community Room at the Burkhardt Library, 4704 Burkhardt Ave., Dayton, OH 45403. This is in the Dayton Metro Library System. See below for further instructions.
TOPIC   | Rene Gutteridge & The Writer’s Identity. Presenting via Zoom.

The Writer’s Identity

One of the biggest moments we can experience as writer is to use the word to describe ourselves: I am a writer! But if we’re not careful, this can become a slippery slope of our core identity. Why is it so unhealthy to tie our identity into writing? It seems logical that we are, in fact, writers. Weren’t we born to write?

In this class, Rene will explore how to keep your identity strong and protected while navigating the extremely tumultuous world of rejection and rebound called the writing life. Learning to separate your identity from your occupation can be the single most important move in keeping you emotionally strong for the long haul.

 

Attending Our Hybrid Meeting

Presentation is free for members and prospective members who have not yet visited for two complimentary meetings.

For those members who cannot join us in person, join us via Zoom. The password will be posted in the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Google Group, and on the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Facebook page.

If you are not a COFW member and wish to attend this presentation via Zoom, email cofwpresident@gmail.com.

Dayton Public Libraries do allow food and drinks.

 

About Our SpeakerRene Gutteridge is a white woman with shoulder-length straight brown hair. This is a headshot in front of a slightly blurred green background.

Rene Gutteridge has been writing professionally for over twenty years, with expertise in fiction, non-fiction, comedy sketches, novelizations and screenwriting. She is the multi-genre author of 24 novels plus several non-fiction titles. Her indie film SKID won deadCenter’s Best Oklahoma Feature, and her novel My Life as a Doormat was adapted into the Hallmark movie Love’s Complicated. She is co-writer on the feature film Family Camp, a Movieguide award winner and a Dove Award nominee for 2023. She is also a Screencraft finalist in true crime. Rene is co-director of WriterCon in Oklahoma City, senior contributor at Writing Momentum and is the head writer at Skit Guys Studios.

Contact Rene at her website. She’s got a page for Tips for Writers, too.

DATE  |  November 16th, 2024

TIME  |
  • 12:00 pm, Networking
  • 12:15 pm, Introductions & Incentives
  • around 12:30-12:45 pm, Business meeting (we are not sure how long Intro & Incentives will take)
  • 1:30 pm, Speaker


LOCATION   |   Meeting will be Hybrid via Zoom and Community Room at the Burkhardt Library, 4704 Burkhardt Ave., Dayton, OH 45403. This is in the Dayton Metro Library System. See below for further instructions.
TOPIC   | Beth Morrow & Self-Care for the Creative Soul: How to Create a Mindfulness Practice to Support Your Writer Self. Presenting in person, so long as weather permits travel, otherwise, via Zoom.

Self-Care for the Creative Soul:

How to Create a Mindfulness Practice to Support Your Writer Self

If you’ve ever dreaded facing the page, struggled with critical self-talk, writer’s block, or procrastination, you know there’s more to the writing process than getting words on the page. Learning to tune into the rhythms, flow, and habits of our unique process through mindful practices can help us avoid burnout and navigate the emotional challenges of embodying our creative self.

Bring your journal and join me for this interactive workshop where we will cultivate an awareness and appreciation of what fuels our creative souls through:

  • journaling,
  • meditation, and
  • mindful breathwork.

We’ll use exercises and prompts designed to discover and clarify what your creativity needs most for a sense of peace, connection, and ease. You’ll return to your writing refreshed and restored, with a list of strategies and resources to support you in bringing your most authentic self to the page.

 

Attending Our Hybrid Meeting

Presentation is free for members and prospective members who have not yet visited for two complimentary meetings.

We encourage you to be in person if you can! This speaker will be at the library, ready to help us develop a practice to keep  us healthy and creative as we write.

For those members who cannot join us in person, join us via Zoom. The password will be posted in the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Google Group, and on the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Facebook page.

If you are not a COFW member and wish to attend this presentation via Zoom, email cofwpresident@gmail.com.

Dayton Public Libraries do allow food and drinks.

 

About Our SpeakerBeth Morrow is a white woman with brown hair. She's wearing a purple top with white sleeves, and clasping her hands in namaste.

Beth Morrow, M.Ed., is a teacher and author who loves to explore the intersection of meditation and an embodied creative life. Her journey to mindfulness teaching began with learning yoga through videos then joining a studio for deeper study. Introduced to Zen meditation through a workshop, the profound spiritual and emotional healing she experienced lingered for over a decade and led her to earning a yoga teaching certification. Longing to return to meditation for healing after her husband’s death, the lack of meditation opportunities around her prompted her to leave the middle school classroom and become a meditation teacher herself. 

She has since studied yoga nidra, Taiji, (Tai Chi), and reiki, and is completing work for her 500-hour meditation certification from the Radiance Sutras School of Meditation.

Beth currently teaches meditation and restorative and yin yoga in venues in Columbus, Ohio. Creating safe, comfortable spaces that invite students to slow down and relax into the innate wisdom of the self through the breath is what she loves most. 

Contact Jules: You can find her

 


The October 19, 2024 program is by romance writer Siera London. Find all the details at cofwevents.org

DATE  | October 19th, 2024

TIME  |
  • 12:00 pm, Networking
  • 12:15 pm, Introductions & Incentives
  • around 12:30-12:45 pm, Business meeting (we are not sure how long Intro & Incentives will take)
  • 1:30 pm, Speaker

LOCATION   |    Zoom and a room on the first floor of Hilliard Branch, pass the coffee stand, turn left, first hall on the right, one of the rooms on the left, Columbus Metropolitan Library, 4500 Hickory Chase Way, Hilliard, OH 43026. See below for further instructions. Speaker will be via zoom.
TOPIC   | Siera London: Scenes & Sequels

Scenes & Sequels

This Session

Goal, motivation, and conflict aren’t enough. Great storytelling includes characters who battle and triumph—a dynamic mix of internal and external conflicts to reach their ultimate goal.

