Events.
Here's what I'm up to. Let's hook up.
Standing Monkey Meetings
My writing group is called The Infinite Monkeys and they're a great bunch of typewriter smashing Hamlet aspiring authors who don't take themselves too seriously. A rare thing these days, I'd say. It is a chapter of the League of Utah Writers, a venerable organizaiton I used to lead.
Our stated meetings:We meet in person, thanks to the kind support of the Cultural Arts Society of West Jordan. We meet in a cool little cubby of a space here:
7879 South 1530 West #600
West Jordan, Utah 84088
Meetings generally open at 6:30 pm for some chat time, with things kicking off at 7:00 pm and ending at 9:00 pm.
Second Thursday of the month: General business
We'll have a class for the first hour and then critique groups for the last half. Bring 5 copies of 5 pages and get some feedback.
Fourth Thursday of the month: Write In
This is an informal gathering where we get togther and hopefully write something. It's often full of chatting groups. some critiquing, and general networking. Good times.
Our meetings are all open to the public and all are welcome. Come out and meet the gang! Chances are, though no guarantee, I'll be there distrupting what everyone else is trying to do.
Lifelong Learning - University of Utah
Continuing Education Building
540 Arapeen Drive (Research Park)
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
Literary Querying (LLWRC 844)
Saturdays (3 Sessions)
Jan. 11, 18 – 25, 2025
12:30 - 4:30 p.m.
Literary Querying (LLWRC 844): So you've written a book. Now what? Approaching the publishing world can be a lonely and daunting task. This class will give you a jump start by providing the knowledge and skill required to navigate the world of agents and publishers. It is recommended (but not necessary) that you bring a finished piece of work you are trying to place. This is a workshop heavy class, where we'll polish your pages and develop a plan to give you the best chance in the great publishing hunt.
Lifelong Learning - University of Utah
Continuing Education Building
540 Arapeen Drive (Research Park)
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
Creative Writing 1 (LLWRC 780)
Tuesday Nights (6 sessions)
Jan. 14 - Feb. 18, 2025
6:30-9:00 p.m.
Creative Writing (LLWRC 780): How do we tell stories? What do we include in writing, and what remains unsaid? Build your voice as we focus on a group of specific techniques for shaping and informing your creative skills, including character, plot, point of view, description, dialogue, and setting. In class, we will read short selections of writing to see what techniques we can beg, borrow, and steal from them. We will experiment with in-class writing exercises and read and discuss each other's work. Writing can be inventive, illogical, chaotic, unexpected, strange, and wonderful. In this class, we will practice seeing the world in new ways and then recreating that experience on the page.
Write On Winter Conference
Feb. 1, 2025
9:30 a.m. – 3:30 p.m.
At the Center for the Arts at Kayenta
881 Coyote Gulch Court
Ivins, UT 84738
A Study In Mystery — 11:15 AM — Playhouse
This is a great little conference in the heart of the desert at the hight of winter. I'll be talking about Mystery as a genre, its history, what makes one, how to use its elements in all writing. Tickets are cheap, quality is high – who wouldn't love a day of literary celebration in St. George?
Life the Universe and Everything
February 13-15, 2025
Provo Marriott Hotel
101 West 100 Street
Provo, UT 84601
Thursday, February 13, 2025
6:00- 6:45 p.m. — Bryce + Arches
PRESENTATION: Outlining for Non-Outliners
Whether you’re a panther or a plotter, you should be a plotter… to some degree. A modicum of planning, a tad of organization, and a smidgeon of foresight, will pay dividends in allowing one to create effectively and reliably. Class will explore macro planning and micro-planning with examples and templates to better your writing experience.
Friday, February 14, 2025
12:00 - 12:45 p.m. — Bryce + Arches
PANEL: I've Never Seen That Person in My Life! Writing Characters Who Aren't You
Join this lively discussion about how to create characters with motivations, personalities, pasts, challenges, etc., who are foreign to you, resulting in real, relatable, and strong characters. Learn how to get outside of your own head in your creative efforts.
5:00 - 5:45 p.m. — Cedar
PANEL: Ensuring your Early Story Promises Happen Later in the Story—Satisfying Foreshadowing
Related to Chekov's guns, each time you foreshadow something, it is a good idea to make a bookmark or stub out an anchor later in the story as a reminder for the fulfillment of the foreshadowing. Join our panelists as they share ideas how to have the most satisfying resolutions to early story elements.
7:00 - 8:30 p.m. — Zion + Bryce + Arches
Mass signing extravaganza!
Meet authors, buy books, network. See a monkey fly.
Apex Writers Presentation
Monday March 3, 2025, 7:00 p.m.
