Meetings History
Upcoming and some past meetings are listed below. Click on the month and day or "Rossmoor News" - shown in blue - for additional information about the topic and presenter(s).
2021
November 6 (Zoom). Our speaker was be Marin-based novelist and historian Ed Addeo. His topic: "Why an Agent is a Must and Self-Publishing Is a Bust."
October 2 (Zoom meeting.) Our speaker was award-winning actress Penny Kreitzer. Penny's program was titled “From Life into Theatre.” She explained her process of taking experiences from her own life and turning them into a play.
September 11 (Zoom meeting.) Our speaker for the September meeting was Sue Campbell, co-Founder and Book Launch Coach of Pages & Platforms, a writing course/coaching group based in Portland, Oregon. She presented The Happily Ever Author Framework. For more information on the presentation and Sue, click HERE. Susan Steele introduced her new memoir, "The Table." To watch a recording of the meeting, click HERE (use passcode U987.!?D).
There was no August meeting.
July 10 (Zoom meeting.) Our guest speaker was preeminent sports writer Alexander Wolff, who described how he researched and wrote his new book “Endpapers: A Family Story of Books, War, Escape and Home.” For more information on Wolff, see the article in the Rossmoor News (June 30th edition, p. A25.) Author of the Month, Sally Tubach, also discussed her recent book, “The Grande Dame and Hitler’s Twin: A Comedy of Errors.” To learn more about Sally and her book, check out the recent article in the Rossmoor News (July 23, 2021 edition, p. A26) and visit her PWR Author Page HERE.
June 5 (Zoom meeting.) Our guest speaker was Molly Williams from Lafayette's Big Hat Press, who discussed the art and science of "Designing Book Interiors." To download her slides, click HERE. Pat Devine spoke for Sam Oliner, PWR's Author of the Month.
May 1 (Zoom meeting.) Our guest speaker was Connecticut-based, award-winning mystery writer David Handler. His topic was "Inspiration: How to Get Ideas and Construct Plots." David also has written extensively for films and television (he was on the original writing staff for the hit sitcom "Kate & Allie"). You can watch the recording of the meeting HERE.
April 10 (Zoom meeting.) We heard from our very own Dick McLean, who discussed "How to Jump-Start Your Stalled Writing and Keep It Flowing."
March 6th (Zoom meeting). We heard from Pat Rudebusch, owner of popular independent bookseller Orinda Books, who talked about how to make your book stand out from the crowd. We'll also heard from our Featured Author of the month, Shoshana Kobrin, about her books and writing courses that she offers.
February 6 (Zoom meeting.) We heard from publisher Stephen Hull, who talked about working with small presses. His aunt, PWR member Beth Hume, guided the discussion. We also heard from the featured author of the month, Ed Vogt, about his book "American Hearts."
January 9 (Zoom meeting.) Our president, Dick Friedman, was joined by fellow PWR historians Harvey Meyerson and Sally Svenson for a discussion entitled "Making History." We also heard from January Author of the Month Duke Robinson, whose book is titled "The Self-Destruction of America's Churches, and How You and I, with Insights from Jesus and John, Can Help Stop This Needless Tragedy."
2020
December 5 (Zoom meeting.) We celebrated our Holiday meeting in two-parts:
November 7 (Zoom meeting.) PWR authors discussed their books published or completed in 2020. For a full list of and pictures of covers, click HERE.
October 3 (Zoom meeting.) Journalist and best-selling author John Helyar spoke about his books "Lords of Realm: The Real History of Baseball" and (with Bryan Burrough) the business classic "Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco."
September 13 (Zoom meeting.) PWR members gathered for a "re-zoom" meeting and heard from speaker Kelley Way on "Lessons on Literary Law." You can download a pdf of her presentation points HERE.
March 7, Pauline Wiles, a consultant on website design, gave a presentation on how authors can create “a simple, modern website that represents your writing life.” To learn more about the presentation, read the article in the Rossmoor News (February 26 edition, page B19).
February 1, the Published Writers of Rossmoor club hosted our first Work-In-Progress Workshop. Duke Robinson and Lynn Goodwin read brief excerpts from their work and discussed the challenges they faced and surmounted. The audience chimed in with questions and, especially, suggestions.
