MEMBER HIGHLIGHTS
No matter what level of writing, the journey is always exciting when a new pinnacle is reached. Often encouragement and inspiration can be found through the achievements of others on the same path. Inspire others by sharing your writing victories, promotions and successes! | Members, please send your latest highlight to webeditorpswg@gmail.com All postings will be updated quarterly. |
Spring and Summer 2023 |
June 26, 2023 Proof Sheet will premiere at the world famous Chinese Theater in Hollywood on Monday June 26 at 9:30pm. See the trailer here: https://youtu.be/WmtmMScj_0k
June 7 & 8, 2023
| April 20, 2023 Eduardo Santiago will be featured in the Desert Hot Springs Author Series from 1:00 - 2:30 p.m. on April 20, 2023. Click here for details.
April 2023
In this generative poetry workshop, we’ll get together Sundays-Fridays and be inspired to write together. While the goal is 30 poems in 30 days, there is no pressure to finish all 30, and you can always come back to the prompts later. The main goal is to get you inspired and fired up in your writing practice. Leanne Kathleen Ingino |
Let’s get together for National Poetry Month and write 30 poems in 30 days based on fables and folk tales. Feel free to let the stories take you where they will, whether that’s free verse, sonnets, speculative or literary poetry or otherwise!Autumn and Winter 2022-2023 |
March 16, 2023 Desert Art Scene — Eliana Tobias
March 15, 2023 Linda Carlson Desert Hot Springs Library celebrates Women's History Month with author Linda Carlson
March 4, 2023 Kathy Weyer’s book Stitches is available on AppleBooks.
February 22, 2023 Kristin Johnson was featured in CV Weekly DESERT ART SCENE SPOTLIGHT  
January 25, 2023 Kathy Weyer, PSWG Treasurer & Membership Director was featured in the CV Weekly Magazine January 25, 2023 issue. DESERT ART SCENE – FEATURED ARTIST OF THE WEEK: Kathy Weyer
Kathy Weyer wears a lot of hats. She is an author, artist, and advocate for animals and children. It is hard to know where to start to describe this diversified woman. But here we go. After retiring as a human resources professional in Corporate America, Kathy committed her time to helping others through volunteer efforts, including animal and children’s welfare, literary advocacy with Palm Springs Library and Read San Diego, and business coaching for women entrepreneurs.
Through her work as a grief and bereavement counselor, Kathy has interviewed hospice patients to record their life stories and is a court-appointed special advocate for children in the foster system. She was awarded first prize (twice) by the Palm Springs Writers Guild for fiction and memoir contests and has been published in several magazines. She is on the board of directors for the Friends of the Palm Springs Library and the Palm Springs Writers Guild. Despite her busy life, she de-stresses by getting creative with paint, fabric, yarn, paper, and whatever is handy. She lives in Palm Springs with her husband of 42 years and their rescued pets. She is the author of Stitches and the sequels, Canvas and Pages.
Kathy suggests beginning with the first book in the series called Stitches. “This is where you will meet the characters who appear in the following two books in the series Canvas and Pages. Stitches is imagined in the Christian House where women gather to solve problems of their own – or people they embrace.” Kathy can be reached at: kathy@kathyweyer.com
January 2023 Steven Stewart was recently accepted into the Mystery Writers of America.
| December 11, 2022 The right editor can make a good book great. But the relationship between the writer and the editor has to be just right. Fist time novelist Mary Camarillo and editor Eduardo Santiago are that perfect combination. Camarillo set her fictional story, The Lockhart Women, in Huntington Beach, a real place she knows all too well. Santiago added his own sensibility, on display in his own award-winning novel, Tomorrow They Will Kiss, which follows the lifelong and turbulent friendships of three Cuban women. “When I read Mary’s first draft I knew she had something special. Who, particularly in California, leaves his wife for an older, less attractive woman? And in the middle of the O.J. Simpson slow speed chase!” Santiago responded to the novel, reading multiple drafts and suggesting a number of adjustments until Camarillo was satisfied that she had achieved her goal. Their combined efforts resulted in something unique – a WILLA Award for both author and editor.
Named for the Pulitzer Prize-winning novelist, Willa Cather, the award recognizes the best literature set in the North American West and featuring the stories of women or girls.
December 6, 2022 Palm Springs Writers Guild member Maryann Ridini Spencer hosts The Writer's Pantry AUTHOR TALK, which features discussions with fiction and non-fiction writers, screenwriters, and other creatives. The monthly series is broadcast (and promoted) on Facebook, YouTube, and other social media. Interviewees are also provided with visuals and a copy of their interview to promote in their media. Contact Maryann at recprinfo@gmail.com if you have a book to discuss and are interested in being a guest. Find out more at: https://maryannridinispencer.com/the-writers-pantry.
