Category: Resources

October Meetup!

Posted on by Mark Davis

Where

Good Samaritan Village in the Creative Arts Room, 3011 Buena Vida Circle. Enter through the main administrative building entrance (parking is to the east of the building) and turn left in the first hallway to reach the room.

When

2:30-4:30 pm, Saturday October 18th, 2025 (Changed date due to SNMBF!)

Agenda

  1. Call to Order
  2. Welcome New Members
  3. Membership and Financials
  4. Member Accomplishments
  5. AI discussion continued (several people had more things to say that we didn’t quite get to last meeting. This won’t take up too much more time).
  6. Readings by members?? (THIS COULD BE YOU!)
  7. How to write tension and drama effectively in a scene
  8. Writing prompts based on the above conversation
  9. Time & Date of next meeting reminders
  10. Adjournment

…

Read more

Amp Up for the Southern New Mexico Book Festival with the Las Cruces Bulletin!

Posted on by Mark Davis

Check out new articles in the Las Cruces Bulletin that cover our two rock-star writers and event organizers, Eva Nevarez-St. John and Charmayne Samuelson. First the two discuss the event, its origins and even a little about literacy in the 21st century. The second article covers Charmayne’s amazing run of awards and success with her Mata Ortiz pottery collaborations and, drum roll please… five new awards from the New Mexico Book Awards, announced Oct. 1st.

For more information on the book festival, check out our events page.

…
Read more

Eva Nevarez-St. John and Charmayne Samuelson Talk SNMBF and More on KTAL 101.5FM!

Posted on by Mark Davis

Catch a stream of Las Cruces Writers Eva Nevarez-St. John and Charmayne Samuelson talking about the upcoming Southern New Mexico Book Festival on KTAL 101.5FM, here. They talk about their writing journeys, the evolution of the SNMBF, and a range of topics in writing and even physicality, channeling, and manifestation of creative inspiration.

Lock in the date and time to join local lights and learn more and refine your skills.…

Read more

First Meeting of 2024!

Posted on by Mark Davis

Where

Good Samaritan Village in the Creative Arts Room, 3011 Buena Vida Circle. Enter through the main administrative building entrance (parking is to the east of the building) and turn left in the first hallway to reach the room.

When

1:30-3:30 pm January 11th, 2024
Executive staff will meet 30 minutes early.

Agenda

Call to order, welcome new members/ accomplishments
Membership and Financial/Report
Discuss the December Book Signing
Determine the format for future meetings.
Main Program: Writing exercise by Rosemary…

Read more

Local Resources for Writers and Authors

Posted on by Mark Davis

Please join writers from Las Cruces Writers and our very own Alice Davenport of Moonbow Alterations (and Booknook) at Thomas Branigan Memorial Library for Local Resources for Writers and Authors, Sunday, February 19th, 2023, from 2:00-4:00 PM in the Roadrunner Room.

The event is free and there will be tables for businesses, individuals, and organizations that support regional writers, including proofreading, editing, cover designs, formatting and layout, ghostwriting, book research, dialog, memoir writing, coaching, and book production. You can also learn about pitfalls and scams.…

Read more

Seminar: Branding Your Writing Business

Posted on by Mark Davis

Please join George Pintar, President Emeritus of Las Cruces Writers, for his upcoming seminar on branding your writing business. The seminar is Saturday, July 23rd from 2-4 PM at Good Samaritan Village, Building E (first floor West lounge), 3045 Buena Vida Circle.

Topics to be covered:

Takeaways:

  • Selecting your brand and voice
  • A planning calendar
  • Matching brand to content
  • Marketing tools
  • Questions  and information to share

What to Bring:

  • A 2022 calendar with room to write
  • Note paper and favorite pen or pencil
  • An open mind
  • Water if you get thirsty

This workshop has been designed for writers who want to go beyond just writing and also write as a business or to sell books. There is a difference.…

Read more

Seminar: Online Marketing and Digital Platforms

Posted on by Mark Davis

I (Mark Davis) will host a seminar on Saturday, May 28th from 2-4 PM at Good Samaritan Village, Building E, 3045 Buena Vida Circle. I will also stream the seminar via Zoom (invitation will go out to members email list a day before).

Reaching audiences and selling books online is very 21st century, but don’t expect that if you build it they will come! In this seminar, I will give an overview of online marketing approaches and the idea of a “digital platform” that is designed to assemble an audience using a variety of tools.

This class is designed for writers of all skill levels who have an interest in marketing and promoting their books online. The goal will be to survey the available channels for reaching your audience and do a few deep dives on the technical aspects of those online systems. While some of the details may be technical, the presentation will provide both a primer for those hoping to do-it-yourself and options for those looking for assistance.

This seminar dovetails with George Pintar’s planned July seminar, Branding Your Business.

Topics to be covered:

  • The idea of a “digital platform”
    • Examples of platforms
    • Hybrid models: marketing online and in person
    • Goals of platforms
    • A zoo of possibilities: Twitter, websites, Goodreads, Instagram, Facebook, oh my!
    • Models:
      • No-cost
      • Low-cost
      • High-cost
    • Measuring stuff: conversions
  • Hiring a Service vs. Do-It-Yourself
    • Trade-offs: Costs vs. Learning Curve
  • Deep dives:
    • WordPress website creation
      • Registrars and URLs
      • Services
      • Creation and editing
    • The Facebook/Instagram ecosystem
    • Twitter
…
Read more