Next Meeting December 4!

The next meeting of the Uxbridge Writers' Circle will be on Tuesday, December 4 at 1pm in the Uxbridge Arena.
We will be sharing some of our writing, including a piece using words selected by members last month: telegraph; growth; lasso; banner; witchcraft; birch; belt. The piece can be a short story, memoir, poem, lyrics, non-fiction or in any other format.
We will be holding a ten-minute on-the-spot writing challenge as well.
Vicky will provide a debriefing on her book launch which was held at Blue Heron on October 13 and received rave reviews. Vicky thanks all those who helped to make it a success.
The dates of meetings in 2019 are posted on the page "Dates of Meetings".
Meetings are usually held on the first Tuesday of the month, but in January 2019 it will be held on the 8th.
Hope to see you on December 4!

Books Galore Supports Writers' Circle Member

Vicky Earle, member of the Uxbridge Writers' Circle and author, is thrilled that her two novels in the Meg Sheppard Mystery Series are now available at Books Galore.
This is a great book store and Vicky recommends that readers check it out!
Books Galore
"Bill Minors is supporting new authors in the community," Earle says, "and I'm appreciative of the opportunity to have my books available in Bill's wonderful book store. There's something for everyone!"

Doug Owen from DAOwen Publications will be our Guest in November!

We are excited that Doug Owen will be joining us at our next meeting!
 According to the website daowenpublications.ca:

"DAOwen Publications is a small press publishing company operating out of Goodwood, Ontario. We are a Canadian publisher that believes in bringing fantastic works of authors both know and unknown. 

Our process is simple, find amazing, well written manuscripts, edit them until they are perfect, and release them to the public. Authors receive as much support as possible along with information on how to help us market the work in order to reach the largest market possible.

We publish between eight and twelve books yearly and always enjoy receive any of our author's next novel, as several of them have done to this date.

Publications are available in both eBook and print. eBooks can be purchased from Amazon, or downloaded at your local library. Print books are distributed world wide and available through any retailer or online bookstore. We believe the author's voice is the most important part of our publications. That is why we work tirelessly with writers to bring out the story that will captivate you, the reader. From draft to final edited product, each story is polished to an amazing final product with the reader in mind. Nothing is complete until two editors have approved the final print."

Other links:
daowen.ca
loveknotbooks.ca
scififantasypublications.com
tumbleweedbooks.ca
wickedtales.ca

Doug will be with us for the first half of the meeting, from 1pm until 2pm at the Uxbridge Arena on Tuesday, November 6.
The meeting promisses to be an informative and interesting one! See you there.

Writers' Circle Member Holds Successful Book Launch!

I owe a big "thank you" to members of the Uxbridge Writers' Circle for providing me with encouragement and support along the way as I wrote and published my books.
It was exciting to launch my second book in the Meg Sheppard Mystery Series, Over Frank's Dead Body, at Blue Heron Books on October 13.
I also had the first book, What Happened to Frank?, for sale.
Several members of the Writers' Circle were able to attend and show their support, which I appreciated.
Blue Heron Books provided guidance and assistance which contributed to the success of the event.
The books will be available on-line from Blue Heron Books (they are available in the store now), and will on sale as e-books. I will keep you posted!
My heartfelt thanks go out to all of you who attended the event and gave me encouragement along the way. Now I must focus on book three!

Don't Miss These Events!

These events are coming up fast! We don't want you to miss these great opportunities - hence the friendly reminder! And there is no attendance charge for any of them!

The regular meeting of the Uxbridge Writers' Circle is being held on Tuesday, October 2 at 1pm in the Uxbridge Arena, Boardroom 1. We are welcoming new members. If you're not sure, come anyway, and make your decision after having experienced a meeting.

Our special guest, Steve Burrows, is joining us for an evening meeting on Thursday, October 4 from 7.30pm until 9pm at the Blue Heron Studio. Steve has pursued his birdwatching hobby on six continents. The first Birder Murder Mystery, A Siege of Bitterns, won the 2015 Arthur Ellis Award for Best First Novel. Steve lives with his wife, Resa, in Oshawa, Ontario. Join us!

And on Saturday, October 13, one of our members, Vicky Earle, will launch her second book in the Meg Sheppard Mystery Series. Reader, Bill Bell writes "Move over Hercules Poirot and Inspector Banks - there's a new sleuth in town!". She's looking forward to signing books and reading excerpts from 2pm to 4pm on October 13 at Blue Heron Books. See you there!

