Literary Festival (LitFest New West) notes by Leanne Dyck

Priceless because of the quality of the information I received. Priceless because it didn't cost a nickel. Yup, you read right--not a nickel. Got to love those free literary festivals. 

This is the second year I’ve attended this warm and welcoming festival, and it felt like coming home. My biggest challenge was choosing which workshop to attend, as three streams of workshops ran simultaneously throughout the day, from 11:00 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Three...
Now, at home, as I flip through the pamphlet, I wonder why I didn't make different choices—not out of dissatisfaction, but out of a desire to experience everything. However, instead of "shoulding" myself, I'll share what I heard, saw and did.

My day began with..
 The Business Side of Writing (11:00 a.m. to noon) by Daniela Elza
Ms. Elza encouraged participation and tailored the workshop to serve our needs and interests. We began by brainstorming around the question:  What is the business of writing? 

Submissions: Ms. Elza suggested that we read widely--magazines and books--and as we do harvest (my term) the names of the publishers of our favourite literature. That way we'll have a list of publishers to contact. But as well as names, we should also take notes regarding which of our stories would best suit the publishers' interests. And she encouraged us not to stop there but to record our reflections about the publisher as we read. 
Ms. Elza gave us other helpful tips regarding submissions such as following each publisher's submission guidelines to the letter, taking the time to thoroughly edit our work before we send it and carefully tracking our submissions.

Rejections:  The more submissions you have in the pipeline the better your odds and the less painful a single rejection will be. Ms. Elza reminded us that there are many reasons that your piece could be rejected and disliking your writing is only one reason. She suggested that one way to deal with your feelings about being rejected is to share them with your fellow writers--a good reason to belong to a community of writers. And, as an editor, she told us that if we thought it was hard to receive a rejection image writing one

Doing author readings: 
Don't List:  apologize, go over the time allotted, fidget, feel sorry for yourself, explain your reading, mumble
Do List:  smile, breathe deeply, drink hot water, believe in your work, practice in front of a mirror or videotape yourself

Writing Block
I told Ms. Elza that I referred to 'writing block' as 'writer pause'. She said that was one of the best terms she'd heard for it. (a high point of my day)
-having a daily writing routine is a very helpful way to minimize the effects of writing block or writer pause.          
It's important to keep positive about your writing life. One way to do this is to volunteer your time and to help promote others.

How do you balance marketing your work with writing?
-learn to say no
-remember that you and your work are (and should be) the most important to you
-keep it fun
-take care of yourself

Both Sides Now:  Essential Elements of Adaptation (12:45 to 1:45 p.m.) by Don Hauka
Description (from the pamphlet) 'Adapting your book to the screen is tough--how about adapting your screenplay to the novel form?...Hauka will use his personal experience in adapting his mystery novels to the screen and vice-versa'
Mr. Hauka presented a well-organized, thoroughly researched, multi-media presentation.
I was especially struck by what he said about being a screenwriter. A screenwriter is only one member of a team--above you is the producer and, in the case of TV, network executives. They will put limits on your story. Mr. Hauka stressed that it is the story that is most important. And the core of the story should never change, regardless of how it is being presented.
I walked away thinking that I probably won't become a screenwriter.

Double Exposure's Introduction to Comedy Writing (2:00 to 3:00 p.m.) by Bob Robertson & Linda Cullen
Description (from the pamphlet) 'Canada's multi-award-winning comedy team..., the creators of one Canada's most successful CBC radio and TV series...will teach you the basics of writing comedy scripts.'
This was the most well-attended workshop. The room was packed--standing room only. And no one was disappointed. Their presentation was both entertaining and informative. They began by giving us a quick definition of comedy writing--the ability to make people laugh. They told us there were no rules. But advised us to avoid puns. Then shared four tools that would lead us down the road to ha, ha:  satire, parody, literalism (taking a phrase or a lyric and putting it in a different context), anthorpomorphism (giving human characteristics to something other than a human) and observational humour. 
Interview with Double Exposure

Publisher's Panel (3:15 to 4:15 p.m.) by Brick Books, Ekstasis Editions, Libros Libertad Publishing
Brick Books publishes poetry
Libros is now focusing on publishing translations
Ekstasis mission is to share the wealth of Quebec literature with English-speaking Canada.
The publishers discussed the challenge of making money. They all agreed they were committed to continuing their press regardless of profitability. 
-indie publishing (small press) offers the most opportunity for authors
-manuscripts that are accepted now will be published in 2016
-author readings are mainly done in bookstores

Guest Post: Cozy Cat Press Publishes Light Mysteries for Niche Market

Cozy Cat Press began business in 2010 with publication of its first two cozy mysteries––founder and publisher Patricia Rockwell’s “Sounds of Murder” and Diane Morlan’s “Too Dead to Dance.”  The small independent publishing company, is located in Aurora, Illinois, a Chicago suburb.  

