Fred A. Tarpley Memorial Writers Conference Set for Saturday, April 27 at Texas A&M-Commerce
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The Fred A. Tarpley Memorial Writers Conference is set for Saturday, April 27, 2019. The tenth annual conference sponsored by Silver Leos Writers Guild begins with check-in at 8:30 a.m. and continues until 3:30 p.m. in the Rayburn Student Center on the campus of Texas A&M University-Commerce.
Area writers are invited to attend the three-session event covering various aspects of writing, including “Narrative Point of View,” “Plotting a Story,” and “Mystery Writing.” Preregistration is required by April 20. The non-refundable fee of $55 for non-members and $50 for members includes conference materials, lunch, morning and afternoon refreshments, and door prizes consisting of books, gift cards, and Kindle readers among others. Each ninety-minute session will be followed by a short break for stretching, mingling, purchasing speaker-authored books, and refilling coffee cups. Speakers will also have books available for sale. To register for the conference send check or money order along with your address, daytime phone, and email to SLWG Conference, P. O. Box 1123, Commerce, Texas 75429. Registration must be postmarked by April 20. A confirmation email will be sent to confirm receipt of payment.
Following the 8:30 a.m. check-in, the early session gets underway at 9:00 a.m. with Dr. Roger Leslie and the “Effective Use of the Narrative Point of View.” Dr. Leslie is an award-winning author, teacher, publisher, and scholar in the fields of education and success, as well as motion pictures. The prolific writer of self-help, teaching and librarianship, fiction, biography, and movie reference books is committed to inspiring people to live the life they dream. This internationally known speaker shares his techiniques for using personal passion to create a life of purpose with groups of all ages. His books Success Express for Teens and Teach Me SUCCESS are core resources for educators at all levels, especially for character education and whole-child approaches to learning. The expert on movies has also authored Film Stars and Their Awards, and Countdown to Oscar’s Favorite Actors. He has committed to memory enough movie facts to fill an encyclopedia and uses the knowledge in keynote speeches. When not on the road, Leslie lives in Houston where he writes, conducts workshops, teaches college, and runs Paradise Publishing LLC. You can find Dr. Leslie’s books at Amazon.com
“Are you a ‘Panster’ or a ‘Plotter’? Plotting a Story” begins promptly at 10:45 a.m. with Maryann Miller an award-winning author of numerous books, screenplays and stage plays. Miller began her professional career as a journalist writing features and short fiction for regional and national publications. Now she writes primarily mysteries, including the critically acclaimed “Seasons Mystery Series” featuring two female homicide detectives set in Dallas. The first two books in the series, Open Season and Stalking Season received wonderful reviews from Publisher’s Weekly, Kirkus, and Library Journal. Among Miller’s many awards are the Page Edwards Short Story Award, the New York Libary Best Books for Teens, and her mystery Doubletake was honored as the Best Mystery for 2015 by the Texas Association of Authors. She has also received a first place in screenwriting at the Houston Writer’s Conference, placed as a semi-finalist at both the Sundance Film Festival and the Chesterfield Screenwriting Competition. The former East Texas resident wasactive with the Winnsboro Center for the Arts, serving on the board and as Theatre Director.Miller now resides in Sherman. Readers can find Miller’s books—including her latest Evelyn Evolving set to be released next month—on Amazon.
James R. Callan keeps the writer’s imagination moving forward at 1:30 p.m. with “I Love a Mystery.” During college Callan dreamed of becoming a writer, but the need to support a family caused the would-be author to go into the field of mathematics instead, leading him down a thirty-five year detour in aerospace research in Ohio and water resources in Oklahoma, as well as mapping salt domes, determining formation porosity and interpreting data. Finally able to return to his first love, Callan wrote regular columns for a national magazine and newspapers in four states, before turning to mystery writing. In 2018 he published his thirteenth book, Political Dirty Trick: A Crystal Moore Suspense. All books are available on Amazon in both print and Kindle versions. Two titles were released in audio with one reaching number seven on the Books in Motion list. Three novels took first place in various contests and several of his novels have garnered other awards. The Texas resident regularly presents workshops in both the U.S. and Mexico where he and his wife have a beach condo in Puerto Vallarta.
Lunch with the presenters will give attendees an opportunity to share not only a meal but glean additional knowledge from these experienced writers. Winners of a writing contest held previously by Silver Leos Writers Guild will be announced just prior to the final session.
For more information about the conference or Silver Leos Writers Guild contact: Sharon Feldt at abcsharon@aol.com or 832-687-6617; Bobbie Purdy at bobbie@arlanpurdy.com or 903-886-6120; Vivian Chaffin at raveon1958@yahoo.com or 903-886-8953.
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