Bernard Wozny, Author at California Writers Club, Sacramento Branch

Jim Guigli

Jim Guigli began writing with single sentence entries for the 2005-2006 Bulwer- Lytton Fiction Contest. From thousands, one of Jim’s 63 entries was selected as the Grand Prize winner. It was about a beautiful, mysterious woman visiting the small office of an impoverished private detective, Bart Lasiter. Benefits from winning the Contest included world-wide notice, print, radio, and TV interviews.
Though the Contest is about writing a bad opening sentence to a non-existent novel, people kept asking, “What about the rest of the book? What happens to Bart Lasiter?”
After hearing those question too many times, Jim took that one sentence and created the Old Town Sacramento fictional world of Bart Lasiter, and Lasiter
Investigations. Since then, Jim has published a Kindle novelette, Bad News for a Ghost, and published flash fiction, short stories, and a novel, Under the Black Flag – Piracy Is Not a Victimless Crime. Many of these stories have won awards.
Jim lives nearby in Carmichael with his wife, Fran, and a female Yellow Labrador
Retriever.

Michele Drier – Adding tension to your work

Keep readers engaged and turning the pages with tension

CWC-Sacramento Network Meeting

Friday, December 6th from 9 am to 11 am at

Denny’s Restaurant, 8841 Greenback Lane, Orangevale, CA, 95662

Denny’s has a nice private room where we can close the doors and keep the noise to ourselves.

No matter the genre, tension is the action element that keeps readers engaged and turning the pages of your book.

What attendees will learn from this presentation:

Types of tension
Adding them to your work
Pacing tension
Internal vs. external In dialogue

Michele Drier is a fifth generation Californian. Her newspaper career included stints at the San Jose Mercury-News and McClatchy. She’s the past president of Guppies chapter of SinC, past president of Capitol Crimes, currently is the president of the NorCal chapter, and co-chaired Bouchercon 2020.

Her 18 books include mysteries and paranormal romance.

You can find her on www.micheledrier.me

Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 817 3734 0307
Passcode: 227171

Shawn Langwell: Demystifying Book Marketing for Self-Published Authors

CWC-Sacramento Network Meeting

Saturday, November 23rd, from 12:30 pm to 2:30 pm at

Arcade Library, 2443 Marconi Ave, Sacramento, CA 95821

Meetings are free.

Join us Sat Nov 23 for fun, support, and exchange of information on publishing paths and book marketing, 12:30-2:30 p.m., at the monthly membership meeting at the Arcade Library. The meeting will also be held on Zoom. Bring books you have published to display. Please come prepared to share a bird’s eye view of the following: did you use an alpha or beta reader; did you employ a developmental, line, or copy editor; did you use an agent and how did you engage him or her; how did you chose a publisher; and what was the duration of time draft to published product.

Meetings are free to the community. We appreciate members’ help with our Speaker’s Fund in lieu of a meeting fee. Thank you for showing your support of the club! A donation box will be on a side table.

Demystifying Book Marketing for Self-Published Authors.

Learn Expert Marketing Tips to Remove the Fear and Anxiety of Self-Promotion and a 5-Step Process to Promote Your Books Like a Pro.

You will learn:

The 5 key elements to improve visibility, ranking, and potential profits for your books.
Practical & proven confidence-building tips to help you become a better self-promoter.
Simple strategies to incorporate marketing into your craft to create page-turning books and a following of raving fans.

Shawn Langwell is the Immediate Past President of The California Writers Club (CWC), Redwood Writers. Past president of Toastmasters of Petaluma, an inspirational author, speaker, confidence coach, business consultant, and marketing expert.

Shawn is the author of four books:

Beyond Recovery, Ten Seconds of Boldness, as well as the eponymous companion workbook, and Today’s the Day. He is also the host of Dare to Be Great, Dare to Be You Podcast.

Join on Zoom

Meeting ID: 861 3069 0111

Passcode: 662637

Sacramento Book Festival 2025

The Sacramento Branch of the California Writers Club will once again be holding a book festival in Sacramento, at the Shepard Garden Arts Center, 3330 McKinley Blvd, Sacramento, CA 95816, next to McKinley Park.

Saturday, May 31, 2025, 10am to 4pm.

For the second year running, Sacramento will have its very own book festival. The California Writers Club is excited to continue this important literary event in Sacramento. We intend to develop this into an annual Sacramento Capital Experience.

Our local Sacramento-area authors are the heart of this festival. The Sacramento Book Festival is a great way meet them, find out all about their work, and grab some signed copies. We’ll have everything from rockets to romance, from cookbooks to children’s stories. Non-fiction to inspire your working lives.

Remember, if you are touched by an author’s writing, send feedback to them online. Visit their website and send them an email. Authors are not just paperback writers; they are people who love to interact with their audience.

We’ll also have a series of workshops for aspiring writers, wo will also be able to meet members of the California Writers Club for gain guidance on how to develop their art. We will also have author readings, where you can listen to their stories and poetry.

If you want to apply for a table, please follow the instructions here. The venue is indoors so you will not need an awning. Tables and chairs will also be provided by the venue.

We are looking to have food trucks outside, if you wish to bring your own picnic, there is plenty of outdoor space in the surrounding park.

We are reserving space in the venue where we propose to host speakers and mini workshops. We will post the full schedule here when it is finalized. We are proud to have James Rollins as our keynote speaker.

More information to follow shortly.

James Auld – Lessons from the Grind

Perseverance and Hacks for Aspiring Authors

CWC-Sacramento Network Meeting

Friday, November 1st from 9 am to 11 am at

Denny’s Restaurant, 8841 Greenback Lane, Orangevale, CA, 95662

Please take note of our new FRIDAY location!

Denny’s has a nice private room where we can close the doors and keep the noise to ourselves.

Writing and self-publishing two full-length novels has taught me valuable lessons and solid habits that I’ll share with you!

What attendees will learn from this presentation:

The habits that helped me write a 600+ page novel in 4 months, twice.
Gain an edge by harnessing AI (just NEVER for directly writing your book!).
Publishing your book 1: Author and book branding, manuscript writing and formatting, cover design.
Publishing your book 2: Uploading to KDP and IngramSpark, testing your eBooks, ordering author proofs and copies.
Publishing your book 3: The wonders of running targeted Facebook ads.

James Auld has written the dark urban fantasy series, Invasion: Hell. Book one, Final Remains: Dawn of the Knights Errant, and book two, Infernal Remains: Rise of the Tormentors, have garnered positive reviews and enthusiastic readers. Auld, who lives in Elk Grove, California, splits his time between writing his novels and providing publishing services to outside authors.

Join Zoom Meeting
Meeting ID: 817 3734 0307
Passcode: 227171