Outlining the Book or Novel You Want to Write

Three published authors, Darlene Marshall, Wendy Thornton, and Larry Brasington, discussed their outlining and writing styles. A book signing followed the program and Q&A.

Darlene Marshall writes award-winning stories of romance and adventure, featuring pirates, privateers, smugglers and the occasional possum. She lives in North Florida and loves being a writer because her work wardrobe is shorts, sandals and tropical shirts with flamingos. The best days are when she puts the convertible top down and cruises over to the beach to do research. The Pirate’s Secret Baby won the Award of Excellence from Colorado Romance Writers and the Readers’ Choice Award from New England Chapter of Romance Writers of America (RWA). Castaway Dreams won the Aspen Gold Reader’s Choice Award, and Florida-set The Bride and The Buccaneer received the First Coast Romance Writers Beacon Award for best historical. Her books are available in print, ebook format, Kindle editions, and in German and Estonian editions.

Wendy Thornton is a freelance writer and editor who has been published inRiverteeth, Epiphany, MacGuffin and many other literary journals and books. Her memoir, Dear Oprah Or How I Beat Cancer and Learned to Love Daytime TV, was published in July 2013 and is available on Amazon and Kindle. Her mystery,Bear-Trapped: In a Trashy Hollywood Novel, was published in February 2015 and is available on Amazon and Kindle. She has won many awards for her work including most recently, second prize in New York’s Literal Latte essay contest. She was nominated for a Pushcart Prize, and has been Editor’s Pick on Salon.com multiple times. Her work is published in England, Scotland, Australia, and India.

Larry Brasington likes to write stories with lots of action and strong story line. He most enjoys his Shane Ireland, Elf Detective series set in a world in which a quarter of the human race has mutated. He first published stories in 1972: “Temple in the Swamp” and “The Valley,” an H. P. Lovecraft-like tale. Many of his short stories have been featured in www.powdermonkey.biz, an online magazine for gamers. His latest book is Saving Sonya, a fantasy novel. Among his other novels are Alien Madness, Brandenburgers: Invasion of Russia (alternative history of World War 2), Nell’s Tavern (an alien invasion on a backwater planet), and Beyond the Wall (historical novel 169 AD); all are available on Amazon, Barnes and Noble online, or Smashwords.