August 23rd with Special Guest Author PATRICIA RUSHFORD

Novelists & Writers: We are blessed to welcome Patricia Rushford to Portland ACFW on August 23rd. Pat will present a workshop on Story Openings and why they matter. Bring a sample of the first line and first paragraph of your current work in progress and get come away with valuable tips for writing a captivating beginning to your novel. Come around 6:30 pm to socialize and snack. The meeting begins at 7 pm. Bring a friend!

Internationally known author, speaker and teacher, Patricia H. Rushford has book sales totaling over a million copies. She has written over fifty books, including, What Kids Need Most in a Mom and Have You Hugged Your Teenager Today?

She has also written five mystery series three for adults and two for children. Her current projects include writing a mystery for the Guidepost series, Mystery and the Minister’s Wife, and is working on her second book in the medical series, Hope Haven. In addition, she is currently under contract with Summerside Press for a romantic suspense, Strangers in the Night.

Patricia was nominated for an Edgar by Mystery Writers of America, received the Silver Angel for excellence in media and has received a number of other prestigious awards. Patricia has a degree in nursing and holds a Master's Degree in Counseling. In addition, she conducts writer's workshops for adults and children and served as director of the Oregon Christian Writer’s Summer Conference from 2005 through 2010.

In addition to writing, Patricia loves arts and crafts. She is an avid quilter and knitter and works in a number of other crafting areas such as drawing and watercolor. She is currently the Chairperson of Charity Quilts for Clark County
Quilting. Patricia is enthusiastic, loves people, and enjoys teaching and encouraging writers.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

Member News–Oregon Author Bonnie Leon, who was scheduled to be with Portland ACFW this month, is hospitalized with severe back trouble. Please be in prayer for Bonnie! Visit Bonnie's Page on Facebook.

=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=+=

Don't forget - we're doing a beach house drawing again this year. Each ACFW Portland Chapter member will be eligible to win a weekend Beach retreat at Lincoln City. The winner will be drawn at the end of the calendar year (at our last meeting of the year.)

How do you win this stay in a four bedroom beach house with a view? Everyone who attends any given meeting will receive an entry slip. Also, everyone who brings a snack or brings a guest will receive an entry. If your guest becomes a member of the chapter, both will receive an entry. Whenever you buy a book from our used book fund-raiser, you will earn a chance as well. So, the more you attend, bring snacks or friends, and buy books, the more chances you have to win the stay in Lincoln City!

More information about the raffle and the beach house will be available at the meeting.

VANCOUVER CHURCH OF CHRIST - 9019 NE 86th Street, Vancouver, WA 98662


View Larger Map

Directions:
From I-205 North, take exit 32 (toward Battleground)
East on NE Padden Parkway
North on NE 94th Ave
West on NE 86th St

August 23rd with Special Guest Author BONNIE LEON

Northwest writers: Join us Monday, August 23rd at 6:30pm for a fun, info packed evening. Our guest speaker will be Bonnie Leon. Her presentation: Opening Lines - Why do they matter? Learn how you can write a captivating beginning to your novel.

Bonnie Leon is the author of seventeen novels and counting. Her latest book, Touching Clouds, is the first in her new Alaskan Skies Series.

More about Touching Clouds: Kate Evans is an adventurous and independent young woman with a pioneering spirit. She pilots a mail-delivery plane in the forbidding Alaskan wilderness, the lone woman in a male profession. But even that seems easy compared to finding true love. She likes a fellow pilot and would even consider marrying him--if it weren't for Paul, a mysterious man on her mail route with a gentle spirit and a past to hide. Can Kate break through the walls Paul has put up around his heart? And will her quest for adventure be her demise? Book 1 in the Alaskan Skies series, Touching the Clouds will draw readers in with raw emotion and suspense, all against the stunning backdrop of the Alaskan wilds.

Be sure to check out this book and the other books in Bonnie’s collection of works.

About Bonnie: Bonnie Leon dabbled in writing for many years but never set it in a place of priority until an accident in 1991 left her unable to work at her job. She is now the author of several historical fiction series, including the Sydney Cove series, Queensland Chronicles, the Matanuska series, the Sowers Trilogy, and the Northern Lights series. She also stays busy teaching women’s Bible studies, speaking, and teaching at writing seminars and women’s gatherings. Bonnie and
her husband, Greg, live in Southern Oregon. They have three grown children and four grandchildren.

