READY FOR NEXT YEAR

Top Row: Cindy, Austin, Sandra, Larry
Bottom  Row: Denise, Juli, Ann
not pictured Dee Lawrence

This year was such a blast that we can't wait to do it again, next year!

The committee ended up a great weekend by celebrating with a few days of rest before getting ready for next year.

We want to thank +Dee Lawrence +Larry Matthews +Ann Arbaugh +Juli Monroe +B Swangin Webster +Austin Camacho +Denise Camacho +Cynthia Lauth for all of the hard work they put into the conference.

Without all of you the conference would not have run smooth. The picture says it all and we enjoyed every minute of sharing stories with the authors, sharing tips with the presenters and sharing laughs over meals.

If you want to be at the convention next year, all you have to do is go to this link http://creaturescrimesandcreativity.com

We already have some great special guests lined up.

+Heather Graham and +F Paul Wilson will also be there!

Right now you can register for the discounted price of $245. Come on, we'd love to have you there.

PROMOTING IS HARD

Have you ever had to promote something that no one ever heard of?

We did. Last year. It was the first year of the +C3Conference and we had no idea how to go about letting people know about this conference. You can look at the fun we had by click the link: Creatures, Crimes and Creativity

We immediately took to +Social Media Explorer and started putting it out there for people to find us.

We were shocked by the turnout! We had over 100 registered attendees to a conference that was the brain child of  +Austin Camacho .

We gathered authors and fans of Sci-Fi, Horror, Paranormal, Mystery, Thrillers, Suspense and Fantasy in +HuntValleyInn to celebrate these genres.

We had great food, had lots of laughs and even took over the bar. We were so surprised at the reviews afterwards.

John Gilstrap has spoken about how great of a time he had last year and he plans to join us this year. We have some great folks lined up.

+Eric Von Lustbader, +Rebecca York, +CJ Ellison and +Brad Parks will be our headliners this year and we have already signed up over 2 dozen writers.

We have an anthology that will be given away and will never be sold. This is a way to get fans to enjoy new authors and their stories.

Our on site bookstore was always busy and some of the authors actually sold out of their novels.

We had a first time authors panel and a spouses panel where we got to hear all about some of the authors secrets while they were working on their latest novel.

So why not take a chance and go to our website and see what we are going to do this year. We promise you that you will not be disappointed.

THE C3 CONFERENCE FIT THE BILL

Submitted by: Robin Murphy

There was a reason for my excited anticipation for the C3 conference.  I had searched for the last couple of years to find the “right” conference to attend.  The issues I ran into were either distance (West coast), cost, or quite frankly, not permitted to attend due to the fact my publisher wasn’t found on their “approved” list.

Then, while I was out perusing the members section of the Sisters in Crime website, I found the listing for 2013 conferences.  Lo and behold, I discovered Creatures, Crime, and Creativity.  As I read the description, and then further reviewed their website, I finally found a writer’s conference that fit the bill.

From the start, the communications and transactions with the powers that be (i.e. Austin Camacho, Denise Camacho, Sandra Bowman, Delia Lawrence, and Lauren Carr) were clear, concise, cordial, and patient.  I’ve been in the administrative world for over 30 years and have organized my share of events, so I know the work that goes into making a conference a success, and in my estimation, that’s exactly what the C3 conference was…a success.

From the moment I arrived, I was warmly welcomed and felt as if I knew the organizers.  I was given easy to understand instructions, received my nifty “gift bag” filled with a ton of goodies, and then was led to the opening ceremony promptly at noon.

Speaking of goodies, there was a unique approach at this conference.  They allowed the first response authors to contribute a story of their own to the C3 Anthology, which was published by Acorn Book Services and only distributed to conference attendees.  What a great way to combine talent in one book!

The first panel I sat on regarding publishing a series with Austin Camacho and Bill Rapp felt like I was sitting in a coffee shop discussing and sharing ideas and tips.  I wasn’t the least bit nervous, and without a doubt, Austin clearly knew his panel and the subject matter, because the conversation flowed seamlessly.