What's Happening in October

Uxbridge Writers' Circle members are going to be busy in October. And you can join us!


We are looking for members. You can be a fledgling writer or a published author, or anything in between!


Come to our meeting on Tuesday, October 2 at 1pm at the Uxbridge Arena.
One of the activities members participate in, is our monthly "word challenge". We select the words one month, then at the next meeting we each read out our short story, poem, memoir or non-fiction piece (that incorporates all the words), and receive encouraging feedback from the other members.
The words for October are: satellite; chocolate; inhale; rental; emerge; landscape; pathetic; diminutive. Hope to see you there with your writing in hand!

On Thursday, October 4 we are holding a special meeting with author Steve Burrows as the guest of honour. We will be in the Blue Heron Studio from 7pm until 9pm. Check out his website: abirdermurder.com. If  you're interested in attending, contact vickyearle@gmail.com.

On Saturday, October 13 I will be launching my second book in the Meg Sheppard mystery series at Blue Heron Books blueheronbooks.com from 2pm until 4pm. You are invited! There is more information on my blog Vicky's Blog

You are invited!

Uxbridge Writers' Circle members invite you, a fellow writer, to join us for a special meeting with Steve Burrows on the evening of Thursday October 4. Steve is the successful local author of the Birder Murder Mystery series abirdermurder.com.

Please contact me if you're interesting in attending: vickyearle@gmail.com
Our next two regular monthly meetings are being held on Tuesday, September 4 and Tuesday, October 2 from 1pm until about 3pm in the Uxbridge Arena. Writers of all genres are invited and there are no fees.
Join us in the next word challenge! Each member writes a poem, short story, memoir piece or lyrics using the words that were selected the previous month. The words for September are: author; ramp; composer; daisy; spiral. 
Happy Writing!

We Writers Never Stop! Next Meeting on August 7!

One of our members forwarded this photograph to stimulate some ideas! Members will either use it to create an opening sentence for a possible story, or for a full story or for our ten minute on-the-spot writing challenge which we participate in during some of our meetings.
We also have a word challenge this month. Members write a short story ahead of the meeting incorporating all of the words which were selected in the previous meeting, and read it out to the group.
This month's words are alive; scant; uncontrollable; skunk; topography; wince. 
Examples of previous word challenge stories are included in this blog. Check them out!

Next Meeting is on July 3!

We are grateful to James Dewar and Sue Reynolds from Stone's Throw Publications who gave a great presentation at our June meeting.
James and Sue guide writers in the editing, design and printing of self-published books. To date they have assisted in the publication of over one hundred books.

Our next meeting is on July 3 at 1pm in the large boardroom in the Uxbridge Arena.
If you are a writer or a wanna-be writer, please join us.
You might be interested in participating in our word challenge for July. We write a short story, poem (or lyrics) or memoir using all of the pre-selected words and read our piece during the meeting for all members to enjoy.
The words we've chosen for July are:
bullet-proof; disreputable; chandelier; hubcap; spaniel; patter; theatre.
If you would like to read examples from previous months, check out our "word challenges" page.
Hope to see you on July 3.

Special Guests from Stone's Throw Publications coming on June 5!

We are looking forward to welcoming James Dewar and Sue Reynolds to our meeting on Tuesday, June 5. Stone's Throw (stonesthrowps.ca) is located in Port Perry and provides services to those writers who wish to self-publish. These services can include substantive editing, cover design, lay-out for printing and ebook, and some marketing support. 
This should be a great meeting.
Members will also be sharing their "word challenge" stories using the words selected in May. These are: bookseller; lighthouse; brink; oboe; westward; notch and waves. 
Hope to see you there!

Ed Wilkinson to be Special Guest at May 1st Meeting!

Uxbridge Writers' Circle members are looking forward to welcoming Ed Wilkinson, Publishing Consultant and Canadian Agent for Arcturus Publishing (arcturuspublishing.com), at our next meeting.
Ed has had an impressive career in the book business, working in senior positions at Coles, Smithbooks, Chapters and Indigo as well as at Arcturus. He has attended over 80 book fairs in various parts of the world.
We are looking forward to his sharing some of his experience and insight, giving us a valuable glimpse of the publishing world.
Membership in the Writers' Circle is open to writers of all genres. We meet at 1pm on the first Tuesday of every month in the Uxbridge Arena. Please contact vickyearle@gmail.com if you like to join us.