VIRTUAL PRESENTATION
The Muddled Middle
It’s the hardest part. You know the beginning, it flowed like water, you know the end, it’ll be breathtaking, now you just have to write the connecting bit, the eighty percent between the two. No problem, but your Muse is on vacation, another project beckons and there’s little enthusiasm for the next chapter. Could this be writer’s block? This is the muddled middle. Class will explore this terrible phenomenon and offer concrete tools to overcome it and return the writer to the rails.
Lifelong Learning - University of Utah
Continuing Education Building
540 Arapeen Drive (Research Park)
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
Creative Writing 2 (LLWRC 825)
Tuesday Nights (6 sessions)
Mar. 4 - Apr. 8, 2025
6:30-8:30 p.m.
Creative Writing 2 (LLWRC 825): Taught in a workshop format, this course will get your creative juices flowing as we expand on topics covered in Creative Writing: voice, tone, point of view and use of tense along with journeying into literary elements such as metaphor and simile, symbolism, structure, and others. This class is a fun way to build and develop the skills in an encouraging and supportive environment. Come prepared to read, write, and talk.
Mountain Ridge High School – Writing Class Visit
Friday March 7, 2025, 8:30 a.m.
14100 S Sentinel Ridge Blvd.
Herriman, UT 84096
Horror Presentation
Mr. Lowe has a great bunch of creative kids. I'll talk about writing horror. No this isn't a public event, sorry.
THE GAIA CHIME launch event
Saturday March 8, 2025, 12:00-3:00 pm
Sandy Barnes & Noble
The Commons at Southtowne
10433 S. State Street
Sandy, UT 84070
(385) 354-4447
Come on out for the official launch signing party for my newest Horror, THE GAIA CHIME,a Cli-Fi (climate fiction horror), a terrifyingly and timely book about revolution and dominance. It's a great read. Come out and I'll tell you all about it.
THE GAIA CHIME
Order Now
Released:
March 11, 2025
Speculative Fiction Writers
Thursday March 13, 2025
6:00 p.m.
Virtual Meeting
Presenting: The Faceted Story
I'll present to this fine Colorado group my class on the faceted story, one of my most popular and enderaring subjects. I'm not sure how civilians can join, but I bet there's a way.
Lifelong Learning - University of Utah
Continuing Education Building
540 Arapeen Drive (Research Park)
Salt Lake City, Utah 84108
Zen Lessons for Writers (LLWRC 873)
Three Saturdays
Mar. 15 - 29, 2025
10:00 a.m. - 1:00 p.m.
Zen Lessons For Writers (LLWRC 873): Join a published author as he shares his discoveries in Eastern philosophy and their applications to the life of a writer. We will focus on overcoming writer's block, the nature of the Muse, and the nature of the work. This is a class about wellness and art, philosophy and creation, work, success, and existence. Sessions include directed mindfulness meditations, lectures on basic Buddhist concepts, and explorations of how these can be successfully applied to the author's journey. You will experience creative writing, discussions, homework, and camaraderie.
Pikes Peak Writers Conference
May 2-4, 2025
Colorado Springs Doubletree Hotel
1775 East Cheyenne Mountain Blvd
Colorado Springs, CO, 80906
Emcee - Master of Ceremonies
That's right, they're giving me a microphone to run the whole show! They will rue the day they mixed butter with flour and milk!
Friday, May 2, 2025
7:30 - 8:30 – Room TBD
Morning Meditation and Writer Wellbeing
Join author Johnny for discoveries in eastern philosophy with their application to the life of an author with its many disappointments. Sessions include directed mindfulness meditation and lecture on concepts that directly speak to the writer’s journey.
Day One: Basics - the Four Noble Truths and the Eight Fold Noble path
Saturday, May 3, 2025
7:30 - 8:30 – Room TBD
Morning Meditation and Writer Wellbeing
Join author Johnny for discoveries in eastern philosophy with their application to the life of an author with its many disappointments. Sessions include directed mindfulness meditation and lecture on concepts that directly speak to the writer’s journey.
Day Two: Block - The Five Hindrances and the power of RAIN
Sunday, May 4, 2025
8:00 - 9:00 – Room TBD
Morning Meditation and Writer Wellbeing
Join author Johnny for discoveries in eastern philosophy with their application to the life of an author with its many disappointments. Sessions include directed mindfulness meditation and lecture on concepts that directly speak to the writer’s journey.
Day Three: Third Person Limited - Non-Identity and the muse
11:30 - 12:30 – Room TBD
PRESENTATION: Pre-Writing Checklist
Got a book idea? Eager to start, but worried you might sink before you're half way there? What you need is a pre-writing checklist to verify you’re ready, that your is hold is full, your ship intact, and your destination sure. We will laden you with sharpened harpoons for the literary leviathans that await.
Quills Conference
August 7-10, 2025
Salt Lake City Marriott University Park
480 Wakara Way
Salt Lake City, UT 84108
FanX
September 25-27, 2025
Salt Salt Palace Convention Center
90 S West Temple
Salt Lake City, UT 84101