The rest of the weekend continued in the same manner with great panel discussions, wonderful keynote speakers, and amazing fans and authors.  Oh, and let’s not forget the great food that was included in the conference registration fee.  They even allowed my son to attend the dinner Friday evening for just a small added cost for his meal.  Everyone was so easy going.

The one thing that stood out above everything else was that I felt as if I was on the exact same level as John Gilstrap and Jeff Deaver, who were completely approachable and quite funny!  There was no pretense on their part and they were so willing to share their “do’s and don’ts”.

I met some great people and did some amazing networking throughout the weekend.  I believe these newfound relationships will remain bonded and I look forward to seeing them all at the 2014 C3 conference.  I can’t deny I’m dying to see what “shoes” Sandra will be showcasing next year!

FUN! FUN! FUN!

Why should you be looking forward to the Creatures, Crimes, and Creativity conference on September 13^th?  In a word, FUN.

We literary types have the head for this kind of stuff.  I mean, where else can you get together for a weekend with a bunch of like-minded people and talk about horror? Suspense? Murder methods and body disposal? If that gets your imagination revved, you will be right at home here.

And we know that we writer types can talk endlessly about things like social networking, marketing and publicity, and what to expect from those people from another planet: publishers and editors.

But this conference, should we actually get there, will have a deeply personal meaning for my husband and me. My husband is author Robert E. Bailey, who started the Art Hardin mystery series in 1998 and whose books have received a Josiah Bancroft award, and been finalists for the Shamus and the Great Lakes Book Award. Ever since we started dating ten years ago, we’ve always wanted to go to a writer’s conference together. We tried to find time and money to get to the Florida First Coast writer’s conference, where it all started for Bob back in 1998, but for a few years it never worked out, and then the Florida First Coast abruptly folded. Too many writer’s conferences have bitten the dust. Bob is full of wonderful memories of FFC, and that’s why it’s always good to see a new conference make its debut.

But then something worse happened, right in the middle of Bob’s fourth book. Brain cancer. It showed up in the speech and language area of Bob’s brain, making him aphasic and making completion of this last book extremely difficult. But he got it done. In March of this year he reached the words, “The End,” and submitted the book to his agent. His agent requested that a chapter be added, and Bob started to work on that. It was right about then that we planned several appearances and signings for the summer, including the CCC conference, and spent a wonderful evening anticipating the fun we were going to have.

Bet you can guess what happened next. Brain cancer came back, and it is inoperable this time. In the course of two weeks, Bob went from reading, writing, walking, and driving, to someone suffering from both three new brain tumors and gout at the same time, who couldn’t even turn himself over in bed. By all the published information about brain tumors I could find, I estimate that we were about three weeks from losing him.

Dr. Khan, our wonderful neuro oncologist at VCU Massey Cancer Center, came to the rescue with a change of chemotherapy, and so far Bob has gotten quite a lot of function back. He’ll never drive again, but he can walk, talk, and complete many basic tasks he could not perform two weeks ago. The human brain is an amazing thing. The sad thing is that Bob’s tumor, glioblastoma multiforme, is rare compared to breast and prostate cancer, and research for this does not get a lot of funding. There are only two chemotherapies that are really proven to work, Temodar and Avastin. When the tumor comes back after those, your number’s up. But Bob is determined to be there to meet all of you on September 13^th.

Please come, and stop by to say hi. We’ll be REALLY glad to see you!

Meet the volunteers

Today we want to introduce you to the group of ladies that are helping us put on the C3 Conference.

These ladies jumped; well maybe jumped isn't the right word but they walked; very slowly, towards being volunteers to help put this confernce together.

With all of their knowledge and expertise, they have brought great ideas to the meetings and have also taken on responsiblities that most people would have run away from.

Deliah Lawrence is not only an author but she is our Master Scheduler and Author Liason. She will work with the authors and the on-site book store to make sure that the titles that the attending authors want to sign will be there when they arrive. She is also working on putting together the schedule of sessions/panels that the authors will sit on. This is a huge undertaking and we want to salute her for taking on this huge role.

Cynthia Lauth is our registration coordianator. She tirelessly works the registration part of our website. She contacts the authors when they have forgotten to make their meal choice or have forgotten to press the submit button to enter their choice of payment.