 November 15, 2022
Maryann Ridini Spencer's new book Under the Tropical Skies, released on November 15, 2022. Press Release. During launch week, it made it to #3 on the Women's Historical Fiction list and #2 on the Women's Christian Fiction list.
Steven Stewart's new book To Kill a Public Crook, released on October 28, 2022. Press Release.
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Looking to go on a vicarious adventure? Historical Fiction writer Eliana Tobias will take you on a thrilling historic to modern age saga journey through turbulent Latin American Countries with three unlikely companions seeking the truth and redemption of governmental injustices of the past and present. 
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The three-part series of books have been very popular with readers. The setting in her books, Heritage Art Park, was created after one of her favorite spots – San Diego Heritage Park located in Old Town San Diego. While visiting the now boarded up spot and relaxing under an old tree, she dreamed up the book series. In her imagination, she saw movement, action, drama, and beautiful gatherings on the lawns surrounding the houses from another age another time.
Leanne Ingino's new book of poetry, Blank Canvas, releases on October 1st. The Spring and Summer 2022 |
May 11, 2022 Ariella Moon has a new novel!
Author: Ariella Moon Genre: Young Adult Fantasy Amazon Link to View/Buy: click here In the Two Realms Trilogy, the human realm coexists with a hidden realm inhabited by fairies and mythical beasts, goddesses and gods, sorceresses and wizards.
| When a fairy kills a fairy, they forfeit immortality. Never over three centuries, since the Last Fairy King was assassinated, has a noble fay been murdered in Fairy… Until now. The mysterious murder leads to an astounding discovery — and a more shocking demand. Mab, Queen of Fairy, accuses Talfryn's parents of stealing an elixir that restores immortality, then tasks the Halfling with entering the Viking realm to retrieve the vital vial. To save his fay father, Talfryn must navigate the world of lethal Cold Iron, locate the human mother he has never known, and recover the elixir that could mask the murderer — a quest he cannot survive without aid from Lady Fenella. Will the Thaness of Thorburn honor their alliance, knowing the venture would jeopardize her freedom, her betrothed, and her second chance at love? Vows collide. Secrets surface. Which alliances will survive; which will crumble? |
March 9, 2022 and the Stars began to Fall by Madeleine S. de Jean
Is this story sci-fi? Speculative fiction? Historical fiction? And the Stars Began to Fall refuses to neatly fit into a given category—and that is one of its pleasures, even though this could present a conundrum to libraries who like to neatly peg and file a book under one genre. Little did archaeologist Margaret Benson know that her discovery of an ancient figurine would lead to knowledge of an ancient curse set to recreate history's disaster, warning her of her own death and events which will once again change the world. As she embarks on a journey between past and present to uncover the truth about what caused the end of the great Bronze Age Peloponnesos society and what threatens her modern-day world, Margaret finds herself on a time-travel journey that holds portent for not just her own destiny, but that of all eras of history. | Readers anticipating an archaeological mystery or supernatural suspense story will find heavy doses of both in this book, as well as an alternate history historical backdrop that will intrigue sci-fi enthusiasts. Any singular reader of these genres may be surprised by the other elements which coalesce here, but this just makes the book a stronger, wider-ranging, less predictable, and thoroughly delightful story that will reach a large audience.As the search for an incredible woman evolves into a magical journey capable of challenging its twenty-first century characters, readers will find the twists and turns delightful, the characters realistic and involving, and the story both thought-provoking and enlightening. Who or what has determined and directed human affairs? And the Stars Began to Fall's ability to weave historical influences and questions into bigger-picture thinking makes for an exceptional read. It operates on various levels of complexity, fueled by action and intrigue that keeps it a heady and involving read from start to finish, and is worthy of inclusion in sci-fi, alternate history, history, and thriller fiction library collections alike. Telemachus Press |
Autumn and Winter 2021-2022 |
February 24, 2022 Luke Magnotto Narrative Magazine (Tom Jenks) has accepted Shiny Things for publication.