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *


Please come around 6:30 pm to socialize and snack. The meeting begins at 7 pm.

Don't forget!! We're doing a beach house drawing again this year. Each ACFW Portland Chapter member will be eligible to win a weekend Beach retreat at Lincoln City. The winner will be drawn at the end of the calendar year (at our last meeting of the year.)

How do you win this stay in a four bedroom beach house with a view? Everyone who attends any given meeting will receive an entry slip. Also, everyone who brings a snack or brings a guest will receive an entry. If your guest becomes a member of the chapter, both will receive an entry. Whenever you buy a book from our used book fund-raiser, you will earn a chance as well. So, the
more you attend, bring snacks or friends, and buy books, the more chances you have to win the stay in Lincoln City!

More information about the raffle and the beach house will be available at the meeting.

VANCOUVER CHURCH OF CHRIST - 9019 NE 86th Street, Vancouver, WA 98662
Directions:
From I-205 North, take exit 32 (toward Battleground)
East on NE Padden Parkway
North on NE 94th Ave
West on NE 86th St

Monday, June 14 with MIRALEE FERRELL

The next meeting of the ACFW Portland Chapter will be held Monday, June 14. Our guest speaker will be our own Chapter President, Miralee Ferrell.

Miralee's presentation will center around her writing journey, finding an agent, and marketing. It will be a relaxed evening with plenty of opportunity to ask questions.

Miralee serves as president of the Portland, Oregon, chapter of American Christian Fiction Writers and belongs to a number of writer’s groups. She also speaks at women’s groups, libraries, and churches about her writing journey. When she started writing fiction Miralee believed that she’d always stay with women’s contemporary, but has since branched out to historical romance. Exploring family and marriage issues, The Other Daughter follows a family of four who receive a shock in the form of a 13-year-old girl who lands on their doorstep, claiming to be the daughter of the husband/father of the family—a girl they didn’t know existed. Finding Jeena features a secondary character from the first book and explores socioeconomic issues through a single woman’s sudden job-loss and ensuing struggle for survival. She’s working on her third historical romance with Summerside Press in their Love Finds You series, set in Tombstone, Arizona.

All the Love Finds You books are stand-alone novels, and take place in a real town in America. Miralee’s first two are set in 1877, Love Finds You in Last Chance, CA, and 1902, Love Finds You in Bridal Veil, Oregon. Each has a suspense thread as well as romance. Miralee and her husband Allen have been married 36 yrs. They live on 11 acres in the beautiful Columbia River Gorge in southern Washington State, where they love to garden, play with their dogs, take walks, and go sailing. Miralee also rides her horse on the wooded trails near their home with her grown daughter who lives nearby.

Find out more about Miralee and her books on Facebook and her FB Fan page and visit her website.


Please come around 6:30 pm to socialize and snack. Miralee will speak at 7 pm.

Don't forget the wonderful "twist" to our meetings. Each ACFW Portland Chapter member will be eligible to win a weekend Beach retreat at Lincoln City. The winner will be drawn at the end of the calendar year (our last meeting of the year.)

How do you win this stay in a four bedroom beach house with a view? Everyone who attends any given meeting will receive a slip of paper to enter. Also, everyone who brings a snack will receive an entry slip. Whenever you buy a book from our used book fund-raiser, bring a friend, or you or your friend joins our chapter, you will earn a chance as well. So, the more you attend, bring snacks, bring friends, and buy books, the more chances you have to win the stay in Lincoln City!

More information about the raffle and the beach house will be available at the meeting.

DIRECTIONS TO VANCOUVER CHURCH OF CHRIST:
To get to the church, follow I-205 to the Padden Parkway exit #32 and go east on Padden. Turn left at the 94th Ave light, then take the first left and turn left again into the church parking lot.

April 26: Strategic Planning for Novelists with RANDY INGERMANSON

Monday, April 26th at 6:30pm: Portland Christian Writers & Portland ACFW is pleased to introduce a new workshop from Randy Ingermanson on Strategic Planning for Novelists. If you write fiction for publication, you won't want to miss this!

Strategic Planning for Novelists

How's that fiction writing career of yours going? These are tough times for writers. There's more on our plate than ever. Publishers and agents expect us to be brilliant writers, dazzling self-editors, and sexy self-promoters. It's darned hard to get it all done. What's a writer to do?

Get strategic!

