Monthly Chapter Meetings

Our Chapter Meetings are a time of connection and growth. Each month, we host speakers who educate, enlighten, and challenge us to grow through their training and experiences. Past speakers include librarians, historians, medical professionals, actors, audiobook narrators, law enforcement personnel, Facebook Group Coordinators, BDSM Masters, advertising and marketing professionals, Yoga Instructors, and – of course – authors!

Hospitality begins at 10:00 am or when the coffee arrives! We are a friendly group of authors – a mix of introverts, extroverts, and ambiverts – who are passionate about writing romance ! We do hope you will join us. Our Hospitality Committee is available to answer your questions and help you get to know more about us.

Meeting Fees

The Meeting Fee is still just $5.00 for members and $10.00 for visitors. Your first visit is free!

Members can pre-pay their meeting fee here! Alternatively, you can pay for the entire year here.

Virtual Meeting Information

Earlier this year, the LARA Board chose to act with an “abundance of caution,” and moved to virtual Chapter Meetings. Until the State of California deems it safe for groups to gather, we will continue holding virtual meetings. Access instructions are sent via email immediately after PayPal processes your meeting payment. If you are joining us as a Guest, please email treasurer (at) lararwa.com to receive login information. We look forward to meeting you.

Click here (or the Zoom logo) to install the app on your device.

Standard Meeting Agenda

9:00 am Pre-Meeting: Board Meeting or Published Author Chat
9:45 am Hospitality
10:00 am Chapter Meeting
11:00 am Craft or business presentation (see presenters below)
12:00 pm Closing Remarks & Preview of Next Month

Upcoming Meetings

October 15, 2023

Pre-Meeting: LARA Board Meeting
Speaker: Audrey Hughey
Topic: Wholistic Planning for Authors

Every author knows the struggle: juggling writing with life's endless demands. But what if there was a way to craft a harmonious balance? In 'Wholistic Planning for Authors,' uncover indispensable strategies that meld your writing goals with self-care, family, and work. If you've ever felt torn between your passion and life's obligations, this is the one presentation you cannot afford to miss. Find out how to revolutionize your writing life!"

Learn more about Audrey here: The Write Services

November 19, 2023

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: TBD

Topic: TBD

December 17, 2023

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: TBD

Topic: TBD

August 20, 2023

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: Renee Rose

Topic: Love Your Book

September 17, 2023 -- In-Person Mini-Con

Pre-Meeting: LARA Board Meeting

Speaker: See Dedicated page: September Mini-Con

Previous Meetings 2023

June 25, 2023

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: Milly Gray

Topic: Astrology for Writers

How to use the core principles of astrology beyond the sun signs to craft consistent and believable characters.

Milly’s website: https://grayplumeediting.com/

May 21 2023

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: Andie Wood

Topic: Organizing or Participating in an Anthology

April 16, 2023

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: Ines Johnson

Topic: Beats of Storytelling

March 19, 2023

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: Ann Rachelle

Topic: Working with bloggers and FB group admins

February 19, 2023

Pre-Meeting: Board Meeting

Speaker: Jessica Snyder

Topic: The Six Foundational Elements of Romance Fiction

January 15, 2023

9:00 am Board Meeting- everyone is invited

10:00 am General Meeting

11:00 am State of LARA for 2023- Deep dive into the upcoming year

July 16, 2023

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: Book Brush

Topic: BookBrush: New Features

Previous Meetings 2022

December 18 2022

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: TBD (IN PERSON)

Topic:

November 20, 2022 (Virtual)

11am to Noon PT with a brief Q&A immediately thereafter.

Speaker:Tracee Garner

Topic: HEA for All e.g. Writing Outside of one’s Lived Experience

October 16, 2022 (Virtaul)

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: Eve Vaughn

Topic: Dark Romance

September 18, 2022 (Virtual Mini-Con)

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: Sacha Black 11am to Noon with a bit of time for Q&A

Topic: The Anatomy of Prose: 12 Steps to Sensational Sentences

Sacha Black is a bestselling and competition winning author, rebel podcaster, and professional speaker. She writes educational nonfiction books for writers and sapphic books for Young Adults. She lives in Cambridgeshire, England, with her wife and son.

Speaker: Brittany Holland 12:30pm to 2:00pm with a bit of time for Q&A

Topic: Blurbs

Brittany Holland, also known as The Blurb Whisperer, pens happily ever afters with a modern twist. When she’s not writing blurbs or plotting her next book you can find her drinking Starbucks, watching Netflix or taking pictures on her iPhone. She loves traveling with her family, but southern IL is where they call home.

August 21, 2022 (Virtual)

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: Liz Pelletier

Topic: Tropes and Hooks

July 17, 2022 (Virtual)

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: Laurie Schnebly

Topic: Choosing the Fatal Flaw

June 26, 2022

Pre-Meeting: Virtual Hospitality & Member Check-In

Speaker: Jennifer Graybeal

Topic: Goal Setting the Rest of the Year

Website: http://www.jengraybeal.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jentheeditor/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/jennifer.graybeal/

May 15, 2022

Pre-Meeting: Virtual Check-In

Speaker: Martha Alderson

Topic: Start Plotting Your Novel from the End

From my experience writing fiction and helping writers with plot, I’ve found that we often obsess over the beginning of our stories, developing detailed backstories and writing, revising and rewriting – and rightly so. Beginnings hook readers. At the same time, endings create fans, though often writers neglect to give their endings the same sort of time and attention either by stalling out before ever reaching the end or by slapping on an ending with the hope it works.

For now, forget the beginning of your story and turn your focus to the end. This approach of plotting from the end allows you to visualize the whole of your story rather than simply juggle a loose collection of its parts or scenes.

Whether you have a firm grasp of what happens at the end of your story to satisfy both the inner plot and the outer plot or simply a vague idea, come prepared to try out some new strategies.

You’ll be given time to experiment with some the foundational skills needed to:

• preform a task analysis of your outer plot
• deconstruct your main characters to satisfy the inner plot

Register for our May meeting.

Learn more about Martha Alderson.

April 24, 2022

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: Jacki Renee

Topic: “Developing Your Author Business Plan”

March 20, 2022

Pre-Meeting:

Speaker: Stephanie Burdett – Author Services (AT NOON because she’s in Australia)

February 20, 2022

Pre-Meeting: Virtual Happy Hour

Speaker: Kilby Blades – “How to Uplevel Your Author Career”

Topic:

Previous Meetings 2021

December 10, 2021

Pre-Meeting: Virtual Happy Hour

Speaker: Debut Author Panel

Topic: Join us as we celebrate this year’s Debut Author’s: Alexa Santi and Leigh Adams! We will meet Alexa (Leigh is going to record her session later) and get to know more about her author journey, debut title, AND what’s next!

November 21, 2021