Our chauffeur, Clint had so much fun last week, he asked if he could come back for another edition of Cruisin’. When he came up with this quote, how could I say no?
Any man who can drive safely while kissing a pretty girl is simply not giving the kiss the attention it deserves. ~Albert Einstein
Keep your good news and hot blog spots coming to cruisin@romanceaustralia.com. Thank you to all who contribute to this post each week.
RWA Special Notices:
From Here To Eternity 
Romance Writers of Australia’s 20th Annual Conference
August 11-14, 2011
Hilton on the Park,
Melbourne
Claytons Conference:
When? 9am Friday August 12 to Sunday August 14
, 2011
Where? On Line
How? Via a Claytons Yahoo Group
If you haven’t already registered, email Anne Whitfield. Don’t miss out.
*~*
Cruisin’ the Blog
Where our Members are Blogging:
Anne wraps up her blog tour this week:
July 18 – Romance Novelists Assoc
July 11 – Book Boost
August 7 – Anne returns to blog at the Australian Romance Readers Assoc
July 2 – Weekly Overview including where the Darksiders have been this week
July 5 - Good News Day
July 7 – Eleni Konstantine – more creature talk
July 9 – Darklight On Peta Crake
July 4 – Guest Author: Shannon Curtis
July 7 – Who’s that girl? interview with Rachel Johns
July 9 – Conference Highlights 2: Workshops – How do you choose which ones to attend?
July 11 – *Mark your diary* – Guest Author: Nicole Murphy
July 3 – This week’s Sunday Smooch is Natalie Anderson’s DATING AND OTHER DANGERS. Natalie is offering a give-away.
July 4 – Emily is blogging about word count and if only it were that easy.
July 6 – Blog with Leah
July 8 - Robbie talks about the power of communication
Nicola Marsh is a guest on Nas Dean’s blog from 27th June to promote her upcoming release GIRL IN A VINTAGE DRESS. Visit the blog for giveaways.
Shona Husk has a free read up with another Inanu story THROW YOUR ARMS AROUND ME this week.
July 4 – New Releases with Julia Burns
July 6 – Face2Face – Jenn J McLeod fetures The Saturday Ladies Bridge Club
July 7 – I was a Conference Virgin – Fiona McArthur
July 8 - Day in the Writing Life of Elisabeth Rose – Suz Hamilton
July 10 – Crusin the Blog and Member News – Juanita Kees
Members Who Blog Regularly:
Blogs of Interest:
A few of the interesting links shared on ROMAUS this week:
- From Rebecca Skrabl – Dear Author with Bella Andre on Self-publishing
- From Kylie Griffin – Another Dear Author post with some hot news from the RWAmerica Conference, a Nathan Bransford post on first person vs third person and a thought provoking read on 5 Things I Learned by Failing
*~*
Member Contests and Give Aways:
The Lynne Wilding Meritorious Service Award
Nominations for this award closed on June 30th. Good luck to all the nominees. The judges will have a very difficult decision to make. RWA has an amazing community of members who are always willing to help and share information.
Member News:
- Nas Dean’s review of GIRL IN A VINTAGE DRESS by Nicola Marsh was taken up by the Fiji Times for their Sunday magazine. With only two national newspapers and close on two million people, the Fiji Times is the staple daily newspaper providing guaranteed readership.
- Jane Beckenham’s newest release SECRETS is number 1 on the publisher’s best seller list.
- Anne Whitfield has signed another contract with Knox Publishing for her House of Women novel TO TAKE HER PRIDE.
- Heather Brown is now officially the client of the L Perkins Agency.
- Emmie Dark is about to become a Harlequin Super Romance author with her debut novel due for release in March 2012.
What an awesome week! Lots of happy dancing on ROMAUS 
Congratulations to all our members on their achievements.
Contests for 2012:
Contest season will be open for entries as follows:
August 13 – September 10, 2011 – HM&B High Five
August 27 – September 23, 2011 – Selling Synopsis
September 9 – October 7, 2011 - STALI
October 28 – November 25, 2011 – Emerald Award
January 6 – January 27, 2012 – Little Gems
January 13 – February 10, 2012 – First Kiss
TBA - Valeri Parv Award
For more information visit the RWA Website.
Challenges:
Dates for 2011 BIAW
July 25 to 31
October 24 to 30
For more information contact Pam Collings pam@collings.id.au
5K in 30 days
Join Jenn J McLeod’s challenge to trim off 5k’s in 30 days in time for the Conference (and she’s not talking words. She’s talking kilos.) Add your *fun* name (Add Record) to the Database in the yahoo files and look out for Friday updates on ROMAUS. Good luck!
