May 8, 2010 - Room 351
Journey of a Novel ($8)
Patti O'Shea will speak to us about writing and publishing In The Darkest Night.
Program:
Thomas Menton is a Minnesota native who grew up in Woodbury. He knew he wanted a career in law enforcement early on, and after graduating from high school with honors, he attended Inver Hills Community College with that goal in mind. Once he graduated from IHCC, he enrolled in an academy training program specifically for individuals desiring a career in law enforcement. Once he completed his training, he was hired by the city of St. Paul. Mr. Menton will share with MFW members what a typical day in the life of a police officer is like, some of his more memorable experiences, and will then answer any specific questions we might have.
June 12, 2010 - Room 351
Journey of a Novel ($8)
Join J L Wilson as she talks about her latest mystery, PhDs, Pornography, and Premeditated Murder. She developed the main character after attending one of MFW's Fall Harvest workshops and she figured out the method of death after attending the Minnesota State Fair. Come see how these two events teamed up to produce Professor Jane Renard, her almost-ex-husband Toby, and a murder at a Z.Z. Top concert.
Program: Dana M Baird on Period Costumery
Dana M. Baird has been a member of the Minnesota Renaissance Festival entertainment cast for more than 20 years. She started costuming for her fellow participants in 1990, and eventually turned her hobby into a business for six years. She was then the Minnesota Renaissance Festival's Costumer Director and consultant from 1997-2002 before shifting her focus to painting and writing. She studied art history and has a Bachelor of Arts degree in studio art from the University of Minnesota. She is the author of two YA fantasy novels, The Spell Keeper and its sequel, Veil of Whispers, both published by Sam's Dot Publishing.
Related Internet links:
Dana M. Baird: http://www.danambaird.com/
The Court Revelers: http://www.courtrevelers.com/
Minnesota Renaissance Festival: http://www.renaissancefest.com/mrf/
July 10, 2010 - Room 351
Journey of a Novel ($8)
Join us for this month’s JoaN, in which Money, Honey author Susan Sey will tell you how screwing the rules and writing what she wanted to write finally got her published. She’ll talk about why this book sold while her two other Golden Heart finalists did not, explore the pros & cons of editing for your agent, and answer any other question you might have. Hope to see you there
Program: Kristin Kujawski on Stage Combat
In telling stories that include fight scenes, we want our stories to be convincing, with step by step descriptions of the action, and realistic accounts of how a conflict unfolds.
Kristin Kujawski started learning the art of stage combat in 1984. In her own words: I really started training seriously in 1990 when I was cast in the "Human Combat Chess Game" at the Renaissance festival. I taught classes from 92 to 96. I have taught classes in unarmed, Quarterstaff, broadsword, small sword, and Rapier and dagger. I have also worked with pole arms, whips and hatchets. For me stage violence is as much about what brings us to the point of fighting as what keeps us from fighting.
August 14, 2010 - Room 351
Journey of a Novel ($8)
Tate Hallaway will be joining us to talk about her new release, Almost to Die For.
On her sixteenth birthday, Anastasija Parker’s present winds up being the shock of a lifetime. When her mom referred to her absentee dad as a deadbeat, it was actually half-true, he’s a vampire. And a king, no less. A king who wants his daughter to assume her rightful position at his side. But, thanks to Ana’s mother, the blood of a witch also runs through her veins.
Program: Lois McMaster Bujold
Lois Bujold is notably successful as a science fiction and fantasy writer, and has always maintained a strong emphasis on the relationships among the characters in her stories. In her Sharing Knife series she made the romance between the two central characters a core element of the story. In doing so, she gave some profound thought to the different expectations that readers of F/SF, Romance, and Mystery bring to a story – an issue of special importance to those writing crossover novels, who want to satisfy our readers in respect to every genre involved.
For those who'd like to know more, I highly recommend Bujold’s Denvention 2008 Guest of Honor speech – http://blogs.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=164952151&blogID=423204224
"The SF crowd seemed tone-deaf to the emotional developments so important to the Romance crowd, and the Romance readers in turn seemed to be blind to the world-building concerns of the SF readers. And I said, 'Cool! A pattern! But... what is really going on, here?'... So the two genres -- Romance and SF -- would seem to be arm-wrestling about the relative importance of the personal and the political. "