October 12, 2021 Andrew Kaplan has a new novel! Title: Blue Madagascar Author: Andrew Kaplan Genre: Spy Thriller Amazon Link to View/Buy: click here Product Information:
| November 2021
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(L to R) Judith Fabris, Lynne Spreen and Joanne Hardy (PSWG Member) came together for a joint book signing event.Spring and Summer 2021 |
March 25, 2021 Just Released! Title: Secrets of Grace Manor, a Kate Grace Novel Author: Maryann Ridini Spencer Genre: Mystery, Romance Amazon Link to View/Buy: click here Product Information:
| My latest work in Flash Fiction, Sharp Knife, will be featured in the May 2nd edition of Potato Soup Journal: (www.potatosoupjournal.com). If you're looking for a brief yet complete short story, check it out. And if you take a moment to tell the Journal (or me) what you think of it, I'll be most grateful. dmh David M. Hamlin Facebook: David M. Hamlin Twitter: @dmhwrites The Emily Winter Mysteries Winter in Chicago • Winter Gets Hot • Killer Cocktail Paperback /E-books: OpenBks.com, Amazon, & B&N |
From the magical shores of present-day Kauai to the stately manors of 19th century Europe the gift of a family heirloom exposes a centuries-old mystery. "Secrets of Grace Manor" is the third novel in the best-selling, award-winning Kate Grace Novel series by Maryann Ridini Spencer. When Kate Grace receives the gift of a unique family heirloom, a gateway opens to solving a centuries-old mystery exposing a shocking web of intolerance and betrayal, ultimately forging the pathway to understanding and inspiring a new, authentic way to live.
Autumn and Winter 2020 |
October 26, 2020 A play I have which, though written and first performed in 2012, is currently getting a lot of attention because it's based on the true life story of a black professor teaching music appreciation in the South who was fired when he showed a picture of lynching in connection with his lesson on Billie Holiday and the song, STRANGE FRUIT (i.e. strange fruit hangin' in the poplar tree). It's played across the country but it's been produced recently virtually and in podcast form with funding from the LA dept. of Cultural Affairs. The podcast that was done by a Hollywood Theatre (Open Door) in conjunction with a studio will be out available to the public beginning this Wednesday. The play is called BEETHOVEN AND MISFORTUNE COOKIES" "Powerful Black Lives Matter play." For more reviews and information: Best, Joni Ravenna Hi there! I'm so very excited to share that the book I wrote with Ann Meyers Drysdale, "You Let Some GIRL Beat You?" (Behler, 2012) has been chosen one of Ten Finalists out of 1700 submissions! (see below, finalists listed in alphabetical order). I hope to be working with Book Pipeline (of the Script Pipeline Media Group) to develop the book into a film / series project soon. I'm thrilled and just wanted to share the good news with you! Best, Joni Ravenna
| Recently Published
NFB Publishing releases book one of The Panther Tales
Written by Daniella Rushton and illustrated by Zoe Potter, The Watchers and the Gifted Ones tells the story of a teenage girl, Hannah, who befriends a panther while discovering she possesses an extraordinary imaginative gift. Dark forces, however, are waiting and watching to destroy Hannah’s happiness. All she needs to do is to believe in herself and a panther called Parky! The author studied at The London College of Fashion in the early 1990s, passing with distinction. Upon marrying Nicholas Rushton in 1997, she moved home and began her married life, raising a family and working in a family business overseeing marketing campaigns. In later years, Rushton resumed her creative career and began studying acting at The Birmingham School of Acting. This led to many supporting television roles as well as stage and voiceover work. Later, the family purchased a vacation home in the United States and began splitting their time between the U.S. and UK. In 2017, challenged by her son, she began writing. Her first novel was published in Scotland in June 2020 and the second edition will be published in USA in December. Her passion and newfound gift for writing has boosted an already Christian faith. Rushton has since been asked, very recently, to be a speaker at CW3 Confidence in California for 2021, a women, wealth and wellness summit created for the empowerment of women. Furthermore, she has been invited to write for Illuminations Fantastic magazine in Tennessee in 2021. She also continues her work on The Panther Tales along with busying herself with her dog Walter, family and friends. The Watchers and the Gifted Ones will be available for purchase beginning Dec. 1. For more information on NFB Publishing, please visit nfbpublishing.com.
