Yes folks, our NERFA contest has begun

.https://NERFA.FirstCoastRomanceWriters.com
Submit Your 2022 Published Romance Book(s) for consideration for this year’s National Excellence in Romance Fiction Award contest. This is annual event in it’s 10th year to showcase our Romance authors – in any sub-genre – anywhere in the U.S. The volunteer judges are romance readers, romance writers and other book professionals. The contest is open to authors from March 1st to 31st. Judging will begin in April with the announcement of the finalist in June and the winners in July. See the website for more information. It is only the fourth day of March and we already have around 40 entries! Better act fast.

Other Great Member Benefits

Welcome to all the new members to our group and thank you so much to those who have renewed. There are lots of great things happening with the group, the website(s) (yes, we now have 3 new subdomains), and our online resource library that we are building over the next couple of weeks. Please, take a few minutes to visit each of the sites and check out the pages of information. If you are a member and have not been added to the MEMBERS ONLY page let our webmistress know and she will get you added as soon as possible.

Here are the two other new subdomains:

https://Shop.FirstCoastRomanceWriters.com
We offer our eBook Anthologies for sale directly. All proceeds from these sales go towards funding our Author Learning Workshops and other projects. These are only offered in eBook format (ePub or Acrobat Reader PDF). If you wish paperback copies we have a Universal Link – CLICK HERE – to purchase them Worldwide. We may even start a line of “PRINT ON DEMAND” merchandise specifically for our members, romance writers and romance readers. Stay-tuned for more information about that later.

https://MembersOnly.FirstCoastRomanceWriters.com
This for our Members Only – password protected and available to ALL paid members with a resource library, great links for writers, groups created to help each of us share our knowledge and to learn something new. It is for education and encouragement. There will be other items added as requested. Currently, you can do Live Chat Sessions on the website for writing sprints and other things. We encourage you to add your profile pictures (avatars) as well. It just makes it more fun and personal. This resource will only be as good as the members who participate. See you there!

Next Workshop

The next learner’s workshop (March 11, 2023) will be held in the West Regional Branch Library in Jacksonville, Florida. The address is 1425 Chaffee Rd S, Jacksonville, Fl 32221. There will be a chapter meeting beginning at 10:15 am for about 30 minutes. After a short break the fun and learning begins. This time in the Computer Room. Free for Members and Guests inside the Library. $10 on Zoom for Non-Members – CLICK HERE

Caren Burmeister: Now, more than ever, readers are buying fiction to escape a steady series of world events that are making many people feel powerless and anxious. Regardless of genre, readers are relying on you — the author — for the kind of intrigue that will transport them to another time and place. These two workshops will help you achieve those goals.

Workshop one: Build Suspense to Keep Readers Turning Pages.

Workshop two: Create a Strong Sense of Place to Evoke Vivid Mental Images and Associations.

We also are adding our Workshops to our Facebook Events Page – CHECK IT OUT

The Indulgence Book Festival

On the same day as our Workshop there is a writer’s festival happening in Downtown Jacksonville called the Indulgence Book Festival.
https://indulgencebookfest.com/ It was scheduled for February 11th but due to inclement weather they had to reschedule. Some of our members will be attending that event as the club has a booth. The festival runs from 11:00 am to 5:00 pm. So you really can do both on the same day if you live in the Jacksonville, Florida Area. Support our local Romance Writers by attending these kinds of events, buying a book or three and don’t forget to spread the word. – Click on the picture below to go to their Facebook Event Page –

They are also hosting a Before party for the authors, vendors and email subscribers: We hope to see you Friday, March 10th for our Author’s Meet Up @ Breezy Jazz House, 6 PM – 8 PM!