January 4, PWR authors will gathered to brainstorm on the direction of the club. We'll also heard from Pamela MCorduck, PWR's January Author of the Month, about her newest book, "This Could be Important: My Life and Times with the Artificial Intellegentsia." For more information, see the "Rossmoor News," January 1st issue, page 14A.
2019
December 7, Join us for our annual holiday party and improv event. Contribute your own suspenseful lines to the group story, hear about Joanna Kraus' new book, and bring and share holiday treats (attendees are asked to bring their own cloth napkins, non disposable glasses, utensils and plates). 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). For more information, see the "Rossmoor News," December 4th issue, page 24A.
November 2, PWR authors will be selling and signing their books at the Rossmoor Fall Bazaar on November 2nd! Pick up a book (or ten) as presents. Click here for more information.
October 5, Ann Peterson, Managing Editor of the Rossmoor News, will offer attendees a look beyind the scenes at the newspaper. 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," October 2nd issue, page 21B.
September 7, Dick Friedman, Tricia Keith-Spiegel and Bob Tunnell will discuss how they became published writers and tricks of the trade for becoming successful. 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," August 28th issue, page 5B-6B.
August 3, former club president Ron Wren will lead a workshop titled "'Gorilla' Marketing Your Masterpiece". Bring your latest book project for feedback! The presentation will be followed by a brown-bag lunch for those looking to network. 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," July 31, 2019 issue, page 22A.
July 6, Dr. Lloyd Sampson will make a presentation about the history and music of songwriter Stephen Foster, 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," June 26, 2019 issue, page 14B.
June 1, Amy Glynn, award-winning poet laureate of Orinda and Lafayette, will discuss writing and publishing poetry, 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," May 22, 2019 issue, page 26A.March 2, Eric Johnson, "What Makes a Successful Book?," 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "PWR Newsletter," March 2, 2019, pages 3-4. Note: See below for Eric's March 4, 2017 presentation.
May 4, Three Rossmoor authors, Nazli Monahan, Dr. Laurel Standley, and Dr. Tom Caulfield, will share their personal writing and publishing experiences and offer advice on how to promote both fiction and nonfiction books. The meeting will be followed by an optional bring your own brown bag lunch and roundtable conversations. 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," April 24, 2019, page 4B.
February 2, Molly Williams, "Designing Book Interiors and CreateSpace & Kindle Direct Publishing Merger and Impact on Self-Published Authors," 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," January 23, 2019, pages 17A and 18A.
Click on date to open the "Self Publishing" document and here to view the "Book Interior Design" file.
January 5, Lee Gale Gruen, Julie Blade and James King, “Panel Discussion About Writing Careers ," 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," January 2, 2019 issue, page 20A.
2018
October 6, Kelley Way, "Rossmoor Writers to Learn How to Find, Create and Negotiate Author-Friendly Legal Contracts"
September 1, Robert Hollis, “Variations on
a Theme of ‘Said,’ Mabel Malick’s 12-Year Struggle to Become a Pulp Fiction Writer" (Article in "Rossmoor News," August 22, 2018, page 20A.)
August 4, Film (55 min.), "Now That's Funny!": The Art and Craft of Writing Comedy" (Article in "Rossmoor News," August 1, 2018, page 27A.)
July 7, Dr. Eric Maisel, "Writing a book?
What not turn it into a class?" (Article on presentation in "Rossmoor News," June 27, 2018, page 25A.)
June 2, Dr. Paul Weisser, Julie Blade and Dr. Peter Li, "Ghost Writing" (Article on presentation in "Rossmoor News," May 30, 2018, page 19A.)
May 5, Ruth Schwartz, "Improving Quality of Self-Published Books" (Article on presentation in "Rossmoor News," April 25, 2018, page 20A.)
April 7, Roberta Palumbo, "Turning a Book Into a Play" (Article on presentation in "Rossmoor News," March 28, 2018, page 27A.)
March 3, Maureen O'Rourke, "Writing Press Releases" (Article on presentation in "Rossmoor News," February 28, 2018, page 22A.)
February 3, Colleen Edwards, "Marketing Your Books" (Article on presentation in "Rossmoor News," January 31, 2018, page 24A.)
January 6, Richard McLean, "Mama's Bank Account" (1943) by Kathryn Forbes (Article on presentation in "Rossmoor News," January 3, 2018, page 18A.)
