Interested in having Meg present a workshop at your writing conference, visit with your book club, or meet with your classroom or school? She’d love to!
Skype/Zoom visits are also available for schools and book clubs.
Meg is not only an award-winning and best-selling author, she is also a trained public speaker with experience in presenting workshops, full-day presentations, and school visits. Currently, Meg is available for the following events, though she would be happy to talk with you about your interests.
Book Club Meetings
Is your book club reading one of Meg’s books? She would love to visit with you live (if you are within range) or via Skype to answer questions and discuss her books with you. Book club discussion questions for her books will be posted here shortly, but she would be happy to send them to your group.
School Visits
As retired teacher with a master’s degree in Education, Meg loves to talk with kids about the value of reading, what life is like as an author, and how her own children’s book series came to be. For older students, Meg has also conducted creative writing workshops with story starters and basics on how to publish on amazon.com. Honorariums for school visits are based on school funding available, travel time, and number/length of presentations given.
Signing books for students at The Branch School.
Meeting with students at Eureka Springs Elementary.
Writing Workshops
Meg loves to share what she has learned as a self-published author and from going the more traditional route. The following workshops are currently available, though Meg is always happy to discuss what you are interested in and the needs of your group. Fees will vary based on travel time and group size.
Show, Don’t Tell: Combination presentation and workshop, Meg explores how to bump up the quality of your writing by utilizing the “show, don’t tell” mantra, including examples from current literature and chances to apply this strategy during the session.
Writing For Children: This presentation clarifies the different categories in children’s books and focuses on middle grade books – Meg’s specialty. Advice will be shared on how to approach this audience, what popular books in the genre have in common, and how to be sure your manuscript is appropriate for and will appeal to elementary school kids. Meg will also share her experiences in successfully self-publishing this genre (with best-sellers and multiple awards) and marketing strategies.
Interview Me!: Conducting a good interview for publication is more challenging than it might seem. Everyone has an agenda. Meg has a degree in public relations and has published dozens of interviews with everyday people, entrepreneurs, authors, and with movie stars like Sylvester Stallone and Kirk Douglas. What will you do when you are face-to-face with Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson? Meg can tell you what she asked him. She will also share the journalistic basics on interview preparation, conducting the interview, and putting it all together in an order that is interesting to readers.
What Submission Editors/Publishers Want: Tired of rejection letters? One step you may be missing is presenting a manuscript that is pre-edited and clean. Publishers don’t have time to mess around. If they spot errors, they may just throw your novel in the recycle bin. As an editor, Meg will share the biggest faux pas (like having a timeline that doesn’t work) and what you can do to avoid them.
Run With Inspiration/”What-If” Workshop: Kick writer’s block out the door! Pulling from her own personal experiences, Meg will share how to find and embrace daily inspiration so you never have a moment to worry about what to write next. The “what-if” workshop includes writing and brainstorming in the session.
Integrating Literature in Your Character Education Program: Meg has been speaking about this integration to groups since the mid ’90s. Work as a former teacher/community trainer with CHARACTER COUNTS! and a decade of experience teaching at The Japhet School, with their highly-integrated character education program, has prepared Meg to share specific ideas on how to work with your school or state program, including specific examples and activities to integrate classic children’s books with a school’s monthly and yearly goals.
Contact her at [email protected] or at 832-922-3294.