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2019 STAR Meeting & Event Schedule
STAR Meetings and workshops occur on the third Saturday of the month every month, except as noted.
All workshops and events open to the public
February 16th
Writing & Romance Trivia
- Location – B&N Vestal, NY
- Time – 10:30 to 11:30
- *STAR meeting 10-10:30
March 23rd
The First Page
Rhonda Penders, editor of Wild Rose Press, explains what editors are looking for and take pitches for all genres
- Time – 10:30 to 11:30
- Location: Meeting Room, Core Life Eatery, Vestal Parkway Pay-your-own luncheon to follow
- *STAR meeting 10-10:30
April 7th
Members-Only Spring Retreat
- Location Itaska Valley Farm
- Time – 8:30 to 4
May 18th
Tarot for Writers
Romance author, Paula Scardamalia will present on how to use tarot cards to deepen characters and plots. .After, she will give Tarot readings for those interested
- Location Meeting Room Core Life Eatery, Vestal Parkway Pay-your-own luncheon to follow
- Time 10:30 to 11:30
- *Star meeting 10-10:30
June 15th
Protect & Serve for Writers
Members of law enforcement will share their experiences
- Location – B&N Pay-your-own luncheon to follow
- Time – 10:30 to 11:30
- *Star meeting 10-10:30
September 21
Members-Only Fall Retreat
- Location TBA
- Time – 8:30 to 4
October 12th *date changed due to NJ conference
Literary Agent or Writing Roundup
- Location – B&N Pay-your-own luncheon to follow
- Time 10:30 to 11:30
- *Star meeting 10-10:30
October 18-19th
New Jersey Writers Conference
November 16th
Literary Agent or Writing Roundup
- Location – B&N Pay-your-own luncheon to follow
- Time 10:30 to 11:30
- *Star meeting 10-10:30
December 8th
Members-Only Awards luncheon
- Location – TBA
- Time – Noon
*Regular STAR meetings will precede public events to allow time for chapter business and member sharing of good news.
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Report on the New Jersey Romance Writers Conference
~ Put Your Heart in A Book ~
The annual New Jersey Romance Writers Conference took place on October 19 and 20. Three members of STAR drove down to the conference: Jen Bokal, Joan Koster, and Rasha Selim. As always there were wonderful speakers and great workshops. The opportunity to pitch your books to editors and agents is always a great feature of the conference.
Hearing successful romance writers is one of the highlights of the conference. To start off, Melinda Leigh gave an overview workshop on writing romantic suspense, but which really covered writing any romance. On Saturday, Virginia Kantra gave the breakfast keynote and Jane Porter spoke at the luncheon. Rebecca Zanetti and Hope Ramsey also gave marvelous workshops.
Although, the meals have always been delicious, the food this year was served buffet style so attendees could enjoy a choice of offerings and not be held up by slow service. There was more than enough to eat and plenty of dancing and fun at the Roaring 20s party on Friday night.
Here we are with Rhonda Penders, editor of Wild Rose Press
2018 New Jersey Romance Writers Conference If you missed the conference this year, consider going down with a group of us next year.
submitted by Joan Koster
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From the Desk of the President: 2018 Schedule
~ What’s Happening in 2018 ~
Hello and welcome to the new year for the Southern Tier Authors of Romance! I’m Jennifer D. Bokal, new president for STAR. For 2018 we are trying something new. Several of our meetings will be open to the public and have a fabulous speaker to help writers at all phases of their career. There’s still plenty of activities for members only, so check that out, too.
3/17 8:30 a.m.- 4:00 p.m. Retreat
Location: Pumpelly House, Owego, NY ***Members only***
4/21 10:30 a.m. “Literary Devices” Joan Koster, PhD.
Location: Barnes and Noble, Vestal, NY
5/19 10:30 a.m. “Law Enforcement in Writing” Special Agent, John Paul Bokal, Jr. FBI
Location: Barnes and Noble, Vestal, NY
6/16 10:30 a.m. “Current Trends and Marketing” Veronica Parks, Literary Agent, Corvisiero Agency
Location: Barnes and Noble, Vestal, NY
9/15 10:30 a.m. Enneagram Workshop
Location: To Be Announced
10/13 10:30 a.m. Rhonda Penders, Publisher The Wild Rose Press. Topic TBA
Location: Barnes and Noble
November Retreat. ***Members only***
Location: To Be Announced
December Holiday Dinner. ***Members only***
Location: To Be Announced
Happy Writing!
Jennifer D. Bokal
President STAR
