Category Archives: Events and Speakers

GWB Meeting February 25: Hood County Library

Our next meeting will convene in the 1st floor Pecan Room at the Hood County Library on Saturday, February 25th, a few minutes after 10:00 a.m. The Library opens at 10:00 a.m.

Our speaker will be Dr. Jake Brewer.

Topics: Workflow, in and out of one’s genre, and the relationship between plot and causality.

Bio:

I completed my undergraduate degree in English Literature, Creative Writing, and Film at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and earned my Master of Fine Arts in Fiction from Oklahoma State University. My doctoral studies were completed at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette. Now I’m at Tarleton State as an Assistant Professor of English, where I teach creative writing (especially fiction), renaissance literature, and film. My short fiction has been published in F(r)iction, The Hunger, and most recently on the podcast Tales to Terrify.

Harry Hall is our September Speaker

Monday, Sept. 26, at Langdon Center Studios…

Come and listen. His site: https://www.harryhallspeaks.com/

Bio:

About Harry

In school, most of us learned math, science, reading, and other lessons. Some skills became invaluable on personal and professional levels, sometimes both.

However, few of us leaned about public speaking.

Unlike almost any other discipline, we experienced public speaking on the fly, in the form of an oral test or presenting a book report. We studied, we read, we prepared-for the written assignment, but few of us invested in the speaking part, either because we didn’t know how, or the teacher didn’t give us class time to do it. So when our name was called, our hearts raced, our mouths dried, and we began, hoping to, ‘get through it,’ before taking our seat, not sure that we accomplished our speaking goals, which were mostly not even part of our thought process, anyway.


There’s a better way.

I taught public speaking for more than 20 at two colleges. I learned that connecting with the audience begins long before you reach the stage, that you can send so many negative signals to an audience before you begin making recovery almost impossible. You sabotage your speech before you’ve even said a word. As you proceed, you are chained to notes, your body language signals ‘I’m nervous,’ and you never connect.

Following just a few tips will send your public speaking to another direction. Learning public speaking fundamentals such as: how to begin and end a speech, ways to strengthen speaker/audience connection, how to use notes, and other strategies go a long way in helping you overcome Americans’ number one fear.

A basic session in public speaking will get you on your way to dropping the shackles of self-doubt and rid yourself of the intimidation of public speaking, and initial fear behind you, making you want to reach for next level, and beyond.

Topic: Do your characters fail to ‘come to life?’

We hope to see you there.

Speaker: Colin Holmes

Topic: What I Learned While Getting My Book Published!

We hope to see you there – Langdon Center Studios (enter on Stockton Street) 6:30 p.m. on Monday 25 July, 2022.

We will have a short business meeting and then hear from Colin Holmes.


Before the pandemic, Colin Holmes toiled in a
beige cubical as the communications director for an
international electronics firm. A recovering advertising
creative director, he spent far too long at ad agencies,
and freelancing as a hired gun in the war for capitalism.


As an adman, Holmes has written newspaper classifieds,
TV commercials, radio spots, trade journal articles,
and tweets. His ads have sold cowboy boots and
cheeseburgers, 72-ounce steaks, and hazardous waste
site clean-up services. He’s encountered fascinating
characters at every turn.

Holmes began writing screenplays after working with
an advertising client who he thought had a story that
should be a movie. Deciding if he could write 60-second
commercials, he was stubborn enough to tackle a 120-minute movie script. His original screenplay became the feature film Edge of the World released in 2018.


While not his first novel, Thunder Road is the first to reach publication, a feat that occurred six months after his 60th birthday. As a multi-genre story, many agents passed, not knowing quite how to package the novel. The book was discovered by CamCat Editor, Helga Sheir as a
tweet Holmes posted during the #PitchMadness Twitter pitch fest.


Holmes lives just west of Fort Worth and writes novels, short stories and screenplays in an effort to stay out of the way of his far too patient wife. He is an honors graduate of the UCLA Writers Program, a board member of the DFW Writers Workshop and serves as the Director of the 2022 DFW Writers Conference.


He’s a long-suffering Texas Rangers baseball fan, and appreciates barbeque, fine automobiles, and unpretentious scotch.

Summer Seminar – Granbury Writers’ Bloc

We are pleased to announce that Will Clarke will speak at our summer seminar, Saturday, June 11, 2022.

Time: 9:00 a.m.

Location: Langdon Center, 308 E. Pearl, one block east of the Granbury Square. Come to the historic chapel/concert hall for the seminar.

Admission: GWB Members $10. Open to the public for $25.00.

His topic is: Story 2.0. Hacking the Operating System of the Human Mind.

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Will Clarke is the author of several works of fiction, including The Neon Palm of Madame Melançon, Lord Vishnu’s Love Handles: A Spy Novel (Sort of), and The Worthy: A Ghost’s Story. His novels have been selected as The New York Times Book Review Editors’ Choice and Kirkus Review’s Best of the Year. He holds an MFA in Creative Writing from the University of British Columbia and lives in Dallas, Texas with his wife and family.