You can't possibly get it all done, until you get a handle on what "it" is and make a plan to do "it." I'll walk you through five simple steps to do exactly that. If you do all five of these steps, you'll get an amazing amount done this year.

+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - +
A little about Randy:

Randy Ingermanson was both the class clown and the class nerd. He is the author of six novels and has won numerous awards for his writing, including two Christy awards. Randy serves on the ACFW Advisory Board, holds a Ph.D. in theoretical physics, and is known around the world as "the Snowflake Guy" in honor of his widely used method of designing a novel. He is also CEO of Ingermanson Communications, a small publishing company. His most recent book is WRITING FICTION FOR DUMMIES, published by John Wiley, Inc.

+ - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - + - +

Leave a comment and let us know if you plan to attend. Guests of Portland ACFW are welcome to visit twice before deciding to join the chapter. Cost is $10 per year for ACFW members. Join us!

From the desk of our Vice Prez:

And don't forget--we're continuing the Beach House Getaway Drawing "twist" to our meetings. Each ACFW Portland Chapter member will be eligible to win a weekend Beach retreat at Lincoln City. The winner will be drawn at the end of the year.

How do you win this stay in a four bedroom beach house with a view? Everyone who attends any given meeting will recieve a slip of paper to enter. Also, everyone who brings a snack will receive an entry slip. Whenever you buy a book from our used book fund-raiser or bring a guest, you will earn a chance as well. So, the more you attend, bring snacks or a guest, and buy books, the more chances you have to win the stay in Lincoln City!

More information about the raffle and the beach house will be available at the meeting.

Also: Please let me know if you can bring snacks or beverages! And remember--attendance, donating snacks, bringing a guest, and buying a book each gives you an extra chance to pick up entries for the Beach House Weekend Getaway Drawing!

DIRECTIONS TO VANCOUVER CHURCH OF CHRIST:
I-205 to the Padden Parkway exit
Go east on Padden. Turn left at the 94th Ave light
Take the first left and turn left again into the church parking lot.

Monday, February 22: Meet JUDY GANN

Drive-by Signings & Other Adventures of a Reluctant Marketer


Publishers expect authors to take an active role in promoting their books. But what if the thought of “book promotion” makes you break out in a sweat? Join a reformed reluctant marketer as we explore the unique challenges of marketing fiction, how to select the marketing avenues that best fit your personality and gifts (you can’t do it all!), as well as practical and relatively painless ways to connect with readers.



A librarian for over twenty-five years, Judy Gann selects Christian fiction for a large library system in Washington State. Although once a reluctant marketer, she conducted “drive-by” book signings in over 135 bookstores in thirteen states to promote her book The God of All Comfort: Devotions of Hope for Those Who Chronically Suffer (AMG Publishers). When she isn’t writing, speaking, or playing matchmaker for books and readers, Judy enjoys cheering the Seattle Mariners, collecting children’s books, and taking long walks—even in the rain. Visit her web site at http://www.judygann.com/

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And don't forget--we're continuing the wonderful Beach House Getaway Drawing "twist" to our meetings. Each ACFW Portland Chapter member will be eligible to win a weekend Beach retreat at Lincoln City. The winner will be drawn at the end of the calendar year (our last meeting of the year.)

How do you win this stay in a four bedroom beach house with a view? Everyone who attends any given meeting will recieve a slip of paper to enter. Also, everyone who brings a snack will receive an entry slip. Whenever you buy a book from our used book fund-raiser or bring a guest, you will earn a chance as well. So, the more you attend, bring snacks or a guest, and buy books,
the more chances you have to win the stay in Lincoln City!

More information about the raffle and the beach house will be available at the meeting.

That brings me to snacks. Who is willing to bring SNACKS for the February meeting? Let me know if you can help, and what you plan to bring. Thank you!

Also, I believe that it's time to pay the chapter DUES. Please come prepared to give $10 cash or check (payable to PORTLAND ACFW) to Camille.


DIRECTIONS TO VANCOUVER CHURCH OF CHRIST:
To get to the church, follow I-205 to the Padden Parkway exit and go east on Padden. Turn left at the 94th Ave light, then take the first left and turn left again into the church parking lot.


Please let us know if you can bring snacks or beverages! And remember--Attendance, donating snacks, bringing a guest, and buying a book each gives you an extra chance to pick up entries for the Beach House Weekend Getaway Drawing.