After a brief moving hiatus, Wino Writers are back in action! And we’ve decided to take the challenge and enter NaNoWriMo aka National Novel Writing Month, which is the month of November.  Fitting.

Beginning Nov. 1, participants are challenged to write a 175 page (50,000 word) novel by midnight on Nov. 30.

It’s basically the big brother to the 3-Day Novel Contest, which we participated in in 2009.

Are you ready to bust out a novel in one month?  Think you’ve got the cojones to see it through?  Do you have a plot you’ve been dying to spin out, but haven’t had that much needed push?  If so, join us and sign up!!

Welcome to the internet age, Roi!

“The goal of this conference is to give you access to top literary agents–from six renowned agencies–who will respond to your pitches, critique the work you submit in advance, and educate you about the current environment of the publishing industry and the likely trends for the near future.”

What’s more, Shamus-award winning historical mystery author David Fulmer (a Wino Writer favorite!) will provide four talks on topics like query writing and even his infamous sex and violence lecture.

We’re excited about this conference and hope you’ll join us there!

We got loads of work done and even hiked up several of the scenic trails, which was a good thing because we spent the rest of our time drinking rasberry vodka and diet tonic and snacking on the fudge and funnel cakes that are bountiful in the uber touristy Gatlinburg. And we even made two new cullinary discoveries: fried peanuts (you can even eat the shell) and green apple flavored, home-made twizzlers (much better than the regular kind but tres caloric). These went well with the wine we bought at the Smoky Mountain Winery. We recommend the Mountain Red.

There wasn’t much to do at night that didn’t involve hoedowns and mini golf, but we did manage to catch a comedic Elvis show with impersonator Lou Vuto headlining in Pigeon Forge at “Elvis and Friends.” This amazing show, which is mostly viewed by octogenarians, included other musical icons like Tim McGraw, Patsy Cline, Roy Orbison and Buddy Holly. We definitely recommend catching this act. You can even take a picture with Lou Elvis and friends on a motorcycle at intermission or at the end of the show. You can’t beat that with a stick!

It’s Self Editing for Fiction Writers: How to edit yourself into print. According to one Wino Writer, it is a book that should be reread once a year.That’s a powerful endorsement if I’ve ever heard one.

Have you read this book? I’m going to check it out and let you know what I think.

Come with Wino Writers March 26-27, 2009 to check out this year’s festival!

The other thing we decided was that we like Ménage à Trois. Not that!! Keep your pants on, we’re talking about the wine. We just tried Ménage à Trois White and it is some kinda good with a light fragrant taste that is, dare I say, silky and flowery. It almost seemed low on the alcohol content. BUT it is not, so don’t go swilling it like it’s water. Enjoy and let us know your thoughts!

Afterall, “Reading usually precedes writing and the impulse to write is almost always fired by reading. Reading, the love of reading, is what makes you dream of becoming a writer.”
- Susan Sontag

Ain’t that the truth? I’m currently reading The Time Travaler’s Wife and it is fabulous! It’s got me hooked and it’s dragging me by the hair all the way through. Best of all, it is definetly firing me up to finish my dusty old (emphasis on old) novel.

We’ll be doing lunch afterwards and discussing the keys to getting published. Come join us!