22nd Annual
Texas Mountain Trail Writers Spring Retreat

Writing Round-Up

Mountain Trails Lodge
Alpine & Fort Davis, Texas
www.dmectexas.org/
April 12, 13, 14, 2013

13 is Your Lucky Number at the 2013 Writing Round-Up

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Juan Perez: Haiku, horror, 2011-2012 Poet Laureate for the San Antonio Poets’ Association,
comic books, self published six poetry books, & science fiction
 
Bill O’Neal: Texas State Historian, western researcher of gunfighters and ghost towns,
non-fiction children’s author, country music & baseball books
 
Nina Amir: Non-fiction editor, proposal consultant, blog-to-book author,
34 years publishing experience

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Juan Perez is a productive poet and loves to write Haiku, the traditional Japanese style poetry. Horror is his specialty. He has published six poetry chapbooks and has been published in many anthologies, magazines, journals, and ezines. Comic books are an additional love.

Some of his many awards include 2011-2012 Poet Laureate for the San Antonio Poets’ Association, second place winner at 2010 Austin International Poetry Festival, first place in numerous contests, and comic book poetry awards.

In addition to his writing talents, Juan is an actor and an entertainer. He has played parts in several live plays and some films. Juan’’s retreat presentations will be fun as well as instructional.

Juan is a poet, historian, science fiction writer, actor, gunslinger, and lover of comic books. Juan’’s presentations will be fun as well as instructional.

Bill O’Neal, John William “Bill” O’Neal is the currant Texas State Historian,  a renowned, award winning non-fiction writer, and a meticulous researcher on Texas history. O’Neal is also a retired history professor from Panola College in Carthage, Texas. His love for the history of Texas and the Southwest came quite naturally.  Bill is a native Texan whose grandmother arrived in Texas in a covered wagon in 1881, and his maternal great-grandfather drove cattle up the Chisholm Trail.

Bill has written over 40 books and over 300 articles about Texas and the Southwest.  He is considered the preeminent expert on frontier violence, outlaws, gunslingers, and ghost towns.  He has written baseball books, and children’s books including The First Thanksgiving: It Happened in Texas.  His most recent books include Lampasas 1855-1895:  A Biography of the Texas Frontier Town and West Texas Cattle Kingdom.

In 2007 True Western Magazine named Bill O’Neal the “best living non-fiction author” writing about the American western frontier. He was presented an award by the National Association of Outlaws and Lawmen for his book The Johnson County War.

In addition to his writings, Bill was appointed the Texas State Historian by Governor Rick Perry.  He has appeared in numerous documentaries on the History Channel, Turner Network, Entertainment Channel and BBC.  He is a member of Western Writers of America, the Texas Historical Commission, the Texas State Historical Association, and a board member for the Texas Country Music Hall of Fame.

Nina Amir, published author from the San Jose, CA area, is a non-fiction editor, proposal consultant, author and book coach, and blog-to-book coach with more than 34 years of experience in the publishing field.

She is the author of How to Blog a Book: How to Write, Publish and Promote Your Work One Post at a Time (Writer’s Digest Books.) She also is the founder of Write Nonfiction in November, a blog and challenge. She writes five blogs, including Write Nonfiction NOW!,  How to Blog a Book and As the Spirit Moves Me, and two national Examiner.com columns. Additionally, she speaks regularly about writing and publishing on the popular radio show, Dresser After Dark, hosted by Michael Ray Dresser, which has approximately 80,000 listeners per month.

Amir hold a BA in magazine journalism, has edited or written for more than 45 publications and has had her work published in five anthologies. She has self-published nine short books, including the popular workbook How to Evaluate Your Book for Success and 10 Days and 10 Ways to Return to Your Best Self.

As a book editor, Amir also has a proven track record. One of her clients’ books (Enlightened Leadership) was self-published and then purchased and re-released verbatim by Simon & Schuster (Fireside); the book has sold over 230,000 to date. Another (Radical Forgiveness) won the 1998 Writer’s Digest Self-Published Book Award (Inspirational category), went on to sell over 115,000 copies, and recently was purchased by Sounds True. Her clients’ book proposals regularly get them contracts with agents as well.

Amir writes about self-improvement and human potential. She motivates writers and non-writers to create publishable and published products and careers as authors as well as to achieve their goals, fulfill their purpose, and live inspired lives.

This Writing Round-Up has a Genre for everyone.

You won’’t want to miss the Texas Mountain Trail Writers Spring Retreat
April 12, 13, 14, 2013 at the Mountain Trails Lodge
just south of Fort Davis, Texas.

Enjoy the western atmosphere, pleasant warm days and cool mountain nights, while listening to presentations from professional, published and award-winning authors.

You’ll love the home cooked meals and attractive cabins.

You may choose to go hiking on a mountain trail, birding, exploring shops in town, photographing, visiting nearby cemeteries, or sitting and thinking up your new work!  There is also a star pad if you would like to bring your telescope to set up under the awesome stars. McDonald Observatory is a half-hour away. There will be many opportunities for sharing and networking at mealtimes and in the cool breezes after dark while listening to music.  If you enjoy pickin’ and grinnin’, bring your own guitar for Saturday night.

Schedule:

Friday Night Writers Reception: April 12, 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm

Your first opportunity to meet our presenters and fellow writers will be at the Front Street Books Reading Room, 201 E. Holland Avenue, in Alpine. Join us for an evening of informal chatting, relaxation and fun. Enjoy wine or soft drinks and a fabulous hors d’oeuvres spread. Introductions will be made, and schedules, along with maps, will be furnished for the Saturday location. This event only is free and open to the public.