~**~
Upcoming Events:
July 7, Aug 4, Sept 1, Oct 6, Nov 3, Dec 1:
Authoring the Author ~ William Kostakis
When: 6.30pm–9.30pm
Where: Surry Hills Library, NSW
Cost: $460 M, $390 MC, $650 NM
FMI + Bookings: http://www.nswwc.org.au/?page_id=3&ptag=july
July 9:
Paving Your Path to Publication: getting organised, getting
strategies and getting out there ~ Phillipa Fioretti
When: 10:00am–1:00pm
Where: SA Writers’ Centre
Cost: $55 M, $77 NM
FMI + Bookings: http://sawriters.org.au/whats-on/events?task=view_event&event_id=24&view=category
July 16:
Editorial Expertise and the Publishing Process: What you
need to know ~ Alice Barker
When: 10:00am–4:00pm
Where: The Ballarat Mechanics’ Institute, Vic.
Cost: $60 M, $90 NM
FMI + Bookings: http://www.ballaratwriters.com/?page_id=1995
July 17:
Conquering Your Inner Critic ~ Edwina Shaw
When: 10:30am–4:30pm
Where: Queensland Writers’ Centre
Cost: $110 M, $100 MC, $160 NM
FMI + Bookings: Phone (07) 3842 9922 OR
http://www.qwc.asn.au/ProgramsProjects/BrisbaneProgram/Workshops.aspx
July 23:
Perfect Pitch: 10 Tips for Selling Your Writing to Agents,
Publishers & Editors ~ Peter McAllister
When: 1:00am–4:00pm
Where: Katharine Susannah Prichard Writers’ Centre, WA
Cost: $25 M, $40 NM
FMI + Bookings: email kspf@iinet.net.au OR (08) 9294 1872, http://kspf.iinet.net.au/events.html#jul
July 25:
Digital Publishing Talk: Retool and Remix: Get A Digital
Life! ~ David Reiter
When: 5.30pm
Where: Orange City Library, Byng Street, Orange, NSW
Cost: Free
FMI + Bookings: . Bookings on (02) 6393 8132, http://cwl.nsw.gov.au/readWrit.cfm
~**~
Online Events:
Announce Online Writing Classes - with Julia Rowe
- Julie Rowe, a 2006 Golden Heart double finalist, moderates the Announce Online Writing Classes list.
The Announce Online Writing Classes list notifies subscribers of around 25 to 35 workshops available each month. Most tutorials are sponsored by Romance Writers of America chapters, but on occasion, other reputable teachers are handpicked too.
Interested? Subscribe by sending an e-mail
- Imogen Smith from the Australian Writer’s Marketplace On-line Learning Centre has notified us of the following courses available:
Learn the art and business of writing with The Australian Writer’s Marketplace’s Online Learning Centre. Discover inspiring, flexible
online courses and learn at your own pace, wherever you are. Interact with fellow writers and get one-on-one feedback
from our tutors, who are all published authors and industry professionals. Check out the AWM Online Learning Centre website for course
details or give Queensland Writers Centre a call on (07) 3842 9922.
Writing Science
Fiction Short Story
Six-week course
Commencing 27 June
Cost $150
Join one of Australia’s most successful authors of science
fiction, fantasy and horror, Lee Battersby, for a journey through the fantastic
art of the science fiction short story. Over six weeks you will learn how to
build worlds, character, voice and mood in this challenging and rewarding form.
Pitching to Publishers with Tiana Templeman
Four-week courses
Commencing 11 July and 10 October 2011
Cost $150
This four-week course, starting 9 May, will show you how to
push all the right buttons to attract a publisher’s eye. Discover what
commissioning editors love and what they loathe.
From writing a captivating synopsis to deciding where to
send it, learn about all facets of the proposal process for a range of writing
including non-fiction, fiction, and children’s.
Introduction to Creative Writing
Six-week courses
Commencing 20 June, 18 July, 15 August and 17 October 2011.
Cost $130
There are a lot of us out there who write, scribbling ideas
on bus tickets, boarding passes and coffee shop serviettes, but who never seem
to turn these notes into anything. If you have been scribbling away quietly but
have never taken the leap to finish anything or call yourself a writer, clear a
few hours a week in your schedule to sit down and rediscover the art of
creative writing in this practice-based series of online activities and
resources.
Kim Wilkins’ Year of the Novel
Year-long courses
Commencing June and August 2011
Cost $445
Challenge yourself to complete the ultimate writing journey
in Kim Wilkins’ Year of the Novel under the tutelage of author of Dust,
Christine Bongers. Christine will guide you through this course created by Kim
Wilkins and help you get that manuscript finished in a year!
~**~
Have a wonderful week.
Juanita
Nas Dean
/ July 3, 2011Hi, thanks for the shout-out for ROMANCE BOOK PARADISE special guest Australian Author Nicola Marsh.
And yes, now both the daily newspapers are interested in carrying my reviews!
Lynne Marshall
/ July 4, 2011Wow, Nas, that is fantastic! Congratulations.
Juanita Kees
/ July 3, 2011That’s awesome, Nas!