2017
December 2, PWR Party
October 7, Duke Robinson, "How Authors Can Use Amazon.com's Various Services to Promote their Books"
September 2, Mollie Williams, "Evaluation of Traditional and Self-Publishing Options for Book Authors"; click here to open presentation.
July 8 and August 5, Jim Azevedo,"E-Book Publishing Best Practices in Two Parts"
May 6, Edmond G. Addeo, "How I Almost Made a Fortune as an Author"
April 1, Kelley Way, "Protecting Authors' Intellectual Property Rights"; click here to open presentation.
March 4, Eric Johnson, “Personalized Assistance to Authors on Book Cover Design, Page Layout, Publishing and Marketing”
February 4, Dr. Eric Maisel, "Advice on Book Marketing, Promotion and Ways to Reach Potential Readers"
January 7, Lee Foster, "Self-Publishing May Be Your Best Option"
2016
December 3, Dr. Patricia Keith-Spiegel, Joanna Kraus, Duke Robinson and Annegret Ogden, "Publishing and Promoting Books"
November 12, Bob Bone, "My Successful Transition from Journalist and Photographer to Travel Book Author"
October 1, Becky Parker Geist and David Kudler, "Effective Book Publishing Marketing Tips"
September 3, Marina Roden, "How PWR Self-Published Authors Can Market their Books"
August 6, Marthine Satris, "How to Land a Valuable Review"
July 9, Angie Coiro, "What Makes a Good Interview"
June 4, "Published Writers of Rossmoor Club Annual Meeting and 4th Anniversary Celebration"
May 7, Mary Lou Schram, Julie Blade and Dr. Paul
Weisser, "Professional Copy Editing"
April 2, Dr. Patricia Keith-Spiegel, "Illustrations with Stories"
March 5, Becky Parker Geist, "How to Produce Audiobooks"
February 6, Molly Williams, "Designing Book Interiors"
January 9, John Gilbert, "Launch of New PWR Website"
November 6 (Zoom). Our speaker was be Marin-based novelist and historian Ed Addeo. His topic: "Why an Agent is a Must and Self-Publishing Is a Bust."
October 2 (Zoom meeting.) Our speaker was award-winning actress Penny Kreitzer. Penny's program was titled “From Life into Theatre.” She explained her process of taking experiences from her own life and turning them into a play.
September 11 (Zoom meeting.) Our speaker for the September meeting was Sue Campbell, co-Founder and Book Launch Coach of Pages & Platforms, a writing course/coaching group based in Portland, Oregon. She presented The Happily Ever Author Framework. For more information on the presentation and Sue, click HERE. Susan Steele introduced her new memoir, "The Table." To watch a recording of the meeting, click HERE (use passcode U987.!?D).
There was no August meeting.
July 10 (Zoom meeting.) Our guest speaker was preeminent sports writer Alexander Wolff, who described how he researched and wrote his new book “Endpapers: A Family Story of Books, War, Escape and Home.” For more information on Wolff, see the article in the Rossmoor News (June 30th edition, p. A25.) Author of the Month, Sally Tubach, also discussed her recent book, “The Grande Dame and Hitler’s Twin: A Comedy of Errors.” To learn more about Sally and her book, check out the recent article in the Rossmoor News (July 23, 2021 edition, p. A26) and visit her PWR Author Page HERE.
June 5 (Zoom meeting.) Our guest speaker was Molly Williams from Lafayette's Big Hat Press, who discussed the art and science of "Designing Book Interiors." To download her slides, click HERE. Pat Devine spoke for Sam Oliner, PWR's Author of the Month.
May 1 (Zoom meeting.) Our guest speaker was Connecticut-based, award-winning mystery writer David Handler. His topic was "Inspiration: How to Get Ideas and Construct Plots." David also has written extensively for films and television (he was on the original writing staff for the hit sitcom "Kate & Allie"). You can watch the recording of the meeting HERE.
April 10 (Zoom meeting.) We heard from our very own Dick McLean, who discussed "How to Jump-Start Your Stalled Writing and Keep It Flowing."
March 6th (Zoom meeting). We heard from Pat Rudebusch, owner of popular independent bookseller Orinda Books, who talked about how to make your book stand out from the crowd. We'll also heard from our Featured Author of the month, Shoshana Kobrin, about her books and writing courses that she offers.
