Events

Jim Grayson has stumbled through an adventurous life that has included flying airplanes and helicopters, teaching SCUBA diving, sailing, ski patrol and other pursuits designed to pry him off the couch. His professional law enforcement career began in the 1970s, where he served as patrol officer, sergeant, and patrol division commander. His police tenure emphasized de-escalation or calming the waters during potentially violent encounters. Jim’s law enforcement career was followed by 25 years in security consulting, including 5 years with UCLA’s Southern California Injury Prevention Research Center exploring crime prevention in schools and small retail establishments. Jim has enjoyed writing in various forms, including reports, poetry, short stories, magazine articles including Chicken Soup for the Soul. Thirteen years ago, his writing shifted to novels. To date, he has written 4 including Trailer Vamp – Love Bites which he self-published on Amazon and Kindle.

Workshop Title: Find Your Writing Voice

Every writer has a natural voice, with their own way of telling a story. Unique as the individual writer, the natural voice has its own rhythm, pace, sense of detail, and anecdote. The cadence of voice can be discovered in fiction and non-fiction and is essential to reveal the story’s content and form. It takes time, patience, and work to refine into polished prose that can tell a story. In this session, Sheryl will provide questions and writing prompts to encourage the writer to discover their writing voice or if genre is determined, how they can further hone their writing voice.

Exchanging hurt for hope is Sheryl Giesbrecht Turner’s focus— a message she shares with audiences as a recovered drug addict, stage-four cancer survivor, and former widow. A dynamic teacher and motivating leader, Giesbrecht Turner has endured many changes and challenges, moving her to a deep faith.

Sheryl is an award-winning author of five books. Unraveling the Lie-Knot: Finding Freedom from the Tangles of Discouragement, Deception, and Depression was released in June 2021 and won the 2021 Non-Fiction Christian Market Book Award with Advanced Writers and Speakers Association. She served as Focus on the Family’s columnist for Pastor’s Wives for four years. Hundreds of her columns, magazine and devotional articles have appeared in Focus on The Family Magazine, Pastor Resources, Lead Like Jesus, Just Between Us, Discipleship Journal, CCM, Walk Thru the Bible’s – InDeed and Tapestry publications.

Sheryl has a passion for coming alongside those in crisis or trauma. Sheryl is certified through Talbot Theological Seminary, specializing in Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and in Grief, Loss, and Trauma Counseling. (www.biola.edu/talbot) She has authored and recorded 14 teaching and training videos for BrightCourse, a subscription-based video streaming service for pregnancy care center providers who want to help their clients learn about prenatal care, parenting, relationships, life skills, and more. (www.brightcourse.com) In the USA, BrightCourse serves over 60,000 pregnancy center clients per year and 30,000 views of their videos in one week.

Sheryl also has heart for missions and is avid about reaching out to the poor and needy, locally through the local Rescue Mission and worldwide through various ministry partners. Giesbrecht Turner is a Lead Like Jesus Facilitator www.leadlikejesus.com  and has been personally involved with equipping hundreds and facilitating the training of thousands of leaders internationally.

The joys of Giesbrecht Turner’s life are her children and fourteen grandchildren. An untimely widow in 2009, she is excited about the new beginning she shares with her recent marriage to Dr. Jim Turner. Sheryl holds a Bachelor of Arts from Biola University, a master’s in ministry and a Doctor of Theology. She lives in California’s central valley where she enjoys running 5K races with her 90-year-old mother.

Stay in touch with Sheryl – Receive Sheryl’s weekly blog on her website:

www.sherylgt.com or www.fromashestobeauty.com

More About Freedom In Christ Ministries: www.ficm.org

Follow Sheryl on Social Media!

Facebook pages: Sheryl Giesbrecht Turner or @SherylGiesbrechtAuthor

Twitter: @SGiesbrecht

Instagram: sherylgiesbrecht

LinkedIn: Sheryl Giesbrecht

Scribd: Sheryl Giesbrecht

Pinterest: SherylGiesbrecht

Crush Imposter Syndrome and Start Writing!