Juli Monroe is our Intrigue Pub twitter guru. She is on Twitter everyday putting the word out and making sure that @IntriguePub is being seen by the people that need information about our conference.

Ann Arbaugh is our volunteer coordinator. She will be working with our volunteers and recruiting volunteers. She will be one of the people you will see running around during the conference making sure that our guests are being taken care of properly.

We have all gotten so excited about this conference that we meet regularly to talk about the new things that are happening or that we want to happen.

This group of dedicated workers will be there to meet and greet you on Friday and they will be easy to spot. They will all have one their C3 shirts.

See you in September!

Meet and Greet

Today we would like to introduce you to one of the authors that will attend the conference this year.

She signed up recently and we decided to put her on the spot and have a short meet and greet with her.

Her name is D.A. Spruzen and we would like to tell you a little about her.

Hello everyone, my name is Dorothy Spruzen Hassan, but my pen name (maiden name) is D. A. Spruzen.

I am President of the Northern Virginia Writers Club and delight in communing with my fellow writers. I attend writing conferences and workshops whenever my schedule allows, and am looking forward to the C3 Conference where I will meet writers closer to home than is the norm. There is always something to learn, always that golden nugget of information ready to drop into my lap if I remember to stop and listen.

I’m a writer of fiction and poetry and have lived in Northern Virginia since 1971, except for a two-year hiatus in the Middle East. I grew up near London, U.K., earned an MFA in Creative Writing from Queens University of Charlotte, and teach writing for Fairfax County Schools Adult and Community Education program and the McLean Community Center.  I also run private critique workshops in my home.

In another life I was Manager of Publications for a defense contractor. My undergraduate degree was in dance education and I served on the faculty of a London Theater school before coming to the U.S.A. My short stories and poems have appeared in many publications, and I am seeking representation for my novel The Blitz Business, set in WWII England.  The first two novels in my Flower Ladies Trilogy, Not One of Us and Lily Takes the Field, are available on Kindle and in other e-book formats, as well in paperback.  My first poetry chapbook, Long in the Tooth, will be published by Finishing Line Press in June 2013.

My husband and I live in McLean, Virginia with a Jack Russell terrier who doesn’t know he’s old and doesn’t know he’s small. If you want to look me up, all you have to do is click on one of the links below.

I hope to see you in Septemeber!

www.daspruzen.com

Not One of Us

http://tinyurl.com/93c3p5s    

Lily Takes the Field

http://tinyurl.com/8dskcv5    

Crossroads

http://tinyurl.com/9jvowq8    

Long in the Tooth

www.Finishinglinepress.com

Posted by: Author D.A. Spruzen

Early to rise!

The sun is shining a little longer each evening.

She isn't a morning person, that could not be mistaken, ever! But on this day, the sun awakened her with it's bright ray and she stretched, yawned and padded to the bathroom. She climbed into the steamy shower, letting the day begin as she formed the thoughts of what would be her adventures. She toweled off, brushed her teeth and pulled her hair into a ponytail. Ready to meet the world head on.

She decended the stairs into her open kitchen and wondered what to have for breakfast. She then decided to get the paper but it wasn't there. Those darn newspaper thieves! No problem...she started to scramble an egg, got her coffee and turned on the morning news. Imagine that...no news..hmm, she switched channels and again no news...What is this...a slow day or maybe it was later than she thought.

She turned her head as her cat wandered in and gave her a look. "Don't give me that look missy. I already have your food out." she said as she focused her eyes on the microwave.

She jumped up and went closer. It couldn't be.

"Good Lord! It's only 6:16 in the morning!"

Yes. It was early...and she is not a morning person..she actually shouted that to no one but the cat.

To early to be up on a Saturday but what was she to do? Well, she decided the only thing possible. She pulled out her laptop and checked out the Creatures,Crimes and Creativity Blog and so here she sits...reading and wondering...how many more days until the conference?

If you want to know how many days there are left for the best conference in Maryland this year...check out http://creaturescrimesandcreativity.com and the countdown clock will tell you.

Posted by B.Swangin Webster