January 17, 2026 @ 9:30AM Pacific Time presented by Jana S. Brown You’ve finished writing your rough draft! Congratulations! Now what are you going to do? Before going out into the world, every manuscript needs a little love from its creator in the form of self-editing and revision. However, that can be a daunting task. Where do you begin? Join author and editor, Jana S. Brown, at her virtual table and learn the Steps to Self-Editing. Smooth out structure, plotlines, character arcs, and continuity while eliminating grammatical mistakes and wordiness to make your manuscript shine. Jana S. Brown entered the world of publishing in the mid-90s and has never looked back. She’s worked as a journalist, fiction writer, technical writer, editor, presenter, author coach, course creator, conference committee member, and a host of other positions. She’s assisted in the creation of bestselling and award-winning novels in the self-publishing space as well as working as an editor with small presses and as an acceptance editor for Book Cave, a book promotion company. She has over twenty books published across three pennames, as well as a host of newspaper articles (over 100 with the Deseret News alone!) and award-winning anthology tales. She runs Opal Kingdom Press , a small press and adores helping other creators reach their goals. Her amazing family and fuzzy sidekicks provide her with support, inspiration, and amusement, sometimes not in that order. If you attended this meeting, leave your comments below. You must be logged in to post comments.

Meeting called to order by President Michelle Bassett at 9:57 am Pacific and presided over by Vice President Kevin Kindle. A quorum was reached with 12 members in good standing and 5 guests. Annual DVWG Election Results: For the position of President, Michelle Bassett was nominated by Angela Little, seconded by Liam Bruce. Michelle accepted the nomination. With no further nominations, Kevin called for a voice vote. All present members in good standing vote “aye” by show of hands. Motion approved. Michelle informed the membership that the Board of Directors voted to amend the Guild’s bylaws, eliminating the term limit provision, due to difficulty in finding volunteers to run for open board positions. For the position of Treasurer, Jessica Bruce was nominated by Aedan VonWeckmann, seconded by Greg Porterfield. Jessica accepted the nomination. With no further nominations, Kevin called for a voice vote. All present members in good standing vote “aye” by show of hands. Motion approved. Meeting Adjourned at 10:04 am Pacific.

A Compilation of Stories, Poems, and Musings Animals are an integral part of the world we live in. Some share our homes as welcomed guests. Others as unwanted intruders. Still others coexist in the wild, separate yet connected at such deep levels that we can't help but pause whenever they're encountered. This eclectic compilation celebrates animals through stories, poems, and musings drawn from the creative wellspring of profound experiences, personal memories, and pure imagination. “MENAGERIE is a delight! Stories and poems about animals told from so many unique and insightful perspectives. Each is a gem and collectively they are a treasure trove! Highly recommended!” Jonathan Maberry, New York Times bestselling author of Red Empire and NecroTek "An eclectic menagerie of tales and poetry. Some will bring you to tears, while others will leave you with a heart filled with joy. It's time to explore."
 Lisa Diane Kastner, Author, Editor, and Founder of Running Wild, LLC. "Menagerie is a special book that will earn its way onto your shelf of much-handled favorites. In an eclectic collection of prose and poetry, anyone who has loved or lost a pet will find a contribution that echoes in their heart." 
Trond Hildahl "It's wonderful to see a writing group that not only encourages its writers, it provides an opportunity for them to showcase their work for others to see. And as a poet, I'm impressed that there are 14 poems in this collection, each one about a different  part of the menagerie. I especially appreciated Blessed Mercenary. And Roommates made me smile. Well done!" 
C. H. Lindsay, poet, writer, book lover.

Next Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday January 13, 2026 @ 6:30PM Six times each year, the Diamond Valley Writers’ Guild Board of Directors meets to keep the wheels of the Guild moving in the right direction. During these meetings we handle the day-to-day business of the Guild, brainstorm ideas for improving the experience for all members, and finalizing details for upcoming speakers and events. Board meetings are ZOOM ONLY and open to all paid members in good standing. The input and participation of members is greatly appreciated... so we hope you decide to attend! If you are interested in attending, email DVWritersGuild@gmail.com for a Zoom invite. NOTE: These meetings are NOT video recorded like our general meetings . The minutes of each board meeting are available for members to read, once they are approved!

Subject to changes and approval at the January 13, 2026 Board Meeting!

