Tess Perez is currently an editor for From Sac literary magazine (www.fromsac.com), a literary journal she started with two friends from graduate school.  Topics for her presentation include: “How and Where To Submit,” “Writing and Revision,” and “Cover Letters and How To Promote Your Work.”

After studying at CSU Sacramento, Tess graduated with a BA in English and a Minor in Theater. She was an actor with Abandon Productions, a local theater company. She went back to school in
2009 and earned her MA in English with an emphasis in Creative Writing.

She published her first book, Pieces, in 2014. It is a collaborative project with several artists. The story plays around with the traditional tenets of a fairy tale and works to change them. Each book was hand made by her editor, publisher, Copilot Press, and by her. She has been an instructor and taught Literature and Film and Composition. She tutors reading and writing.

As for her personal projects, she is currently working on several short stories and a collaborative novel with another writer.
When she is not writing, you will find her out in nature – hiking, camping, backpacking or kayaking. She finds that nature calms her soul and opens her mind to create.

Read some of her writing at www.tess-perez.com

Frederick K. Foote, Jr. was born in Sacramento, California, and educated in Vienna, Virginia and Northern California. He is a veteran of the United States Air Force. He retired from the State of California in 2001 and from the Los Rios Community College District in 2010. He started writing short stories and poetry in 2013.

He has published over eighty stories and poems including literary, science fiction, fables, and horror genres. A collection of his short stories, For the Sake of Soul, was published in October 2015 by Blue Nile press. Another collection of short stories, Crossroads Encounters, is soon to be published by Choose the Sward Press.

To see a list of Frederick’s publications go to fkfoote.wordpress.com

Scott D. Roberts has recently taken the helm of 3L Publishing as president.

He is an awarding-winning author with his critically acclaimed thriller Vengeance is Now, which was published in 2013. After working on various 3L Publishing projects since 2012, Scott officially accepted a partnership as President of 3L Publishing effective in January 2015.

Scott brings years of experience working in the creative arts and publishing. He has already worked as editor, book coach and collaborator on numerous 3L Publishing projects, including the critically acclaimed and top-selling Dropped-Off Dog (A Mostly-True “Tail”) by Catherine Lagorio, 10 Powerful Women, and dozens of other custom published or private projects.

His own writing career has been impressive. He is the author of the award-winning novel, Vengeance Is Now (VIN), which is the first story in the Tate Holloway series. VIN placed as a finalist in the Indie Excellence Awards and was twice-named “Best in New Fiction” for 2013 by the critics. Roberts was also voted as one of the 50 Great Writers You Should Read by the Author’s Show.

He’s also the writer, producer, and co-director of the award-winning documentary, Gas Hole, narrated by Peter Gallagher and is preparing to film Gas Hole 2 in 2015. He has written over 50 screenplays and TV shows during a career that spans over 20 years and has had his projects optioned or developed by New Line, Warner Brothers, Paramount, MGM, EUE/Screen Gems, and Columbia. He is excited to release his second book Hidden Agenda in summer 2015 and looks forward to more stories involving the heroic but flawed character of Tate Holloway.

As 3L Publishing’s president and creative visionary, he will be expanding book trailer and video production, overseeing print and digital publishing (eBooks), developing and acquiring manuscripts for traditional publishing, and working on the expansion of the fiction catalog. Roberts is an excellent book coach and collaborator and looks forward to working even closer with the authors to make their dreams come true.

His website is scottdrobertsauthor.blogspot.com/

Michelle Gamble is an award-winning author with over 20 years in the publishing, public relations, and marketing business.

She has enjoyed a prosperous career working for a variety of industries as an editor, writer, publisher and marketing expert. Michelle Gamble founded MGR Consulting in 2006. She is a seasoned veteran of the communication business, with over 20 years’ experience in public relations, marketing and custom publishing. She began her career in 1988 working respectively for the California departments of Justice and Water Resources. In 1991, she joined California Computer News and eventually took over the role as publisher, working on strategic communication programs to increase the publication’s market presence and overall success. She then joined two new start-up companies called The Center for Digital Government and The Center for Digital Education where she served as executive editor and director of custom publications and developed an array of marketing and communication programs and services. After a brief position as director of strategic communications at a marketing agency, she left to form her own agency in 2006, which eventually led to the launch of 3L Publishing in summer of 2009.

Michelle is also a gifted public relations expert. She has enjoyed appearances and articles featuring 3L in Success Magazine, Sacramento Magazine, Business Journal, Redbook, Elle, About.com, ABC National News, Bloomberg, Blognation and numerous national media. Her clients works have been featured in Posh Caribbean, Daily Summit, Washington Post, About.com, Sacramento & Co., Good Day Sacramento, Business Journal, France Today, French Morning, Herald Nuevo, and dozens of other high-profile media outlets. She is also an accomplish writer and has been published both regionally and nationally in Converge, T.H.E. Journal, Engineering News Record, Telecommunications Week, Government Technology, Comstock’s, Sacramento Magazine, Access, and dozens of others.

She is a speaker and presenter and has done presentations at numerous conferences across the country. She is also a screenwriter and her movie Virtual Seduction aired on Showtime. Her book, Second Bloom: 10 Steps to Reinvent, Rejuvenate, and Realize a New Life in the Inspirational category, has been chosen as an Honorable Mention in the Writer’s Digest 17th Annual International Self-Published Book Awards. She has also written California Girl Chronicles, book one and two, Body in the Trunk and contributed to several other books as ghost writer.

