Writing Out of the Wilderness - Speaking to the Writers' Guild of Texas

I was invited to speak to the Writers' Guild of Texas at the Richardson Public Library next Monday night (5/18) at 7:00pm. My talk is titled Writing out of the Wilderness: How to Survive Rejection and Forge a Path to Publication. My talk should last about an hour and is free and open to the public. In a John Steinbeck letter from 1953, republished in The New York Times, he wrote:

The process of acceptance-rejection is not unlike the lone dance of the fiddler crab. A man writes a book - why? Because he wants to...Now the purpose of a book I suppose is to amuse, interest, instruct but its warmer purpose is just to associate with the reader. You use symbols he can understand so that the two of you can be together. The circle is not closed until the trinity is present - the writer, the book, and the reader.

I'll be talking about how we as writers can close that circle: you, your book, and your reader. And you can find more information about my talk at local NPR-Affiliate KERA's Art&Seek Website, which I'm thrilled is promoting the event. So if you’re in the Dallas area next Monday night and hankering for a talk about writing, I’d love to see you!

Book Launch & Reading 10/29 @ The Wild Detectives

The Wild Detectives. Read. Drink. Laugh. Buy a book(s).

I'll be celebrating the release of my book of short tales (Families Among Us) with a book launch and reading at The Wild Detectives bookstore, located in the Bishop Arts District of Oak Cliff on Wednesday, October 29th at 7pm.

I hope you'll join me for what I think will be a very fun evening. I've read in Vermont, New York City, Iowa City, and Los Angeles, and this will be my first reading in Texas, and I'd love for you all to be there for this special evening.

If you haven't yet read about The Wild Detectives, as featured in the New York Times, it is a beautiful new independent bookstore that is part coffee shop, part bar, and 100% awesome. It is a wonderful place to launch a book, and I'm lucky to have such wonderful hosts. KERA, the local NPR affiliate in Dallas, has thrown their Art & Seek support behind the evening as well.

Please let me know if you think you can make it. The Wild Detectives would appreciate an estimated head count.

For directions and more information, you can find The Wild Detectives on Yelp. I can't wait to talk with you and share a drink on October 29th! Thank you so much for all of your love and support.

Photo from the evening:

Thank you to everyone who came out!