But unputdownable fiction is more than a GMC chart. How your character reacts to each challenge creates a three-dimensional persona whose fictional journey communicates a message of our human existence that resonates through a wide cross-section of readers.

Join USA Today Bestselling Author Siera London as she explores scene and sequel structure in popular fiction.  

 

Attending Our Hybrid Meeting

This program is free for members and prospective members who have not yet visited for two complimentary meetings. For those members who cannot join us in person, join us via Zoom. The password will be posted in the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Google Group, and on the members-only Central Ohio Fiction Writers Facebook page.

If you are not a COFW member and wish to attend this presentation via Zoom, email cofwpresident@gmail.com. Please note, the link spans from the moment we open the room to the social half hour through the business meeting and this program.

Per library policy, “Prepared food and non-alcoholic beverages are allowed in meeting rooms.”

 

About Our Speaker

Siera London, USA Today best-selling author, is a black woman with curly black hair. She is wearing a white sweater and wearing a pendant.

Siera London writes about Sassy, Sensual heroines and the Alpha Males that love them, flaws and all. She is the author of twenty-two contemporary fiction novels and novellas. She is a native Floridian who served 22 years in the United States Navy as a registered pediatric nurse practitioner and nursing clinical instructor before deciding to focus on her writing career. Her debut novel, Chasing Ava, was an Amazon Best Seller in the contemporary romance and women’s fiction category.

Siera currently lives in the northern Virginia with her husband and their color patch tabby kitten named Frie. Her love of coastal towns and bustling cities shines through in her sassy and sexy storytelling.

She is a pet lover at heart. She would gladly welcome more furry friends into the household; however, she had to guilt her husband into the tabby.

When she’s not writing she loves to get lost between the pages of a great book and travel.

Learn more about Siera at her website.

Jen Devon is a white woman with brown hair, tied up towards the top of her head. She wears glasses as wide as her face, and a white blouse with blue flowers.

DATE & TIME: September 14th 2024

  • 12:00 pm, Networking
  • 12:15 pm, Introductions & Incentives
  • around 12:30-12:45 pm, Business meeting (we are not sure how long Intro & Incentives will take)
  • 1:30 pm, Speaker

LOCATION   |   Zoom and Community Room at Vandalia Branch of the Dayton Metropolitan Library.

Dayton Metropolitan Library, Vandalia Branch
     Location Address: 330 South Dixie Drive.
     Room: Community Room

SPEAKER   | Jen Devon, via Zoom
TOPIC   |   Voice in Dual POV Romance 

Voice in Dual POV Romance

This session

In this workshop, Jen will talk about the ways she:

  • Enhances characterization via POV techniques
  • Differentiates character voice and internal monologue between multiple narrators / main characters
  • Tailors the narrative to a particular POV
  • Determines which character’s POV a chapter should be
  • Deepens POV

Get ready for a program that feels more like a casual conversation. Jen will talk about her own strategies and techniques. No dry lecture, no mandate from on high “this is how you do it”. She’ll settle in, talking about things that work for her, while encouraging us to be mindful of our own writing identity, so that we can adapt it to our own vibe, needs, and aptitudes. 

Attending Our Hybrid Meeting

This program is free for members and prospective members who have not yet visited for two complimentary meetings. For those members who cannot join us in person, join us via Zoom. The password will be posted in the Central Ohio Fiction Writers Google Group, and on the members-only Central Ohio Fiction Writers Facebook page.

If you are not a COFW member and wish to attend this presentation via Zoom, email cofwpresident@gmail.com. Please note, the link spans from the moment we open the room to the social and introductions through the business meeting and this program.

Dayton Public Library System allows food and drinks.

About Our Speaker

Jen Devon is a white woman with long brown hair. She wears glasses as wide as her face, and is wearing an off-white sweater.

I’m Jen. I’m a former ecology academic turned professional photographer turned software support pro moonlighting as an author. I’m a lifelong lover of scary movies and romance novels, both of which I was probably first exposed to far too young. But the pre-teen heart wants what it wants, and my angsty little Xennial heart wanted terror and lusty pining. I think Ripley and Hicks should have kissed, Ben Solo deserved better, and Disney should’ve given Elsa a girlfriend.

I love: campfires, Hot Tamales, sour cream as a French fry condiment, the smell of used bookstores, World of Warcraft, single-origin coffee, my 85mm f/1.8G camera lens, public radio, Hefeweizen, slipper socks, boardgames, marching bands, hiking, traveling with my family, fun hats, and people who don’t take themselves too seriously.

I’m married to a hot nerd who I met on the Internet, and now twenty years later we’re raising three bright, feminist, kick-ass kids. We also have two ill-mannered rescue mutts – I’d have a whole pack of them (dogs, not kids) if I could, but there’s only so much room on the bed, you know?

I’m an adult-diagnosed ADHD’er, an outgoing introvert and occasional foulmouth (apologies to my mom, my dad, my kids’ teachers, and the hosts of any panels or podcasts I’m a guest on), a Gandalf stan, thrift store enthusiast, nonsense repudiator, kindness evangelist, and unapologetic dirt-lover. I think the world would be a better place if everyone read romance novels.

Learn more about Jen at her website.