California Writers Club, Sacramento Branch

Dedicated to Educating Writers of all Levels

  • Home
  • About CWC
    • Background
    • Benefits
    • Mission
    • Branch Leadership
    • Governing Documents
  • Join Us
  • Activities
    • Meetings
    • Contests
      • CWC Literary Review 2024
      • Literary Review 2024 Submissions
  • Newsletters
    • Branch Newsletters
  • Members
    • Members’ Books
  • Meeting Archive
  • Member Resources
    • Critique Groups
    • Book Launch
    • Beta Readers
    • Writers Conferences
    • External Resources
    • Internal Resources
    • Build A Website
  • Contact

Crystel Patterson – Inspired to Write: A Journey into Diverse Children’s Literature

CWC-Sacramento Network Meeting

Friday, April 5th from 9 am to 11 am at

CH Cafe & Grill 6215 Sunrise Blvd (just off Greenback)

Krystal Patterson
Crystel Patterson

Crystel Patterson shares her unexpected journey into diverse children’s literature, where inspiration ignites creativity and storytelling.

Award-winning author and mother, Crystel inspires children with her “Inspired to Be…” series, amplifying positive narratives of Black people and teaching valuable life lessons in an engaging way. Her stories, rooted in motherhood and empowerment, encourage children to dream big, celebrate differences, and make a positive impact.

Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 854 8155 1153
Passcode: 227171

Filed Under: Writers NetworkTagged With: california writers club, cwc sacramento, sacramento writers

Dena Kouremetis

Dena Kouremetis
Dena Kouremetis

When you want your words and characters to fly off the page and into people’s headphones, consider having a chat with audiobook voice actor Dena Kouremetis. 

A veteran copywriter, blogger, and ghostwriter by trade, she also maintains a blog on healthy aging for Psychology Today called (R)Aging with Grace. A few years back Kouremetis took her vocal talents and began narrating audiobooks. She enjoys voicing anything from self-help books to historical novels to murder mysteries to memoir and beyond. And while she gets work as a narrator for ACX/Audible, she adores working up-close and personal with local authors.  Feel free to call her at 415.235.2891 or visit her website at www.DenaKouremetis.com, which she swears is a great bathroom listening experience.

Making words come alive. That’s what floats audiobook narrator Dena Kouremetis’ boat. Whether it’s a memoir, a fantasy, or a novel replete with character accents and mood-altering scenes, she considers it her job to make an audio “movie” out of your written word.

Having been a professional writer for more than 25 years, Kouremetis is unique in the voice-acting world. Her name has appeared on articles and blogs ranging from the Sacramento Bee to Forbes to the New York Post to Psychology Today, where she maintains a light-hearted blog titled (R)aging with Grace — a Nora Ephron-esque column on aging well.

“Narrating audiobooks is an honor for me,” she says. “I have a special understanding of how authors wear their hearts on their sleeves. My job is to handle their words with both imagination and care.” Find a collection of Kouremetis’ colorful narration talents at DenaKouremetis.com.

Filed Under: Member Bio

Nida Spalding

Nida Spalding
Nida Spalding

Nida is a regular contributor to CAUpdate.com, an online magazine, with articles about her travels and life in the Philippines and the United States.

Nida currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Sacramento Youth Symphony (SYS). Her articles about SYS have been published in Valley Community News. She is a Distinguished Toastmaster and has served as District 39 Area Director and as President, Treasurer, Public Relations Officer and Secretary for different Toastmaster clubs. She is the Treasurer for the International Philippines Association.

Nida was born in Larena, a town in the enchanting and mystical island of Siquijor, Philippines.  She earned her bachelor’s degree in Mass Communication at Silliman University. As a reporter for the Weekly Sillimanian, the official student newspaper, she covered the office of the University President. She worked as a summer intern in DYLA in Cebu City. After college, she worked as a writer for the Tourist Research and Planning in Metro Manila, Philippines. In 1980, Nida migrated to Northern California. Before joining the California Highway Patrol (CHP) where she worked for 22 years, she worked for Verbatim Corporation and the U.S. Postal Service.  At CHP, Nida rose through the ranks and attained the position of Commander for the CHP’s Office of Equal Employment Opportunity. Before retiring, she accepted a promotion at the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation as a Program Manager then as Chief of their Office of Civil Rights.

