It’s about a kid that grew up in New Jersey around 1930. He quickly learned how easy it was to be a gang leader, but at what a cost. He reluctantly went into the U.S. Army, and after a while, he liked it. After much specialized training, he was promoted to 2nd Lieutenant and reported to the War Department, which ultimately became the Pentagon. He was given small assignments to fix problems and get information for the Chief of Staff. As time went on, his assignments became more dangerous, and they took him all over the world. After completing over one hundred and eighty missions successfully, he was offered the position of managing the War College. However, after six years at the college, he decided to retire. While he settled down in Alexandria with his wife and three children, he stumbled onto something that had stayed dormant for over 25 years. This was not a sanctioned mission, so he had to tread lightly because of the political problems that would create a firestorm.

Lance Tallbear Book 2 The Sonoran Desert of Arizona becomes the resting place for the rotting body of an undercover FBI agent. Smuggling drugs and illegals across the border has become a game with no rules. It’s a treacherous place where fools and losers often pay with their lives. It’s a play board filled with ruthless players whose hearts are as cold as the gold they pursue. Brad Hanley, FBI Director of Border control, fears there is a traitor in his task force and turns to his friend Lance Tallbear to consult on the crime. With his help, he wants to find the agent's killer and reveal the traitor in his midst. It means going undercover, to infiltrate the deadly Sinaloa Cartel. Accepting an assignment that is off the books, hidden even from others in Hanley's service. He'll be without the protection of his badge or office, and all alone. An impossible task? Tallbear feels the pull of a debt of honor he owes Hanley from their prior case together. But is doing a favor for his friend, worth losing both the life he has with Sally Yazzie, the woman he loves, and likely his life?

Their love was written in the stars... but their fight for survival could tear them apart. When aliens invade Earth, Jane Coin never expects to find love amidst the chaos. But a chance encounter with Tre 'Zende, an alien warrior from a hidden race, changes everything. Bound by a connection that transcends their worlds, Jane and Tre must fight to protect Earth and claim their destiny as fated mates. But their love is forbidden, and their bond could be the key to saving Earth or destroying them both. As the Atatinni, a technologically advanced race, tightens its grip on Earth, Jane and Tre find themselves caught in a web of betrayal and deceit. Their forbidden love defies the boundaries of their worlds, igniting a passion that could save them all. But their enemies are closing in, and their love could be their downfall. With the fate of Earth hanging in the balance, Jane and Tre must choose between loyalty and love in a battle against an enemy that threatens to tear them apart. In a galaxy on the brink of destruction, their love could be the only hope. Dream Brides is a science fiction romance novel with a captivating blend of action, adventure, and forbidden love. If you like fated mates, alien warriors, and epic battles for survival, then you'll love this thrilling story.

Writers and readers are slaves to fate, chance, queens and kings, and desperate people, where poison, war, unjustness, and sickness dwell. Nine Transcendent Authors have taken this paraphrase of John Donne to heart and created nine distinct stories that touch on fate in all its manifestations. A forever long hospital corridor, a WWII castle under siege, a missing male member, visions of alternate futures, an Archangel's promise, gay love and a horrible war, the passion of aliens, escaped cons wash ashore, and dignity, death, or? It’s all about Fate.

Submission Deadline: Closed Though the deadline has passed, you can still get involved by volunteering on the Anthology Committee . The Diamond Valley Writers' Guild would like to announce that we will be creating an anthology. Theme Animals: wild or domestic, beloved pets or rascally pests, even mythical creatures. The animal must be integral to the story or poem, not merely a cute, cuddly cameo. Although they need not be the central character, they should inform or be essential to the plot, or impact the main character in a meaningful way. Content Previously unpublished prose and poetry. No excerpts from longer works accepted. Exception: If the piece has only appeared in an issue of Straitjackets Magazine . Eligibility DVWG paid members in good standing may submit up to 2 prose pieces and 2 poems for consideration. Terms First publication rights only. Non-Exclusive 180 days after publication. All royalties will be donated to DVWG. All members are welcome to participate and if you'd like to be on the committee, please reach out to us . Word Count & Format 1,800 words or less WORD (docx) file format Double-spaced, 12 pt, Times New Roman 1” margins Email to DVWGSubmissions@gmail.com with subject line as follows: Last Name, First Name – Title of the Work – Word Count Multiple works must be submitted in SEPARATE emails. Remember: DO NOT put your name ON your manuscript.

If you have recently participated in NaNoWriMo, you've probably already heard that NaNoWriMo has officially stated they are shutting down the NaNoWriMo organization. I'm not going to go over everything here, but Literary Hub has a good breakdown of it and links to much rel evant information. What was NaNoWriMo? For those of you that didn't know. NaNoWriMo was short for Na tional No vel Wri ting Mo nth. It started in 1999 as a silly little challenge to try and write a 50K word novel in 30 days. Then in 2006 it became a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization and grew into a worldwide phenomenon. It also expanded to offer other challenges throughout the year, but the big one was the official November challenge, which often had hundreds of thousands of writers participating in NaNoWriMo (November) or Camp NaNoWriMo (April and July). This worldwide growth also spurred the creation of local writing groups and communities. We often had our own NaNoWriMo group here at the guild during November, and that tradition is likely to continue, we will just no longer be able to use the NaNoWriMo site. So what's the alternative? Several alternative tracking sites started up when NaNoWriMo started having problems in 2023 and I have checked many of them out. The one I liked the best is a FREE app called TrackBear . I've been using it almost since it came out (early beta user) and I must say it's pretty solid and a great app even just for general writing. It's almost identical to the NaNoWriMo dashboard and can even IMPORT your NaNoWriMo history, so for us veteran WriMo's with years of history, we can preserve it and continue on as normal. It also allows us to setup our own writing competitions and create groups to track everyone's progress, so we'll likely use it for any DVWG events. So what is TrackBear? TrackBear  is essentially a habit-builder for writers. Progress on a project can be tracked, interchangeably, by “words, chapters, pages, scenes, lines, or time.” You can even import your old projects from NaNoWriMo into TrackBear! The platform also explicitly states that “TrackBear is designed with privacy in mind and will always be free to use. TrackBear isn’t a social network, a chat platform, or AI-powered, and there is no premium tier or pay-to-play. There are no ads, no third-party tracking, and no data harvesting. It’s just a place for you to track your writing.” Sign onto TrackBear to IMPORT and SAVE your NaNoWriMo history!