October 18, 2025 facilitated by Jessica Bruce Elections will be held for the President , and Treasurer  positions on the Board of Directors. Then we wrap up another amazing year of meetings with our 6th Annual Prose Readings. Just like our April Poetry, this is an opportunity for members to share your hard work and creativity with the entire guild! Click here for submission guidelines.

Bound by blood and ancient markings, strangers forge a shared destiny. Twenty years ago, Qrodin found himself abandoned in an unfamiliar city after his mother was murdered and his twin was abducted. Unable to forget the past, he never stopped looking for his sibling—or for the killer who stole everything from him. Meanwhile, Qat woke up on a pirate ship at the age of eleven with no memory and no family. The only way forward was learning to follow in the footsteps of the captain. After all, becoming an assassin is easy when you have nothing to lose.When the estranged twins find themselves in the same tavern twenty years later, Qat is brought face-to-face with a missing past, and Qrodin ends up with more questions than answers about the mystery surrounding their mother’s death. To unravel the events of that night, they need each other. The only problem is, one of them needs to get out of town fast. The two hitch a ride with a traveling party—a mysterious elf with a past she can’t talk about and magic she can’t control, a monk who only speaks with his hands (and his fists), a dwarf with a battleaxe and an attitude; and a sweet little archer, who may be tiny, but has a knack for cooking up just what they need. As they race across the country, they discover a shared, powerful legacy—that of the Drakkaen Nakkla. The quest to outrun pasts, unravel ancient mysteries, and embrace their true purpose has only just begun.

In the near future, we make first contact with aliens. Not because they arrive in spaceships, but because they’ve been here for years—we just didn’t know it. Mark Phoenix, an old cowboy looking to retire out in the country after losing his business and his marriage, discovers the aliens while working on his friend’s ranch in the Rocky Mountain foothills of Central Alberta. Fate, however, has other plans for Mark—plans put in motion nearly a century earlier—his retirement is not part of the plan! The aliens, a group of female trade representatives that had crashed on their way to the home world of the Federation, use some alien technology from the crashed ship to restore his youth and virility. This inadvertently starts a chain reaction as government agencies take an interest in the aliens and those they’ve been in contact with—as does their Federation! Join Mark and his harem of sexy aliens as they embark on an epic adventure that alters everything we thought we knew about life in the universe—Earth may never be the same. Not exactly a spaghetti western, but there is spaghetti!

Mark learns the ropes of being a king to billions. Join him and his crew on their adventure as they expand their universe and learn some secrets of life in the universe, while searching for the bastard Prince! The King of Atlantis picks up where The Cowboy and the Aliens left off! You must read that book first!

Your typical boy meets girl story, except the girl turns out to be a witch that casts spells for the euphoria. She transforms the unsuspecting boy into a wolf and, by either accident or design, not a normal wolf! No! A werewolf that turns human on the full moon! So, reverse-werewolf? Join Jake as he meets her other victims and they conspire to break the witch’s spell. Making friends isn’t easy when you’re the big, bad wolf!

A woman packs a kill kit and then can't go through with it. A samurai sharpens a blade and seals a letter. A hospital morgue proves to be only a doorway back. Across decades and continents, a net of crises — betrayal, war, revenge, and miraculous returns — ties characters to one another through consequence. This collection pairs moral reckoning with quietly uncanny moments: a resurrected survivor who must decide whether to testify, a neighbor who finds a fan in a hedge that smells like another life, a grieving sister who learns the thing she wants most could undo her. Each story charges toward a pivotal choice that can't be undone.

From the fluorescent-lit boardroom to the desolate isolation of a lonely spacecraft, Dread Mondays collects stories transforming the abstraction of mundane repetition into tangible nightmares. Featuring Bram Stoker Award winners, 'best of' authors, and fresh voices from around the globe, this anthology, in three parts, exposes the horrors we working stiffs confront in pursuit of a paycheck. "Retail Hell" highlights some of the awful truths of customer service and its forced smiles. "Institutional Terror" explores the discomfort lurking in structured environments like libraries and schools. And "Corporate Nightmare" finds ambition, technology, and alienation birthing a perfect storm of horrific speculation-because sometimes, the quarterly reports are the least of your worries. This international collection offers a chilling and darkly humorous exploration of workplaces, where the ordinary mutates grotesquely and each profession's unique set of horrors is well-lit and impossible to ignore. Forget monsters under the bed: the real ones await you at your desk.