California Writers Club, Sacramento Branch

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Media to the Max – March 2015

Media to the Max for Authors
Poise, Not Panic

Featured Panel on Successfully Working with the Media

Saturday, March 21, 2015 11:00 AM-1:00 PM

krista-minardKrista Minard has been editor of Sacramento magazine since 1994. She oversees editorial content for this glossy lifestyle magazine covering Sacramento, Placer, El Dorado and Yolo counties. Minard also manages editorial content for Our Wedding, a magazine published twice a year for engaged couples planning a local wedding. She also works on her company’s custom publications (Serrano magazine) and websites. Working with a team of editors, writers and designers, she sees stories from conception to ship-out. She lives in Folsom with her husband, two daughters, a dog and three cats; she also volunteers with the nonprofit 916 Ink, promoting literacy by turning kids into published authors.

Jen Picard

Jen Picard’s love affair with radio began while a student at Humboldt State. Her show on the student-run station KRFH led to an internship in Yuba City. There she served as weekend and afternoon news anchor. After a six-year detour into newspapers, where she served as Entertainment Editor and wrote a weekly pop-culture column, she found her way back radio. A regular listener of Cap Public Radio’s Insight, she jumped at the chance to join the team as assistant producer in 2006. Soon she was promoted to senior producer. She oversees the day-to-day operations of the daily show. Picard lives with her husband and daughter and happily discusses the merits of public radio with anyone who will listen.

Cindy SampleCindy Sample’s book launch parties are the talk of the town (and the writing community). Recent events include a Dying for a Daiquiri luau launch party held at California Backyard and a Dying for a Dude hoedown at Toby Keith’s. More than 250 people partied and purchased personalized books. Many remember her ballroom dancing at an earlier book launch. Sample is a former CEO who retired to pursue her dream to write. A master marketer as well as a writer, Sample has gracefully edged her way into journalists’ hearts and copy. A 2015 Lefty Award Finalist Best Humorous Mystery, Sample is also the author of Dying for a Date and Dying for a Dance.

Bill SessaThroughout a respected 30-year career, Bill Sessa has been on both sides of the media, asking and answering tough questions. As press secretary and senior executive in state government, he has managed high profile communications and mass media programs throughout California and internationally, answering reporters’ questions for numerous agencies and has handled political issues in the Capitol. A former reporter, Sessa is an award-winning freelance writer, specializing in business, automotive and motorsports topics.  He contributes to Comstocks and other magazines. His work also appears in newspapers such as the Napa Valley Register and Petaluma Argus-Courier newspapers.

Luncheon Information

  • Monthly Luncheons are open to the public
  • Cost is $14 for members, $16 for nonmembers
  • The meeting fee includes lunch and beverage
  • Cattlemens Restaurant, 12409 Folsom Blvd., Rancho Cordova, CA

The restaurant is located just east of Hazel Ave. at the northeast end of the Nimbus Winery complex along Highway 50. Cattlemens offers CWC a spacious meeting room with free WiFi, quality AV equipment, free off street parking and excellent food.


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Filed Under: LuncheonTagged With: bill sessa, california writers club, cindy sample, cwc sacramento, jen picard, krista minard, media, monthly meeting, sacramento writers, sacramento writers club, writers club, writing group

Cindy Sample — The Pothole-Filled Path to Publication

Friday, November 7, 2014,  9:00 a.m. – 11 a.m.

Cindy SampleThe California Writers Club, Sacramento Branch’s Writers Network presents Cindy Sample, the national bestselling and award-winning author of the Laurel McKay Mysteries. She is a former mortgage banking CEO who decided that plotting murder was more entertaining than plodding through paperwork. She retired to follow her lifelong dream of becoming a mystery author.

Her first humorous romantic mystery, Dying for a Date, was released in 2010. The sequel, Dying for a Dance, was a finalist for the 2012 LEFTY award for best humorous mystery and winner of the 2011 NCPA award for Best Fiction. Dying for a Daiquiri released in October 2013 was a finalist for the 2014 Silver Falchion Award for Best Traditional Mystery and a 2014 LEFTY award finalist for best humorous mystery. Dying for a Dude is scheduled for release on November 1, 2014.

Join Cindy Sample as she discusses some of the promotional techniques that have led to her becoming a national bestselling author. She will share creative marketing strategies, unique promotional opportunities and indie publishing tips that can lead to greater discoverability and killer book sales.

“Two of my books hit the top 100 Amazon bestseller list and Daiquiri hit the top 10 on Barnes & Noble Nook Books,” says Sample. “If I can do it, anyone can!”

The public is invited. CWC membership not required.

Writers Network is held the first Friday of every month at the International House of Pancakes (IHOP), 2216 Sunrise Blvd., Rancho Cordova (just north of Highway 50) starting at 9 AM. Meetings are free. Attendees pay for their own breakfast.  Get map

Questions? Contact Margie Yee Webb.

Members are urged to invite their writer friends to attend these sessions. CWC membership is not required. They may also want to consider joining CWC to enjoy the benefits of mixing with many experienced writers willing to share what they know.

Filed Under: Writers NetworkTagged With: california writers club, cindy sample, cwc sacramento, dying for a daiquiri, dying for a dance, dying for a date, dying for a dude, laurel mckay mysteries, sacramento writers, writer meetings, writers club

Luncheon Feb. 2012: Award-winning mystery author Cindy Sample

Saturday, February 18th, 2012 11:00 AM-1:00 PM, Tokyo Buffet, 7217 Greenback Ln, Citrus Heights, CA. DETAILS

Speaker: Cindy Sample, award-winning mystery author

Topic:  “The pothole-filled path to publication and promotion”

February’s luncheon meeting speaker is Cindy Sample, author of Dying for a Dance and Dying for a Date. As her titles imply, her books are mysteries with a touch of romance and much humor. In Dying for a Dance, lead-footed Laurel gets talked into learning a choreographed foxtrot routine for her best friend’s wedding. After tripping her instructor and crashing into a pair of dance pros, Laurel discovers ballroom dancing can be dangerous. When she stumbles over the body of a dance instructor, she realizes it can also be deadly.

The title of Cindy’s talk is “The pothole-filled path to publication and promotion.”
“I’m a marketing nut, so I thought I’d discuss promotion and what it takes to sell books these days.” She will also address the difficulties of crossing genres; in her case, mixing mystery with romance and humor. She says publishers don’t always know what to do with those books. “I figure I’ve done almost everything you can on the way to getting published,” she said. “People are always interested in other author’s journeys, especially when they are with a traditional publisher, but I’m looking at other options going forward.”

Cindy is a former columnist for the Gold River Community Newspaper, and past president of the Sacramento Chapter of Sisters in Crime. She is co-chair of the Left Coast Crime Convention, which will be held at the Sacramento Sheraton Grand Hotel March 29 to April 1, 2012; www.leftcoastcrime.org/2012.

For more on Cindy, visit: www.cindysamplebooks.com.

Monthly luncheon is open to the public. Cost is $12 for members, $14 for nonmembers.

Filed Under: LuncheonTagged With: california writers club, cindy sample, dying for a dance, left coast crime, mystery writer, sisters in crime

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