The Diamond Valley Writers' Guild publishes an anthology comprised on stories submitted by our members. Creating an anthology requires a team of volunteers to make it happen. We need help with: Reading Editing Illustrating Cover Design Formatting If you would like to participate in the anthology, please email DVWritersGuild@gmail.com

...or How I Made My Dad Not Speak To Me For A Week July 20, 2024 presented by Kevin Ikenberry Of all the things your characters can do, readers will remember how it made them feel. We'll talk about character development, some tricks and tropes of the trade, and archetypal story structure and how to make our character grow and change. All of these are ways to get our readers connected to our characters on multiple levels which is exactly what we want. Kevin is a life-long space geek and retired Army officer. As an adult, he managed the U.S. Space Camp program and served in space operations before Space Force was a thing. He’s an international bestselling science fiction author and renowned writing instructor, which is pretty cool because he never imagined being either one of those – he still wants to be an astronaut. Kevin’s debut novel, Sleeper Protocol , was hailed by Publishers Weekly as “an emotionally powerful debut.” His twenty-five science fiction novels include The Crossing , Vendetta Protocol , Eminence Protocol , Runs In The Family , Peacemaker , Honor The Threat , Stand or Fall , Fields of Fire , and Harbinger . He is core author of the mega-bestselling Four Horsemen Universe , with more than a dozen novels spawned by Peacemaker. Kevin is an Active Member of the International Association of Science Fiction and Fantasy Authors, International Thriller Writers, and SIGMA – the science fiction think tank. Kevin continues to work with space every day and lives in Colorado with his family. Visit www.kevinikenberry.com

February 15, 2025 presented by Lisa Diane Kastner Self-pub, Big Four (or Five), Hybrid, Small Press … what the heck is going on? All you know is you have a story to tell and dang it, you’re going to tell it. But what’s the best venue to share your words to the world? Lisa Diane Kastner will provide an overview of the various publishing options available today and how you can use these tools to get your story out. Lisa Diane Kastner is the founder of Running Wild, LLC, a content creation, distribution, and licensing company. Featured in FORBES and several other publications, she’s been named to multiple “Best of”s. A technology leader by day for the last twenty years, she has helped organizations transform by leveraging technology and process. A writer and editor for more than twenty years, she has identified talent like Jamie Ford’s Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet , Reuben “Tihi” Hayslett’s Dark Corners , Suzanne Samples’ Frontal Matter: Glue Gone Wild , Shay Galloway’s The Valley of Sage and Juniper , and most recently Aimee Hardy’s Pocket Full of Teeth , which had been named best of the year by Kirkus Reviews. And many others whose works have been named groundbreaking in their respective genres. Lisa began Running Wild with the belief that we can change the world through storytelling. A noted storyteller in her own right, Lisa’s own prose have been called groundbreaking and urgent. Curious? Find out more at lisadkastner.com or visit runningwildpublishing.com If you watched or attended this meeting, let us know what you thought of it in the comments below. You must be logged in to post comments.

Colonel Fitzwilliam travels from Pemberley to Dublin in pursuit of a woman who has sworn to never marry. The Honourable Miss Catherine Carteret is plain looking, aloof, and wealthy; she uses these qualities to avoid suitors and focus on her passion for ancient languages, history, and antiquities. His arrival kindles the hopes of Viscount Dalrymple, and family, that she will relent and marry the eligible colonel. To earn her favour, he embarks on a journey to uncover the history of an Irish pirate queen who met with Queen Elizabeth to negotiate the release of her son two centuries earlier. He discovers secrets about the pirate queen and a long-lost English lover when he meets her descendant and is tasked with carrying a precious heirloom back to Catherine. He wins Catherine’s heart but loses it the next day when she changes her mind after confronting her own fears, insecurities, and the barriers she put in place to protect herself. This novel is a testament to the power of love to transform lives and bring true happiness. Real Irish history is woven into this Austenesque novel, with characters from Pride and Prejudice as well as Persuasion.

A Beginner’s guide to professional PODCASTING Have you ever wanted to podcast but you don’t know how to get started? There are over 5 million registered podcasters in the world. Most never make it past a year because they don’t take the time to learn about the equipment and necessary skills required for podcasting success. Many people have a great idea for a podcast, but fail without the proper guidance and instruction. Learn what equipment to buy before you buy it and how to interview anyone, anytime, and make that interview incredible for your listeners.

August 19, 2023 facilitated by Lynette Tucker August is Poetry month at DVWG and the appreciation of beautiful words and phrases continues this year! DVWG members, and audience members if time allows, will share their two favorite works and why the selection is meaningful to them. Pieces can be written by the speaker or they can share their favorite works by their favorite poet. Join in the discussion or just sit back, relax, and enjoy the experience. Perhaps you'll find your next favorite poet or special poem! View the individual poems submitted for the 8th Annual Appreciation of Poetry. If you watched or attended this meeting, let us know what you thought of it in the comments below. You must be logged in to post comments.