Mystic Ink Publishing Voices of the Masters Series - Santa Barbara Writers Conference 2023 - Five Genres Panel
Mystic Ink, Publisher of Spiritual, Shamanic, Transcendent Works, and Phantastic FictionShow Notes
Panel moderator SBWC faculty member Norm Thoeming (aka August Norman) is author of two literary thrillers and mysteries, Come and Get Me and Sins of the Mother. Barnaby Conrad III, is author of Jacques Villeglé and the Streets of Paris. His other books are Absinthe: History in a Bottle, Ghost Hunting in Montana, and The Martini. He’s also written monographs on American artists Richard Diebenkorn, John Register, and Mark Stock. He served as senior editor of Art World in New York, senior editor of Horizon, and Editor-at-Large for Forbes Life, and he was a special correspondent in Paris for the San Francisco Chronicle. Marianne Dougherty, is the author of What We Remember, her debut novel about 4 women who find comfort in friendship before life begins to unravel. In the aftermath of unspeakable tragedy, they go separate ways. Twenty years later, when one is diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, she asks her daughter to arrange a reunion to pick up threads of a story that began a long time ago. In 2018 and 2022 she was a finalist for a Golden Quill Award for journalistic excellence. Jim McCutchon is the author of To Free a Slave – The Moral Dilemma of Slavery, a historical novel set in the 1800s on the Ormond Plantation owned by his great, great grandfather. After retiring from a successful career as a urologist, and after raising 8 children, McCutcheon took up writing at age 84. Now at 92, and with two books completed, he resides in Corpus Christi, Texas where he enjoys gardening, crosswords, reading, and lifelong friends. Diana Raab is the author of 10 books, the latest being An Imaginary Affair – Poems Whispered to Neruda, a collection of sensitive and sensuous poems exploring the challenges and intricacies of being human. The poems touch on key human elements, such as love, desire, passion, memory loss, and gratitude. She’s a memoirist, poet, essayist, blogger, and speaker. She teaches memoir at SBWC and presents workshops in writing for healing and transformation. Max Talley is the author of My Secret Place, 17 short stories about musicians and artists. These eccentrics are secret heroes of their own lives. Humor is mixed with pathos and social commentary. He was born in New York City and lives in Santa Barbara. He’s a professional musician and artist, as well as a writer. His work has appeared in numerous journals. He teaches a writing workshop at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference.
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Marla Miller, moderator, wrote for OC Register magazine before becoming founding editor-in-chief of an OC lifestyle magazine. In 1999, Simon and Schuster published her first book, All American Girls, the authorized biography of the World Cup/Gold Medal winning US Women’s National Soccer Team. Miller’s experience in traditional publishing inspired her to launch MarketingtheMuse Workshop at SBWC. She works with writers on the road to publication. Rachel Sarah Thurston, is the founder of State of Sparkle, Author Branding, Platform Building, and Book Marketing Coaching for Authors. She has 24 years of experience in event promotion, website design, marketing, accountability coaching, writing, photography, video editing, social media, music/entertainment, and communications. She’s been involved with the SBWC for 22 years and holds a master’s in professional writing from the University of Southern California. Lida Sideris writes soft-boiled mysteries and was a winner of the Helen McCloy Mystery Writers of America scholarship award. The third installment in her Southern California Mystery series, Murder: Double or Nothing will be released in June by Level Best Books. She’s also wrote The Cookie Eating Fire Dog, a picture book for ages 4-8. She lives in the northern tip of SoCal with her family, rescue dogs and a flock of uppity chickens. She teaches “Be Your Own Best Publicist” at SBWC with Melinda Palacio. Lisa Angle, earned a master’s degree in computer-based education from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo Her self-published historical novel, Whiskey and Old Stogies, landed on the long list for the 2021 MARK TWAIN Book Awards for Humor and Satire. She likes to combine her writing skill and tech knowledge in helping writers complete their writing projects and build their author platforms. She offers developmental editing for novels and memoirs as well as helping writers expand their online presence with websites, newsletters, social media, podcasts, and video. Melinda Palacio is an award-winning poet, author, and speaker. She’s the current Poet Laureate of Santa Barbara. Born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, she holds 2 degrees in Comparative Literature, a BA from the UC Berkeley and an MA from UC Santa Cruz. She’s a 2007 PEN America Emerging Voices Fellow and a 2009 poetry alum of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers. Her latest poetry collection is Bird Forgiveness, 2018. She is a master of author self-promotion. Rick Shaw is a recently retired technologist, data scientist, and is now a full-time writer and author of two novels he self-published. In addition to writing, editing, designing and mastering the art of the various publication platforms, he makes public appearances promoting his novels. He exemplifies the successful do-it-all-yourself published author. He consults during the week of the conference, helping writers to decide if self-publishing is their best option, and, if so, what is needed to accomplish this.
Podcasts & Audiobooks Lois Phillips, Yvette Keller, Claudia Dunn, Matthew J. Pallamary Audiobooks and podcasts are a fast-growing area of publishing. Join this team for an insightful seminar on how to accomplish the goals of getting your book and book promotion into the audible range.
Learn how to collect research, organize it, and develop a coherent narrative. Yvette Keller will introduce 8 successful authors telling research stories with time for Q&A and discussion. Yvette Keller writes fiction and is a working voice actor.
Caitlin Rother has authored 14 books. Her latest, Death on Ocean Boulevard: Inside the Coronado Mansion Case, which is in development for a TV limited series with Rother as executive producer, explores the mysterious death of 32-year-old Rebecca Zahau, who was found hanging from a second-floor balcony of her multimillionaire boyfriend’s San Diego mansion in 2011. An award-winning investigative journalist, Rother weaves stunning new details into a personal, yet objective, examination of the sensational case, exploring its many layers.
Moderator, Perie Longo, Santa Barbara Poet Laureate, 2007-2009, has published 4 books of poetry, the latest Baggage Claim (2014) and poems in numerous literary journals. This June was her 40th year teaching poetry at the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. She’s thrilled and awed to be still poeting and standing. Paul Willis, Santa Barbara Poet Laureate 2011-2013 is an emeritus professor of English at Westmont College. His poems, stories, and essays have appeared in numerous journals and anthologies, and he’s been featured on Verse Daily and The Writer’s Almanac and nominated five times for a Pushcart Prize. His YA Elizabethan time-travel novel, All in a Garden Green, was released in 2020.