Speaker – January 24th Meeting

   Brandy Herr grew up in Euless and graduated from Penn State University with a major in public relations and a minor in theatre. After moving to Granbury in 2009, she and her mother founded the Granbury Ghosts and Legends Tour in 2010.

Brandy has always had an interest in writing, and her work with the ghost tour helped give her the opportunity she needed. Arcadia Publishing contacted her in 2013 to ask if she would write a book about the ghosts of Granbury. She published her first book Haunted Granbury February of 2014.

As an animal advocate, Brandy started writing children’s picture books about her favorite organization, Second Chance Farm. The first in the Second Chance children’s book series, Honey’s Second Chance, was published by Freedom Chaser Books in 2016.

Arcadia Publishing contacted Brandy again to adapt her Haunted Granbury for the middle grade reader in 2021 as part of their Spooky America Series. The Ghostly Tales of Granbury was published in August of that same year.

In addition to her writing, Brandy also provides editing and proofreading services and has several other writing projects in the works.

Brandy has been the guest on several local and national podcasts and has been a guest speaker at various libraries, schools, and festivals. She has been featured in conjunction with the Granbury Ghosts and Legends Tour and the Granbury Paranormal Expo/Spooky Spectacle on many TV outlets, including FOX 4’s Lone Star Adventures, NBC 5, The Daytripper and Good Morning Texas. Most recently she was seen in an episode of Cash Pad on CNBC.

October 2021 Speaker

BIO:

     Carol Heizer is an eight-time published author whose books have sold in the U.S. and overseas. She was a columnist for Today’s Woman magazine and is currently a columnist for Hood County News in Granbury.
     In addition to her writing, she was president of Alpha Consulting in Louisville, KY who specialized in training seminars to business, industry, teacher training sessions, and the military. She is also a public speaker who has served as mediator in neighborhood conflicts.
     Her current project is a collection of novellas, hopefully due out in 2022.

OCT. GWB meeting topic:

 
     Since Carol believes there are not enough pleasant surprises in life, she has decided to surprise her writing colleagues with a surprise of her own. Plan to attend the October 25th meeting of Granbury Writers Bloc and enjoy a surprise evening of entertainment and energy. Be ready to think outside the box. Also, please bring a pen or pencil. 
     In addition, since Carol will supply materials, she needs to know how many will be attending. If you do not contact Gary Christenson via email (no verbal, “Hey I’ll be there,” when you see him),  we will assume you are not coming and will not have materials prepared for you. We are certain you understand this situation. Thanks for your help! And Blessings!

Summer Workshop

GRANBURY WRITERS’ BLOC

presents

 ELIMINATING THE MYSTERY FROM

MYSTERY WRITING

 

People read more mysteries and thrillers than any other genre except romance. This workshop will teach you how to write your mystery. Topics include:

 

  • What makes a compelling story?
  • Brainstorming a page-turning plot.
  • Writing a killer opening chapter.
  • The difference between a mystery and a thriller.
  • Maximizing suspense and conflict

WHEN: Saturday, June 12, 9:00 a.m. – 12:00 noon

WHERE: Langdon Center Concert Hall, 308 E Bridge St, Granbury, TX 76048

COST: $20.00 or Free for Granbury Writers’ Bloc members

FOR MORE INFORMATION VISIT:    http://granburywritersbloc.com/

April 2021 Speaker – Joy Massenburge

Blurb for “Speak Up, I Can’t Hear You!”

Have you ever thought about creating an audiobook? Want to know the ins and outs? Wish you knew someone who has been there and done that?
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Joy is just that person, and will give an inspirational talk, sharing her mistakes, how to endure the learning curve and bloopers to finish strong. She will also be giving us handouts on the setup equipment and software and its pricing.
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Get your questions ready!
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Learn more about Joy and her work at https://www.joykmassenburge.com/

 

AUTHOR’S BIOGRAPHY:

Joy K. Massenburge is the author of A Cry for Independence and A Heart Surrendered, African American Romance. She crafts the love stories of pastors and their kids. She was born the sixth child of a pastor. She married a football player turned pastor…they raised pastor’s kids; a son and two daughters.

As a pastor’s wife, she found her voice speaking at marriage and women’s conferences and retreats throughout Texas. She filled her speaking material with her poems, short stories, and devotions. She added narrator to her professional portfolio when she debuted in Michelle Stimpson’s “MAMA B: A Time to Speak,” audible book. She is also a contributing author for Our Daily Bread: Oh, Freedom edition.

She serves on the board of American Christian Fiction Writers. She is also the founding president of their ACFW-East Texas Writers.

She resides near Tyler, Texas. You can find her curled up on her back-porch swing reading a good book with her grandchildren, caretaking for two donkeys and a dog, or filling her five-acre country home with fifty-plus people for a Blue Bell ice cream party.