Our friend and writers' conference faculty member Judith Van Gieson got a nice mention in a recent Sunday book section of the Albuquerque Journal. One of the authors she has published through ABQ Press, Harlan Campbell, is signing two of his novels later this month at a popular Albuquerque bookstore, Treasure House Books in Old Town.
Campbell's story of persistance inspired me. It took 17 years from the successful release of his first novel to the publication of the new books, in part because of the tremendous changes in the world of publishing.
In the Journal story Campbell says, "It's not necessary to have huge (publishing) organizations anymore when anyone can have a Web presence." He stressed that another piece of the puzzle involves crucial collaboration between authors and publishers to create top-quality books.
I haven't had a chance to read Campbell's new books, Jennifer's Weave and Sea of Deception but the reviewer compared him to Raymond Chandler. Not bad! And a credit both to Campbell and to editor/publisher Van Gieson.
Editor/publisher Van Gieson, the author of two mystery series, knows the writing business from crucial details of the creative process to marketting the finished book. WORDHARVEST was delighted that she agreed to join our November writers conference, the Tony Hillerman Writers Weekend, to help potential authors with a first chapter and synopsis critique and one-on-one consultation. She's also teaching a class in writing an effective first chapter and synopsis on Thursday Nov. 11th. That session is open to all ($75) as part of the Tony Hillerman Writers Weekend.