You have a great story idea, create a few characters, a decent plot, but when you sit down to write, your negative voice kicks in: “I’m not a writer.” “No one will ever want to read this.” “I don’t know what you’re doing.” “Everyone else is better, younger, older, smarter, more talented…than me.” Imposter Syndrome. Otherwise known as the ultimate Dream Killer. If you’ve experienced these thoughts or lost your passion for writing, you won’t want to miss this workshop. In this workshop, we will look at past experiences and how they help and not hinder the writing process. We are more than prepared to be writers! We will also learn how to take negative thinking and reframe our thoughts into empowering statements as well re-ignite passion for writing. Register below! Breakfast is included. Hope to see you there.

Workshop title: In Verse: Building Stores in Tiny Spaces

This workshop will focus on poetry as a narrative technique and method for storytelling. Topics include novels-in-verse, prose poetry, and the narrative poem. Participants will read and discuss the vignette. Participants will also read, write, and discuss narrative poetry.

In this workshop participants will:

Examine different examples of narrative poetry, including novels written in verse and the vignette.
Learn how to world and character build in this compact form.
Learn how to build sensory detail and create unforgettable characters.
Write a short narrative poem.

Cyn Bermudez is an author, poet, and artist living in California. She is the author of the Brothers series, And the Moon Follows, The Dragons Club, and more. She writes in various genres: general, science fiction, fantasy, weird, horror, and more. She has short stories, poetry, and art published in various literary journals, magazines, and anthologies: Perihelion SF, Middle Planet, Building Red: Mission Mars (Walrus Publishing), and more. Cyn is an active member of her local writing community. She enjoys other creative outlets like photography, sketching, digital art, and painting. Cyn loves spending time with her family and friends, baking, crafting, and do-it-yourself projects. Visit her website for more information. www.cynbermudez.com

Cyn has two novels written in verse: The Dragons Club (West 44) and Graffiti Heart. Her narrative poetry has been published in various magazines and lit journals: Strangelet, Moledro, Devolution Z, and more.

Social Media Stay Connected!

artist and illustrator	Instagram	@cynb.art
author	Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram	@cyncbermudez
editor, lit journal	Twitter, Facebook, & Instagram	@planisphereq
book trailers, readings, tutorials	YouTube	Cyn B

Click here to register for the event.

Workshop Title:  The Page Turner Method: How not to Bore your Readers and Build Tension.

Do you ever worry about boring your readers? With lackluster dialogue and too much description, will people turn the page to the next chapter or put your book down for good?

How do you keep an audience interested?

Well, I have a page turning method that will not only keep your audience engaged but will also help you build tension in your novel or non-fiction piece. I’ll show what can make readers utterly bored, give tips on how to add tension and best practices on how to keep readers interested.

Purchase Tickets Here: $15 Members and $18 Nonmembers

Bio:

A spicy romance and romantic suspense novelist, blogger, short story writer, youtuber and speaker, Donnée Patrese was born and raised in Gary, IN where her love for writing blossomed. She worked as a Journalist at The Post Tribune and the Indianapolis Recorder for 2 years and won an award with the Indiana Association of Black Journalist before deciding to be a full-time novelist.

 Lover of books and a slave to the wonders of her mind, she has published seven books through First Draft Publishing, including the Prohibited Trilogy, Diary of a Wanted Woman and Burned: Deadly Desires.

She has a BA in Journalism from Butler University in Indianapolis, IN and is a lifelong member of Delta Delta Delta Sorority. In 2012, Donnée Patrese moved to Bakersfield, CA where she and her husband raise their beautiful daughters.

Social Media Links

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/DonneePatrese

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/donnee_patrese/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/Donnee_Patrese

Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@donnee_patrese

Website

www.donneepatrese.com

Link to my books on Amazon.

Email: [email protected]