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The Panther Tales: The Watchers and the Gifted Ones, Book 1, is the latest release from Buffalo-based NFB Publishing.Spring and Summer 2020 |
Greetings one and all, Sorry I haven't communicated with you for a while. This is my first post-covid newsletter. I hope everyone is safe and well as we self-isolate during this pandemic. In my small desert town of Yucca Valley, we are practicing social distancing wearing masks (or in my case a bright turquoise bandana) along with so many others in our state, our nation, and throughout the world. This has been a time of serious health concerns, shared sacrifice, and big changes in how we conduct our lives affecting our personal relationships, our ability to earn a living, how we interact with others, how we obtain food, medical care, and even toilet paper as we shelter in our homes. In my area we only have a sprinkling of cases, but that is steadily increasing. It is tempting to want to throw in the towel. Last week I had a scary low-grade fever for several days, but fortunately was able to get tested and the result was negative. Whew! Like many of you, my living situation and ability to earn an income has been profoundly affected. My primary source of earning money for the past few years has been performing at hospitals, senior homes, and care centers augmented by traveling to teach students and colleagues both locally and in Los Angeles. The care centers no longer allow visitors and commuting to LA these days is a quarantine breaker. In the past month, my income fell to zero. However, along with so many doors closing, technology has opened new paths to creativity, communication, and employment. I am currently telecommunicating with my 12-group. I am also zooming on video with my zen meditation group and doing zoom yoga. In addition, I have resurrected income by doing some songwriting consultation and teaching on zoom and skype. Virtual sharing and virtual work is far better than relegating oneself to being just a couch potato. In the midst of all this slowdown, thee has been a plethora of inspiring new music on the web and media. A fine example of this was Elton John's iHeart's Living Room for America concert that aired on Fox on March 29. .It featured major recording stars like Alicia Keys, Billie Eilish, Tim McGraw, Mariah Carey, and many others including Elton himself singing casually and unplugged from their residences and home studios to benefit Feeding America. You should be able to find this online if you haven't seen it. Other ways that music has helped us get through these challenging times include Italians singing opera to their neighbors on their balconies and many other free expressions including several funny quarantine-themed song parodies on youtube. Exciting powerful new rock video from female empowerment group Machisma Militia In the spirit of all this I want to invite you to watch a you tube music video by a group that my collaborator Sarra Gallagher and I have written and that she has produced for MACHISMA MILITA, a female empowerment rock group she has created. Their music has been called a combination of the Spice Girls snd the Who. You can watch it at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O1st3DHFGqM. New travel book from Cat Cohen to be released soon Before the pandemic hit us I was working on a travel book describing a trip to western Canada that I took in 2018. Now that I am sheltering at home I am taking advantage of the opportunity to finish, edit, format, and proofread it. The title is self-explanatory, VANCOUVER to WHISTLER to CALGARY – A CAVIAR TRAVEL ADVENTURE ON A TUNAFISH BUDGET. Complete with over 40 colorful photos from my 2-week junket, I intend to have it ready for release sometime in May. Feel free to let me know how you guys are coping with this fast-changing situation and what creative projects you are working on. All my best, [David] Cat Cohen | I hope you are staying well and safe. In Search of Lost Lives, Michael Goddart’s unique memoir—the only book of its kind in the world—is the unprecedented account of his recovery of seventy-one human and seventeen animal past lives. Of particular interest may be the twelve “homophile” lives he recovered, including the three great loves he enjoyed in 1920s London, Denmark in the Viking Age, and Santorini in Ancient Greece. In addition to precise, fascinating details of life in lost worlds, In Search of Lost Lives imparts secrets of existence and depicts the spiritual experiences and evolution that prepared him to follow his current spiritual path. This is in thef Reincarnation, Death & Dying Books Category. Spiritual Revolution: A Seeker’s Guide is Michael Goddart’s distillation of the entire teachings of Saints and God-realized Masters from all traditions into 52 easily understood principles. Ardent seekers and curious readers, alike, can use this practical guide to make profound changes to empower their higher, nobler mind to advance their Self-realization. This is in the Iconic Books Category. Spiritual Revolution and In Search of Lost Lives have each been nominated for a COVR Visionary Award. The COVR Visionary Awards have built a reputation over the past 25 years as an awards program that embodies excellence. Please vote by clicking here: Be well and find gratitude, Michael To find fascinating material, including excerpts, endorsements, and more, kindly visit www.goddart.com. Hello All, I am British and we are based for much of the time in England. However we do have a home in La Quinta, California where I wrote the majority of my novel, 'The Panther Tales.' My publisher, 'For the Right Reasons are based in Inverness Scotland. The genre of the book is fantasy fiction suitable for all ages and follows the story of a teenage girl who befriends a panther whilst discovering she possesses an imaginative gift.
I thought it would be happy news to share with the Guild. I have met Marly at a 'meet the agent' workshop. I would love to share my joy with you all. We are currently under lockdown restrictions here in England and unable to travel to our beautiful home in the US. As soon as restrictions are lifted and it is safe we will return and I would be happy to bring my book to a socially distancing meeting. Kind regards Daniella Rushton |