Saturday Conference Sessions: April 13, 8:00 am –to 9:00 pm

All sessions will be at Mountain Trails Lodge beginning with a full breakfast and picking up registration packets. Lunch, dinner and snacks will also be at this location. Dress is country casual, walking shoes encouraged, and friendly presentations invite audience feedback.

In the evening after dinner and the guest speaker presentation, stories by participants will be read aloud, and guitar music will float through the air. Bring a jacket and flashlight for chilly mountain evenings.

Sunday Final Session: April 14, 7:00 am to 11:00 am

An early morning optional Haiku poetry hike to a nearby cemetery, a hearty cowboy breakfast, the last dynamic presentation, and a final chance to glean ideas from the speakers are on the agenda.

Retreat participants exchange cards and fond farewells after a weekend of fun and sharing of ideas in the fresh mountain setting.

Registration Form link:

Download PDF Registration Form

OR
Click Here to Register Online!

Lodging: Mountain Trail Lodge

501 S. Hwy.118, Fort Davis, TX; 432-426-3481 gro.s1369097846axetc1369097846emd@o1369097846fni1369097846
The Lodge has sixteen very nice cabins that will go quickly. Accommodations are also available in Alpine or Fort Davis that you can reach on the Chamber of Commerce websites.

Meals:

The following meals are included in your registration fee:

Friday– Evening Wine/punch & lavish hors d’oeuvres Reception
Saturday – Full Breakfast, Lunch Buffet, Round-Up Supper
Sunday – Cowboy Breakfast

Activities:

Door prizes will be given frequently during the weekend. Free time is allowed for exploring or resting. The Lodge has 8 acres overlooking Fort Davis and Sleeping Lion Mountain. Hiking & photography opportunities surround you. A short shopping trip could be made into nearby Fort Davis.

The famous McDonald Observatory is about twenty miles, a half-hour, away on beautiful mountain roads, but an extra day should be allowed to enjoy a visit to the Observatory and the nearby Davis Mountain State Park.

Writing Opportunity:

Homework for the Retreat

2013 Theme: Where the Wild Ones Write

Many of you return to Alpine and Fort Davis year after year to enjoy writing experiences in the mountains of West Texas. You come to learn, and you also come to share some of your writings created from the annual writing opportunities we suggest. Our current vice-president, Darrell White, is a master at assigning topics for our monthly meetings, and he’s cooked up some good ones for old-timers and new attendees alike.

But, here’s a catch! Darrell is challenging all of us to choose one of the topics and write it in the specified genre. Tough! We local writers have been doing it this year, and have learned to appreciate how Darrell is pushing us to flex our writing muscles and expand our mental horizons.

All stories or poetry will be printed in the next Chaos West of the Pecos. If you are unable to attend, but send in your $15 membership fee by the end of April to our treasurer, Anne Van Loon, you will be eligible to have your work printed in the annual publication.

The Texas Mountain Trail Writers are offering you six choices for homework this year.

If Tombstones Could Talk—non fiction
Around The Campfire—western horror
Down In The Valley—romance

If writing one of these assignments in the specified genre scares you (it did us!), we’ll let you off the hook. “If you choose to accept the assignment” put the genre in your title, like If Tombstone Could Talk-non-fiction.

But if your creative mind automatically goes to a fiction story about rumbling tombstones or night talkers, that’s fine too! This gives you six choices, three in the genre, three in any form. Let’s accept the challenge to write Where the Wild Ones Write!

Rules for our after dinner reading and inclusion in the Chaos West of the Pecos, 2013 edition of our annual printed book:

1. Title of poem or prose will be one of the above 6 choices, or a variation.
2. The poem or prose must be no more than 500 words.
3. Extreme political opinion essays and explicitly sexual submissions are not appropriate and will be omitted.
4. Plan to read your work aloud on Saturday night, or select someone to read for you. If you are a paid-up member and can’t attend, send it to a retreat coordinator who will select someone to read it for you if you wish.
5. Strong flashlights will be furnished for outside reading if needed.

Additional Information:

Authors with books to sell may do so at no cost if they are members of the Texas Mountain Trail Writers and attend the retreat.  Dues are $15 per year and payment may be made with the retreat fee. Please request a sellers’ table on your registration form. Additional copies of Chaos West of the Pecos will be available for sale at $8 each.

Pet Policy: The Mt. Trails Lodge enjoys a quiet country setting. Wild animals wander through at will. We think your pet would be happier and safer staying at home. Check with the Lodge about their pet policy.

Registration Form link:

Download PDF Registration Form

OR
Click Here to Register Online!

For More Information contact a member listed below:

Reba Cross Seals
President
moc.l1369097846iamg@1369097846slaes1369097846ssorc1369097846r1369097846

Jackie Siglin
Lodging Coordinator
ten.d1369097846nebgi1369097846b@1ak1369097846salad1369097846ekab1369097846

Anne VanLoon
Registrar
moc.l1369097846iamto1369097846h@28113690978461nave1369097846nna1369097846

Kip Piper
Webmaster
moc.a1369097846ictm@1369097846pik1369097846

Aleta Belcher
Retreat Co-coordinator
moc.o1369097846ohay@1369097846ydall1369097846wowol1369097846ley1369097846

Janith Stephenson
Retreat Co-coordinator
ten.l1369097846abolg1369097846cbs@s1369097846htina1369097846j1369097846