February 6 (Zoom meeting.) We heard from publisher Stephen Hull, who talked about working with small presses. His aunt, PWR member Beth Hume, guided the discussion. We also heard from the featured author of the month, Ed Vogt, about his book "American Hearts."
January 9 (Zoom meeting.) Our president, Dick Friedman, was joined by fellow PWR historians Harvey Meyerson and Sally Svenson for a discussion entitled "Making History." We also heard from January Author of the Month Duke Robinson, whose book is titled "The Self-Destruction of America's Churches, and How You and I, with Insights from Jesus and John, Can Help Stop This Needless Tragedy."
2020
December 5 (Zoom meeting.) We celebrated our Holiday meeting in two-parts:
- PWR authors' recent writing/publishing adventures; and,
- an opportunity to contribute your two cents to a round of "It was a dark and stormy night...", with emcee Ron Wren, our past president. To watch a recording of the Zoom meeting, click HERE. (Note, the recording was started part-way through the meeting.)
November 7 (Zoom meeting.) PWR authors discussed their books published or completed in 2020. For a full list of and pictures of covers, click HERE.
October 3 (Zoom meeting.) Journalist and best-selling author John Helyar spoke about his books "Lords of Realm: The Real History of Baseball" and (with Bryan Burrough) the business classic "Barbarians at the Gate: The Fall of RJR Nabisco."
September 13 (Zoom meeting.) PWR members gathered for a "re-zoom" meeting and heard from speaker Kelley Way on "Lessons on Literary Law." You can download a pdf of her presentation points HERE.
March 7, Pauline Wiles, a consultant on website design, gave a presentation on how authors can create “a simple, modern website that represents your writing life.” To learn more about the presentation, read the article in the Rossmoor News (February 26 edition, page B19).
February 1, the Published Writers of Rossmoor club hosted our first Work-In-Progress Workshop. Duke Robinson and Lynn Goodwin read brief excerpts from their work and discussed the challenges they faced and surmounted. The audience chimed in with questions and, especially, suggestions.
January 4, PWR authors will gathered to brainstorm on the direction of the club. We'll also heard from Pamela MCorduck, PWR's January Author of the Month, about her newest book, "This Could be Important: My Life and Times with the Artificial Intellegentsia." For more information, see the "Rossmoor News," January 1st issue, page 14A.
2019
December 7, Join us for our annual holiday party and improv event. Contribute your own suspenseful lines to the group story, hear about Joanna Kraus' new book, and bring and share holiday treats (attendees are asked to bring their own cloth napkins, non disposable glasses, utensils and plates). 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). For more information, see the "Rossmoor News," December 4th issue, page 24A.
November 2, PWR authors will be selling and signing their books at the Rossmoor Fall Bazaar on November 2nd! Pick up a book (or ten) as presents. Click here for more information.
October 5, Ann Peterson, Managing Editor of the Rossmoor News, will offer attendees a look beyind the scenes at the newspaper. 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," October 2nd issue, page 21B.
September 7, Dick Friedman, Tricia Keith-Spiegel and Bob Tunnell will discuss how they became published writers and tricks of the trade for becoming successful. 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," August 28th issue, page 5B-6B.
August 3, former club president Ron Wren will lead a workshop titled "'Gorilla' Marketing Your Masterpiece". Bring your latest book project for feedback! The presentation will be followed by a brown-bag lunch for those looking to network. 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," July 31, 2019 issue, page 22A.
July 6, Dr. Lloyd Sampson will make a presentation about the history and music of songwriter Stephen Foster, 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," June 26, 2019 issue, page 14B.
June 1, Amy Glynn, award-winning poet laureate of Orinda and Lafayette, will discuss writing and publishing poetry, 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," May 22, 2019 issue, page 26A.March 2, Eric Johnson, "What Makes a Successful Book?," 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "PWR Newsletter," March 2, 2019, pages 3-4. Note: See below for Eric's March 4, 2017 presentation.
May 4, Three Rossmoor authors, Nazli Monahan, Dr. Laurel Standley, and Dr. Tom Caulfield, will share their personal writing and publishing experiences and offer advice on how to promote both fiction and nonfiction books. The meeting will be followed by an optional bring your own brown bag lunch and roundtable conversations. 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," April 24, 2019, page 4B.