Dorothea Helms is coming on April 3!

The Uxbridge Writers' Circle members are excited that Dorothea Helms (aka The Writing Fairy) will be joining us on April 3 to share some of her wisdom and, we hope, to scatter some fairy dust. If you are not a member and are interested in attending, contact Vicky Earle at vickyearle@gmail.com.
We members will bring our questions and are sure to be motivated to write on!
Depending on Dorothea's schedule, we might have time for our word challenge. April's words are: private; heritage; labyrinth; neon; rat.
What a great way to launch into spring!
To check out our blog; go to uxbridgewriterscircle.blogspot.ca

Ted Barris Inspired Us!

We were honoured to welcome Ted to our meeting on February 6.

Ted has a great website at www.tedbarris.com where you will find an extensive biography.

Ted has authored 18 bestselling non-fiction books and has received numerous prestigious awards (please go to his website for more information on Ted).

Ted shared some of his experiences as a writer, which inspired us all. I made a few notes to share with members who weren’t able to attend.

• ·         Writing is half the battle, selling is the other half
• ·         The key to non-fiction is to have an uniqueness which illustrates your strength in a particular subject/area of interest
• ·         Focus on something in your writing which demonstrates your expertise and knowledge – even in fiction
• ·         Prove yourself repeatedly in a realm of expertise
• ·         Radio is still surviving – connect to talk shows. Each day they are looking for material. Getting exposure on radio will build your credibility and profile, and increase your media literacy
• ·         Every author should have a website. It helps to develop a profile. Wordpress is a good tool for website development and management
• ·         Fire Canoe: McClelland and Stewart saw an article in the paper and followed up with Ted
• ·         When pitching an idea for a book: provide sample chapter, table of contents, who you are and why you are the person suited to write the book
• ·         Present an idea that’s unique
• ·         Are there any days of significance/anniversaries/celebration which can be a hook for your story?
• ·         I don’t like to write a manuscript unless I know where I’m going with it
• ·         Each chapter has a different focus, but they are usually in chronological order – more or less in sequence
• ·         Start your book with a “bang”
• ·         If you have an outline, it can provide the publisher with some confidence or reassurance that you know what you’re doing
• ·         Legitimate publishing is desirable, but self-publishing might be more reachable and feasible. Friesen has a wing of their printing company that offers self-publishing services
• ·         Believe in good quality and building a readership using a legitimate publisher
• ·         I have never had an agent but use a lawyer’s services for my contracts
• ·         Have used the services of the The Writers’ Union of Canada and of the Professional Writers’ Association of Canada – they provide some guidance on the content of contracts, for example
• ·         Smaller publishing companies look for new writers
• ·         Agencies look on new writers favourably
• ·         There are grants available to writers, including through the Canada Council
• ·         I pay a student to transcribe the interviews I conduct (usually with veterans and their families)
• ·         I still use paper a lot. My desk has transcripts, a laptop, reference books, dictionary, Roget’s Thesaurus
• ·         It is imperative that a writer no plagiarize
• ·         Archives in Ottawa: due to staffing cuts, it is best to visit. It is not possible to search on-line and phoning them is no longer helpful
• ·         If you are contemplating writing a book, it might be best to consider getting an article/story published first. This serves as a stepping stone to credibility. Think smaller and then bigger
• ·         Review the magazine(s) to identify style, how they handle articles/stories – and tailor to their readership
• ·         Be braver!!

Ted Barris: Special Guest at February 6 Meeting

Ted Barris has kindly accepted the Uxbridge Writers' Circle invitation to come to our next meeting. He is well known and highly respected, especially in this community. Ted is the recipient of numerous awards for his writing and we are excited that he will be sharing some of his experiences as a writer with us. As always, non-members are welcome to join us. Our meeting is scheduled for 1pm in the large boardroom, Uxbridge Arena. Please email vickyearle@gmail.com.
See you then!

Fun With Word Challenges!

Rosemarie Dawson-Hill has written a great story using the words for the December challenge. You can find it by clicking on the "Word Challenges" page. Enjoy!
The February words are: seaweed; burro; spurt; leather; gaseous; harlequin. 
We enjoy hearing each other's poems/stories/memoirs/songs using the member-selected words each month. It never ceases to amaze us how different each piece of writing is! It's a lot of fun, and motivating as well! Check out the "Word Challenges" page to find ones from different members for the same month: www.uxbridgewriterscircle.blogspot.ca