On September 14th, our speaker will be David Congalton, an author, radio talk show host, and screenwriter who has been writing professionally since 1989.

Congalton sold his original screenplay, Authors Anonymous, to Hollywood in 2012, and it became a feature film comedy starring Kaley Cuoco, Chris Klein, Teri Polo, and the late Dennis Farina. The film, currently available on Netflix and DVD, is about a dysfunctional writing critique group that implodes when one member becomes an overnight literary success. Congalton’s second script, Seven Sisters, is now in development and slated to go into production in early 2016 with director Danny Leiner.

Congalton is also the host of a daily four-hour radio talk show in San Luis Obispo. Over the years, he has also been a newspaper columnist, a freelance magazine writer, and the author of two award-winning nonfiction books, as well as serving as the director of the Central Coast Writers Conference for 12 years.

His web site is davidcongalton.com.

On August 10th, our speaker will be Elisa Taylor, owner of World Less Traveled

Elisa was born in Grass Valley, California, in 1971. Her travels began at the age of two when her parents took her with them on a business trip/family vacation to the Grand Canyon. She was fortunate to be able to accompany them on many such trips to places like Hawaii, Georgia, Laguna Nigel/Disneyland, San Diego, Oregon, Yellowstone, Colorado, Orlando/Disney World, Alaska, and Australia. In high school she sang in a choir that traveled to Austria, Hungary, Poland, Russia, and Estonia. She has since been to other countries such as New Zealand, China, Ireland, Mexico, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Canada.

She loves to see new places and try new things, and she also loves to share those with others. She started her own travel agency in 2005 as a home-based business, so she could look after her family and be flexible for her clients. She offers cruises, tours, independent travel, weekend getaways, and theme-park vacations. She is an accredited Master Cruise Counselor and a graduate of the Disney College of Knowledge. She has Destination Specialist certifications in North America, Alaska, Hawaii, Caribbean, South Pacific, Australia, and European Culture and Heritage.

She opened World Less Traveled to help family and friends see the world and has specialized in Family Travel because she has experience with traveling with her parents, grandparents, brother, and husband and kids. She knows that it is important to have something for everyone on a vacation.

The bonds formed on a family vacation are like no other, and the memories are very sweet.

On July 13th, our speaker is one of our own: Westley Turner, past president of our club, will be discussing what a story is and some techniques to improve it.

Westley Turner enjoys editing and analysing the written word, where he focuses on helping others achieve their potential. Having been raised by two schoolteachers (his mother taught English, his father, music), he grew up understanding the importance of education and proper communication. “If you aren’t doing something else, read something,” was oft heard around his house, and cereal boxes were regularly passed around the breakfast table for close perusal.

His knowledge of grammar serves him well in the various critique groups he attends as he not only comments on manuscripts, but also guides writers in story development. He has also studied book formatting and layout, including front and back matter, so when your narrative is ready for print, he can give helpful hints there, too.

He expresses his creative side by escaping into the world of writing and is currently working on a series of books that take place in the same universe. The stories in those books began as bedtime tales told to his children, and as the children grew up, so did the stories.

Initially not knowing that writer groups actually existed, Westley happened upon SSWC many years ago and fell in with fellow writers, for a few years fulfilling the role of president of the club. Branching out to other writer groups in the area, he has served as a non-member judge for Northern California Publishers and Authors Books Awards for the last few years and has spoken at both the California Writers Club Friday meeting and the Gold Country Writers Wednesday meeting. His most recent speaking engagement was at the Conference on Creative Writing held on the UOP campus in Stockton, where he had been asked to speak on what he looks for in judging book contests.

The topic of his talk at SSWC is What is a Story? and How You Can Improve It. Westley hopes to share some insights into the structure of stories and mention some specific details that will help you make your story more engaging to your readers. There may also be some easy-to-remember tips on self-editing.

On June 8, our guest speaker is Corinne Litchfield, a social media manager, founder of Paper Bag Writers, and a contributing editor to Sacramento Magazine

“I’m Published, Now What?”

You wrote an amazing book and you just published it—or you’re close to publishing. But you’re a writer, not a marketer or publicist—how on earth will you promote AND still have time to write?
The good news is that there’s an easy way to figure out what you really need in order to promote your book, and you don’t necessarily need a lot of money—or time—to establish yourself online.

Social media consultant Corinne Litchfield specializes in working with authors of all experience levels on building their online presence. Join us on June 8 as Corinne discusses the 4 things you need to consider when building your online platform, whether or not you really need a blog, and the tools you can choose from to build a website and social media presence that works for you. Bring your questions!

Corinne Litchfield is a social media manager who works with authors, nonprofits and small businesses to create and maintain websites and social media accounts including Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest. She applies her experience as a publicist and journalist to coach clients on best practices in self-promotion and content creation. In addition to social media consulting, Litchfield is also the founder and editor in chief of Paper Bag Writers, an online literary project focused on curating fiction, nonfiction and poetry written on brown paper lunch bags. She is a contributing editor to Sacramento Magazine, has published short fiction and poetry, and is in the process of revising her first novel. www.corinnelitchfield.com