August Speaker/Chrissy (Clarissa) Willis

 Clarissa (Chrissy Willis) was the product of a minister and an actress. She has always had an active imagination and enjoys speaking and writing. She lived in nine states. She was a major corporation's senior vice president of publishing and was once arrested for horse theft

. As a child growing up in Little Rock, Arkansas, she wrote stories and got into trouble for a variety of mishaps, from the attempted murder of her brother, a crime she swears wasn’
t her fault, to robbing the collection plate at church. As an adult, she has provided workshops and keynote addresses in all 50 states and three foreign countries. She is the author of nineteen teacher resource books and four children’s books and is working on a memoir. In her spare time, she serves on the board for Ozark Creative Writers and Between the Pages.

JULY MEETING

 

The Bumber Shoots Writers Society will be speaking about Strength in numbers: Bringing creative people together to capitalize on the strengths of others.

Join us at McAlister's on W. Battlefield at 10:30  If staying for lunch, be sure and order ahead of time and have them deliver it to the writers group at 12:15.

 

May Speaker/Linda Apple - The Devil is in the Details

 

Born and raised in the south, Linda Apple

writes from her soul and speaks from her heart. Linda’s novels in her Moonlight Mississippi Series flow from her deep southern roots and the heritage instilled in her since childhood. Her fiction is influenced from the times spent with loved
ones, friends, or even total strangers. Memories of stories told over a table laden with food and yarns spun while sipping sweet iced tea under the shade of a Mimosa tree fuel her imagination.  Evening conversations on the front porch spoken over coffee, wine, perhaps something a little stronger or the comfortable silence shared while listening to the din of cicada and tree frog song in the thick, magnolia-perfumed air, all find a home in her books.

As a result of Linda’s respect for her heritage, she also writes nonfiction to help others to preserve theirs. Her books, Writing Life and Writing from Your Soul are focused on people who do not consider themselves writers. She wrote these books to be unintimidating by making the chapters short and easy to understand. They are also full of ideas and tips

 

April 13th Speaker/Marlon Hayes

 

Marlon S. Hayes is a writer, essayist, poet, publisher and novelist from Chicago, Illinois. He is also a full-time truck driver, travel expert, and weekend grill master.

His writing credits include magazines, anthologies, short story collections, blogs, and novels. He writes in most genres, and is constantly finding new ways to get his creations published, whether by doing it himself, or with traditional press
es.

Marlon is a strong believer in not putting all of one’s eggs in the same basket, and his talk will be full of the lessons he’s learned along the way. He will also discuss his evolution as a writer, sharing the tips and tricks every scribe should have in their toolbox. Fighting one’s own doubts and insecurities is a common problem and finding one’s fearlessness is the best solution.

His work can be found on Amazon, and he can be followed at Marlon’s Writings on Facebook and at marlonshayes

March Meeting

  Schyrlet Cameron- Schyrlet is half of the writing team CC Brown. CC Brown is the pseudonym adopted by the two sisters, Schyrlet Cameron and Kathy Brown. Growing up in the Ozarks their curiosity about the supernatural was sparked by their grandmother. As children, much of their time was spent on their grandparent’s farm, where she

always kept them entertained... tending the garden, feeding the chickens, milking the cows, and telling deliciously spooky late-night tales. Their fascination with ghosts and spirits from beyond the grave has not diminished over time. Paranormal thrillers by CC Brown include Ghosts Live Here, Ghosts of Perry House, Black Widow Society, and Wolf Stone. Schyrlet will speak about networking and researching your topic. In addition, she is also the co-owner of HomeGrown Books a network of authors who support each other through reviews and grass-roots marketing.

FEBRUARY IS OUR ANNUAL JANO PARTY FOR MEMBERS ONLY

 If you're a Sleuths' Ink member, you won't want to miss this fun annual event.

Our members have been striving to write 50,000 words during the month of January.  

We'll announce members' successes and award prizes at the February JANO party, however you MUST be a member in order to attend this fun event.

Check out the JANO page to see what it's all about.  Maybe you'll decide to join Sleuths' Ink and be eligible to participate in 2025.

JANUARY/JANO

 

JANO 2024

 

About JANO

During January, 2010, Sleuths’ Ink held it’s first-ever JANO challenge. Modeled after the popular National Novel Writing Month in November, JANO begins in, you guessed it, January.

Participants are challenged to write a 50,000-word novel during the month of January. Join us and kick off the new year with a novel.

Two good reasons we picked January: 

1) You get an extra day to write. To complete 50,000 words during January, you only need to write 1,613 words a day.

2) The holidays are over. Winter has set in. What better way to spend a long, dreary month than writing a novel?

JOIN US FOR JANO 2024!

Rules: There may be no actual writing on your JANO Novel until January 1, but you may plot your novel, create character sketches, and do research before January 1. On that date, begin writing like mad (no editing) the entire month in order to reach the 50,000-word goal.   

You must be a paid member of Sleuths' Ink by February 1st to qualify for prizes and attend the party. 

THE CELEBRATION PARTY: THERE WILL BE NO REGULAR MEETING IN FEBRUARY. Instead we'll have our annual JANO PARTY.  
MEMBERS ATTENDING WILL BE REQUIRED TO PAY $10 TOWARD THEIR MEAL. SLEUTHS' INK WILL FOOT THE BILL FOR THE REMAINDER.  

The PARTY WILL BE HELD AT THE PASTA EXPRESS AT 3025 W. REPUBLIC ROAD FEBRUARY 10, 2024 

Prizes will be awarded for: 

$50 prize for the most words over 50,000 words

All others who reach at least 50,000 words will be entered into a drawing where two more people will win $25 prizes. 

Best 100-word blurb (anything over will be cut)  $25

Best 30-second Elevator Pitch  - $15 prize

Best Hook: 1st sentence of first chapter- (Anything over one sentence will be cut) $10

Various doorprizes during the party.