Cozy Cat Press is devoted to the publication of “cozies” or light mysteries that focus more on characters and plot than on graphic violence or explicit sex.  The “cozy” has a long tradition, starting with Agatha Christie’s Miss Marple character, and continuing to the present-day with the television series “Murder She Wrote” starring Angela Lansbury.  Modern cozy fans are typically more interested in reading about amateur detectives and their exploits in solving crimes in their communities.  The genre has become quite popular recently with cozy mystery heroines (most cozy main characters are female) coming from the ranks of school teachers, librarians, shopkeepers, seamstresses, caterers, nurses, babysitters, hairdressers, and various other careers.  Cozies are generally filled with humor, romance, and lots of local color. 

At present, the company has over thirty authors from the United States and Canada in its catalogue with over fifty books published in total. 

Authors (veteran or novice) who are interested in submitting their work to Cozy Cat Press and readers interested in learning about Cozy Cat Press books, can check out the website at:  www.cozycatpress.com.

Here's a sampling from Cozy Cat Press' catalogue...

"Hollywood is in trouble and only one man can save it!

Obsessed actor Joshua Mclintock is not on the "A" list--his last role was playing bad breath in a mouthwash commercial. Assisting him as he struggles to the top is his agent, Robert Bigalow (aka, Biggie), who keeps him busy running to auditions.  Although he’s appeared in numerous films and stage productions, most of Joshua's roles have been dead bodies. But his attitude is unfailingly positive and he knows his big break is just around the corner. His life takes a strange turn, however, when he becomes the prime suspect in a murder case. Of course, any normal person would rush to clear his name. And Joshua would do just that if it weren’t for the fact that an audition beckons. Besides, he believes he can straighten out the misunderstanding by tracking down the real killer, himself.  As his investigation gets a little too close to the truth, his ex wife Randy is captured by a secret organization, and Joshua realizes that there are some things more important than career. He attempts to rescue her, not knowing the deadly consequences awaiting him and the rest of the world's actors.

Will Joshua be able to save his one true-love, Randy? Will he be remembered as the actor who played dead bodies, only to turn up dead himself?

Can he save Hollywood!"

 Retired librarian Carolina Pennsbury is quite content living in a retirement home.   She just wishes that her meal time tablemates felt as she did.  However, all seem to have their own complaints.  But those complaints are put on the back burner when one of the retirement home’s residents is stabbed to death in her apartment and the police arrest one of Carolina’s tablemates, Margie, for the murder.  Carolina, knowing her friend cannot possibly have committed such a deed, sets about to prove Margie’s innocence––a difficult feat for an elderly woman with a cane.  Knowing the real killer is probably still roaming the halls, Carolina uses her wits and her wit to investigate, and ultimately––after a fake fire alarm and a lengthy blackout––manages to ferret out the killer.  But clearing Margie and getting her out of jail is not the end of Carolina’s tasks.  She has work to do for all of her tablemates and she won’t quit until they are all happy.

Jeremiah Milk lived a life filled with emotional extremes. Amniotic band syndrome—a congenital condition—left his fingers and toes malformed. Ridiculed as a child, he became an adolescent hermit. As an adult, Jeremiah’s wounds healed when he landed a position as a park ranger and married a woman who loved him despite his physical appearance. But fate ripped his life to shreds when his wife and infant son died on the same night in separate calamities. Shortly thereafter, the tides turned once more as an act of Jeremiah’s ostensible benevolence translates into a financial boon. The book on Jeremiah’s life closes without mercy when he’s found murdered at Tripping Falls State Park.

Damon Lassard—Hollydale’s loveable civic leader, amateur sleuth, and Jeremiah’s neighbor—springs into action. He’s obstructed by a prickly lieutenant, but wriggles information unknown to the police from a colorful bevy of suspects. Aided by his best friend Rebecca and his reluctant ally Detective Gerry Sloman, Damon engineers a deep dive into Jeremiah’s past to solve the crime. Along the way, Damon strengthens his relationship with the breathtaking Bethany Krims, cracks a local horticultural mystery, and tries in vain to tame his wickedly sarcastic mother.

Join Damon Lassard in his latest adventure, Don’t Cry Over Killed Milk.