Filed Under: Member Bio

Ann Saxton Reh

Ann Saxton Reh
Ann Saxton Reh

Ann Saxton Reh is an educator and award-winning author of mystery. Her novels See the Desert and Die, Meditating Murder, and forthcoming A Killing in Kasauli, grew out of her own adventures.

Aside from tornadoes in Kansas and a 9.2 earthquake in Alaska, Ann nearly drowned in a hurricane in Bermuda, lived in a squire’s manor house in rural England, survived a riot in Libya, rode polo ponies in India, worked illegally in Saudi Arabia, and wrote her Master’s thesis in a marble villa in Greece. Relationships among people of all cultures, servants to statesmen, fascinate her. Ann transports readers to the stormy bluffs of Mendocino, the burning desert of Arabia, or the forested hills of India to solve a mystery they’ll never forget.

Filed Under: Member Bio

Brooke Warner: Memoir Mojo – Tips for Writing a Memoir That Sells

Brooke Warner will be presenting at Cattlemens Restaurant

12409 Folsom Blvd, Rancho Cordova, CA 95742

on Sunday March 17th, 2024 from 12:00 pm to 3:30 pm

Memoir is a much-beloved genre, but it’s notably hard to sell to publishers. One of the reasons for that is because too many memoirs fall into the trap of being a story about what happened rather than the meaning that the memoirist infuses into events that shaped or changed their lives. In this session, Brooke Warner will cover three qualities of memoir that you’ll want to consider and understand if you want to write a story that will impact your readers’ lives. Covered in this session will be:

  • Your story’s universal relevance or resonance.
  • Storytelling (ie, “showing”) and scene-building.
  • Writing a book that holds deep meaning for your reader.

What attendees will learn:

  • How to write a meaningful memoir.
  • What publishers are looking for in a memoir.
  • Common mistakes memoirists make when they’re first starting out.
  • How to write in “scene” and be a good guide to your reader.
  • How to think about “why it matters” over “what happened” as you tell your story.

You can reserve your tickets here

Brooke Warner
Brooke Warner

Brooke Warner is publisher of She Writes Press and SparkPress, president of Warner Coaching Inc., and author  of Write On, Sisters!, Green-light Your Book, What’s Your Book?, and three books on memoir. Brooke is a TEDx speaker, weekly podcaster (of “Write-minded” with co-host Grant Faulkner of NaNoWriMo), and publishes a weekly newsletter, Writerly Things, on Substack at brookewarner.substack.com. Brooke is the former Executive Editor of Seal Press and writes a regular column for Publishers Weekly.


In addition, our very own Gloria Perrot-Dyer, will be holding an additional fundraising talk.

Historical Fiction:  The Marriage of Fact and Fancy

Gloria Jack London Award
Gloria Jack London Award

Gloria is a 2023 awardee of the Jack London Award, for her contributions to the California Writers Club, Sacramento Branch.

Gloria has published her first book in 2020 entitled Allensworth: Two Tales of Triumph. She will be sharing elements of the process that she used in conducting the extensive research necessary for writing this book.

Some of the areas she will cover are the following:

  • choosing a time period in history
  • authenticity in setting, plot, characters, dialogue and historical issues
  • how to conduct the needed research
  • authentic language of the time period
  • authentic clothing, transportation and necessities for daily living.
  • building a world in the historical context of the time period.

A discretionary club fundraising donation is requested and very much appreciated, $10 suggested.

Filed Under: Luncheon

  • « Previous Page
  • 1
  • …
  • 8
  • 9
  • 10
  • 11
  • 12
  • …
  • 23
  • Next Page »

Join the Club!

Click here to become a member of CWC-Sacramento.

"I have gained so much from my involvement in this club - support, connections, information and friendships. It's priceless!" - Club Member

2024 Membership Renewals

CWC Logo

Members find out how to renew. Information for prospective new members as well.

Facebook

Facebook

Meetup

Click here to  learn more.

Copyright © 2025