Dana to speak at West Coast Haunters Convention

Looks like I'll be flying up to Oregon for the inaugural West Coast Haunters Convention May 21-23 in Salem. I'll be teaching a class on haunted backstory writing, which you can find examples I've done on my Web site by clicking here! Here's the class description:

Haunting Your Haunt: Backstories to add life to your living dead

Dana Martin is a writer living in Bakersfield, Calif., who started creating haunted backstories as a favor for a friend. Though a feature writer by trade, Dana gained experience in the art of description while writing romance for various publications and discovered that the only difference between romance and horror writing is word choice. Dana will present a class on creating backstories for your haunt. She will speak specifically about using backstories as marketing tools and how backstories add not only to your haunt's Web site, but also to training actors, costuming, building the haunt, and to your patrons' experience. Whether you're just starting out or have been haunting for years, this class will take your haunt to the next level of professionalism and success.

A Reliable Wife makes me fit!

Have you ever heard of a book review before the reviewer has finished reading the book? I'm only seven chapters into this book, and I can wholeheartedly recommend it for weight loss.

Let's face it, exercising is great for you, but it isn't always the most mentally stimulating activity. Unless you're in need of deep thought that only the black asphalt can provide, then you're lucky to find something on the gym televisions to keep your mind off of your screaming muscles.

Now that my sore knees are less than stellar reminders of my pre-hurdling days in high school, I've taken to the elliptical machine at Fitness 19. The only nice aspect of running in a gym is the air conditioning. Otherwise, plate glass now separates me from the birds, trees, and fresh air.

Good news: Reading makes gym workouts go much faster. You can't exactly take a book on a run with you (or you'll get the same results as texting and driving), but you can take it with you to the gym. Prior to finding the book you see at the top of this post, I read People magazine, finding that articles on celebrities (or, more likely, photos of celebrities in bikinis) served as motivation to get me to the end of the workout.

Magazines may make the workouts less horrible, but until today I never met a publication that could actually GET me to the gym. Busy as I am with writing, I don't get much of a chance to read for pleasure, so when I started reading The Reliable Wife by Robert Goolrick, I noticed that it quickly represented an activity that could easily take me away from every other adult responsibility in my life. With that in mind, I've decided that I can read it ONLY while at the gym! I leave it in the car so I won't be tempted to read it before bed.

I had a nice workout this morning. But now I'm thinking about going back for an evening run. :)

Be well.

Bakersfield Writers Workshop this Saturday!

Writers, if you’ve often thought about attending a workshop out of town but were dissuaded by the price of gas or the expensive conference fees, the Writers of Kern is pleased to announce their annual Bakersfield Writers Workshop happening this Saturday at the Clarion Hotel.

The workshop consists of a continental breakfast, three industry speakers, and access to local published writers during a social meet and greet and Q & A session. Each paid admission also receives one opportunity to win a Livescribe Pulse smartpen.

If you’ve thought about writing your own memoirs but didn’t know where to begin, here’s your chance to learn how to “mine your life” for stories to discover the gold for your family and friends. Annis Cassells, who teaches memoir writing for the Osher Lifelong Learning Institute through CSUB and independently conducts writing classes for senior adults in Coos Bay, Oregon, will be the first of three speakers and offer a presentation and writing exercises designed to give memoir and fiction writers the tools to get started.

For poets, local product Nancy Edwards, PhD, will conduct the session, “Entering the realm of current poetry” to focus on accessible resources, being published and avoiding rejection. Edwards will explain how to find your own poetic voice and offer an enjoyable practice exercise for the group. Edwards is a Professor of English Emeritus from Bakersfield College, where she taught creative writing, research, and composition. She has published poetry, fiction, creative non-fiction, and academic essays in small literary and education journals.

Jaguar Bennett, publicity director of independent publisher Linden Publishing, will offer a session entitled, “Cutting Though the Noise: Book Publicity in a Saturated Market.” Getting your book published is easy—selling it is tough. Writers today face an oversaturated book market in which more books are published than ever before, but book sales are flat or shrinking. How can a writer cut through the noise and get his or her book noticed by the reading public? And how can you do it without a spending a fortune? Bennett will discuss both the concepts and specific steps of building an author’s publicity platform.

Admission to the conference is $35 ($25 for current members), and registration is at 8:00 a.m. Workshop attendees should bring writing materials.

The Writers of Kern is a branch of the California Writers Club that offers resources, education, and social functions for writers of all experience levels. Writers of Kern conducts monthly meetings in Bakersfield and weekly critique groups (in person and online) for all genres. New writers and guests are always welcome.

Info. box:

Bakersfield Writers Workshop

$35 non-members, $25 members

Registration, breakfast: 8:00 Workshop: 8:30 – 12:30

Clarion Hotel, 3540 Rosedale Hwy.

For more info., email: WritersOfKern@gmail.com

Welcome home, favorite son!

We were so happy on Easter Sunday when Jarret surprised us all with a trip home from Florida for 37 hours!

After dinner was over, we all took a nap then jumped in the car and headed for LAX. Rob circled the airport while Jordyn, Jaisyn, Allie (Jarret's lovely girlfriend) and I waited for his plane to land.

We were so excited to see him. I hadn't seen him in 3 months!

Look at how big he's gotten!