Debra Kemp @ Mudsocks!!

IWG Member Debra Kemp will be at Mudsocks Books Saturday, Nov. 8th to sign copies of her books, House of Pendragon Book 1: The Firebrand and House of Pendragon Book 2: The Recruit. 

Come and meet this wonderful award-winning author! Her stories will amaze you! 

Debra Kemp

Booksigning

Saturday, November 8

12pm 

Mudstock Books & Coursity Shoppe

11631 Fisher's Station Drive

Fishers, IN  

Query Letters Are...

IWG-ers were asked to complete this sentence, Query letters are...

Here were their responses. 

Query letters are my least favorite short stories.

-Jim Henderson

Query letters are...a necessary evil  or
Query letters are...what the literary Gods invented as punishment for aspiring writers

 -Sandi  Sookoo

Third Place - 2008 Celtic Hearts Golden Claddaugh 

Query letters are a stumbling block for an aspiring writer along the path of publication. Query letters are an introduction of me and my writing to a new business associate, THE EDITOR. -Ellen Tevault freelance writer and editor, serving the GLBT, BDSM and erotica communities Query letters are a road block to submitting work. -Jerri Yager Query letters are . . . agonizing and the most difficult writing one can do--Ack! Debra A. Kemp The House of Pendragon saga continues!

IWG now on Facebook!

You read right, the group you know and love is now global on Facebook. Search for Indy Writers Group on Facebook groups or use this URL:  http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=28829359109.

Join the Group today!! 

First They Came For selected for the Indy Awards!!

The powerful human-rights inspired film by Kate Chaplin will be showcased in a one-night film festival celebrating Indiana’s films & filmmakers. First They Came for…will be one of the 12 films showing at this year’s INDY Awards.

Joe Shearer from Indy.com calls First They Came for… “A film with classic themes with a lot of relevance today.” He goes on to say, “It's a very American film, touching on themes of justice, universal freedom from harassment, oppression and imprisonment…”

Inspired by the poem by Reverend Martin Niemoller of the same name, First They Came for… is set in a not so distant future where a nondescript regime takes away innocent people while one man struggles between standing up for what’s right and saving himself. Screened as an official Selection at the Indiana Festival of Independent Film and The Really Big Short Film Festival.

ABOUT THE FILM MAKER: Named a "Naptown notable resident" by Indy.com as well as one of the "most talented writers around today" by the Writer's Page, Kate Chaplin is an award-winning author and filmmaker whose projects have appeared on MTV, local television, film festivals, in print and online. She is the author of The Belief Test and the writer/director of short films such as LOSS and First They Came for… She is the President of the Indy Writers' Group and a proud mother of two beautiful girls. Kate proudly resides in Indianapolis, Indiana. http://www.katechaplin.com/

ABOUT THE FESTIVAL: 2008 INDY AWARDS September 27, 7-10 PM, Laikin Auditorium - Jewish Community Center, 6701 Hoover Rd. Indianapolis, IN 46260. Admission $8 / $5 IFS members. Tickets available at the door. For more information, and a complete list of the this year’s films, see the Indiana Film Society's website www.indianafilmsociety.org/festival.html

For more information about First They Came for, future Karmic Courage Productions, or to schedule an interview, contact Kate Chaplin at karmiccourageATyahoo.com

Photos from IWG's Discussion on Publication Event

This summer IWG hosted a Round Table Discussion. This meeting's topic was the current climate of publishing.

These wonderful pictures were taken by Polina Osherov.

Pictured: (left to right) Robby Slaughter, Jamie Carie, Kimberly Shearer, Kit Ehrman, Kate Chaplin, Debra A. Kemp, Ellen Tevault, Shawnda, Laurielle Danbrielle, Ben, Cheryl Shore

IWG Summer Publishing Discussion

June 22nd, the Lawrence Library played host to the IWG Round Table Discussion on Publication. The first in a series of seasonal events put on the Indy Writers’ Group, members sought answers to the current shift in the publishing world. Members notated at the greater ease of self-publishing outlets vs. the greater difficulty for mainstream publishing.

Attending Author Kit Ehrman (Triple Cross, At Risk) lead off the discussion with the top 5 things a writer needs to get published:
1) write a great book
2) write a great book
3) write a great book
4) write a great book
5) write a great book

A lively and energetic conversation flowed freely from topics such as; query letters, pennames, writers rights, contracts, e-publishing, deadlines, POD, book reviews, and getting books into stores.

Various authors from the publishing world took part in the discussion. On the self publishing side there was Laurelei Dabrielle author of In Her Service: Reflections from a Priestess of Aphrodite whose book is doing so well that she is working on an expanded book and seeking mainstream publication for the material.

On the screenwriting side there was self pronounced “rebel” Kate Chaplin. She is the writer/director of the short film First They Came for and also the author of a self-published non-fiction book entitled The Belief Test. “Being an independent filmmaker,” Chaplin said, “just made sense to put my first book out independently as well.”

Jamie Carie, (Snow Angel, Duchess and the Dragon) the 6 book deal author of the group, talked about the royalty confusion with a larger publisher and also the new stress of writing under a fast approaching deadline.

Ellen Tevault, a successful freelance and authors, gave us the editor’s point of view. As an editor for Gaylifestylemonthly.com and Loose-id, she was able to answer many of the questions when it came to submitting material and how it gets from the query stage to the printed (or electronic) page.

Debra Kemp, provided great information about print on demand (POD) publishers such as the one that publisher her The House of Pendragon series. Debra has made a real mark for herself and her book on the e-publishing side of things. Her first book The House of Pendragon: Book 1 The Firebrand won an Eppie for fiction available in an electronic form.

This was the first in a series of Round Table discussion for the Indy Writers’ Group. The group is planning to have discussions seasonally with topics voted on by the membership.

To become a member of IWG or for more information check out: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/indywritersgroup/