February 2, Molly Williams, "Designing Book Interiors and CreateSpace & Kindle Direct Publishing Merger and Impact on Self-Published Authors," 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," January 23, 2019, pages 17A and 18A.
Click on date to open the "Self Publishing" document and here to view the "Book Interior Design" file.
January 5, Lee Gale Gruen, Julie Blade and James King, “Panel Discussion About Writing Careers ," 9:45 am to noon, Fairway Room, Creekside, Rossmoor (Walnut Creek). More information in the "Rossmoor News," January 2, 2019 issue, page 20A.
2018
October 6, Kelley Way, "Rossmoor Writers to Learn How to Find, Create and Negotiate Author-Friendly Legal Contracts"
September 1, Robert Hollis, “Variations on
a Theme of ‘Said,’ Mabel Malick’s 12-Year Struggle to Become a Pulp Fiction Writer" (Article in "Rossmoor News," August 22, 2018, page 20A.)
August 4, Film (55 min.), "Now That's Funny!": The Art and Craft of Writing Comedy" (Article in "Rossmoor News," August 1, 2018, page 27A.)
July 7, Dr. Eric Maisel, "Writing a book?
What not turn it into a class?" (Article on presentation in "Rossmoor News," June 27, 2018, page 25A.)
June 2, Dr. Paul Weisser, Julie Blade and Dr. Peter Li, "Ghost Writing" (Article on presentation in "Rossmoor News," May 30, 2018, page 19A.)
May 5, Ruth Schwartz, "Improving Quality of Self-Published Books" (Article on presentation in "Rossmoor News," April 25, 2018, page 20A.)
April 7, Roberta Palumbo, "Turning a Book Into a Play" (Article on presentation in "Rossmoor News," March 28, 2018, page 27A.)
March 3, Maureen O'Rourke, "Writing Press Releases" (Article on presentation in "Rossmoor News," February 28, 2018, page 22A.)
February 3, Colleen Edwards, "Marketing Your Books" (Article on presentation in "Rossmoor News," January 31, 2018, page 24A.)
January 6, Richard McLean, "Mama's Bank Account" (1943) by Kathryn Forbes (Article on presentation in "Rossmoor News," January 3, 2018, page 18A.)
2017
December 2, PWR Party
October 7, Duke Robinson, "How Authors Can Use Amazon.com's Various Services to Promote their Books"
September 2, Mollie Williams, "Evaluation of Traditional and Self-Publishing Options for Book Authors"; click here to open presentation.
July 8 and August 5, Jim Azevedo,"E-Book Publishing Best Practices in Two Parts"
May 6, Edmond G. Addeo, "How I Almost Made a Fortune as an Author"
April 1, Kelley Way, "Protecting Authors' Intellectual Property Rights"; click here to open presentation.
March 4, Eric Johnson, “Personalized Assistance to Authors on Book Cover Design, Page Layout, Publishing and Marketing”
February 4, Dr. Eric Maisel, "Advice on Book Marketing, Promotion and Ways to Reach Potential Readers"
January 7, Lee Foster, "Self-Publishing May Be Your Best Option"
2016
December 3, Dr. Patricia Keith-Spiegel, Joanna Kraus, Duke Robinson and Annegret Ogden, "Publishing and Promoting Books"
November 12, Bob Bone, "My Successful Transition from Journalist and Photographer to Travel Book Author"
October 1, Becky Parker Geist and David Kudler, "Effective Book Publishing Marketing Tips"
September 3, Marina Roden, "How PWR Self-Published Authors Can Market their Books"
August 6, Marthine Satris, "How to Land a Valuable Review"
July 9, Angie Coiro, "What Makes a Good Interview"
June 4, "Published Writers of Rossmoor Club Annual Meeting and 4th Anniversary Celebration"
May 7, Mary Lou Schram, Julie Blade and Dr. Paul
Weisser, "Professional Copy Editing"
April 2, Dr. Patricia Keith-Spiegel, "Illustrations with Stories"
March 5, Becky Parker Geist, "How to Produce Audiobooks"
February 6, Molly Williams, "Designing Book Interiors"
January 9, John Gilbert, "Launch of New PWR Website"