Events

Book Babble and Insurance Payoff

by

Learn all about Lindaland and my two new monthly get-togethers: Book Babble and Insurance Payoff. If you’re a writer or insurance professional, why don’t you join me?

Looking Backward

The past couple of years have been a time of discovery for me, as I stepped away from working full-time in the insurance industry. Now, I’m spending my time:

  • Writing. I finished one novel and am working on another. I’ve also written several short stories and a few insurance textbooks.
  • Teaching live insurance continuing education webinars 3 days a week for BetterCE.
  • Offering training/consulting services.

I gained some podcasting experience during this time, and you can find short videos on YouTube at Taking the Mystery out of Insurance and The Writer’s Voice playlist. I also created and hosted Craft Chat, a live monthly video meeting where unpublished members of our writer’s organization met with me and another published writer to ask their questions about the craft of writing.

This coming October I’ll celebrate my 50th year working in the insurance industry, and 2024 marks my 18th year as a published writer. These two industries I love have provided me with the ability to support myself and my family while also allowing me a creative outlet and the ability to realize a personal dream.

The Here and Now

Now that I have some time on my hands, I fully intend to have fun and I invite you to join me!

What I liked most about my podcasts and Craft Chat were the interactions with people who share my interests. Sharing our unique perspectives and experiences was uplifting and, in many cases, inspirational.

What I liked least was the technical work bringing the podcast conversations to a finished product and limiting my Craft Chat participants to members of my writer’s organization.

To use an old Romper Room saying, I put my thinking hat on. Then, I grabbed the magic wand my friend Lois McElravy gave me, waved it over my head, and promptly came up with two brilliant ideas. (Okay, I admit, there was more to the process than that!)

Moving Forward

I’m now hosting two monthly Zoom meetings at Lindaland: Book Babble and Insurance Payoff. Regardless of which meeting you attend, the setting is one for us to gather, chat freely about topics of interest/concern to us, and support each other.

  • Book Babble – for writers of all genres, published and unpublished
  • Insurance Payoff – for insurance professionals

I also envision these meetings as offering potential matchmaking opportunities. No, not for romance, silly! But for:

  • Writers who want to connect with possible beta readers, critique partners, and other writers who can help with those craft challenges.
  • Insurance professionals who are seeking access to new markets, refreshing sales ideas, and other industry representatives who can broaden their horizons.

For more information visit Lindaland on my website.

Mystery Making Event on March 6

by
SW Florida Reading Festival Mystery Making March 6, 2021.

You might be wondering what a mystery making event is. Well, let me explain…

Mystery Making is the brainchild of Sisters in Crime New England, a writers organization of which I’m a member. Back when we writers made live presentations, mystery making events were primarily conducted in libraries. A panel of four writers would work with an audience to create a brand-new mystery.

In a mystery making event, members of the audience suggest:

  • Character names
  • The plot and the setting (including time period)
  • Who the unsuspecting victim of foul play is
  • Who the villain is
  • What the motivation for the dastardly deed is

Nowadays, we’re conducting these events virtually and on March 6, Sisters in Crime New England (SinCNE) will be joining our sisters from the Florida Gulf Coast Chapter at the SW Florida Reading Festival. The Florida Gulf Coast Chapter’s booth at the festival includes recorded and live events.

Four of our chapter’s board members will present a live Mystery Making event from 1 to 2 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday, March 6. Join Lisa Lieberman, Lorraine Sharma Nelson, Tonya Price, and me. Registration information will be available soon.

Main Stage Event

Here is a video of a Main Stage event, Noir at the Bar, hosted by the Lee County Library System. Click the link or image to launch the video.

Save the date for Noir at the Bar, a main stage event at the Southwest Florida Reading Festival.

More Information

The SW Florida Reading Festival runs from March 1 to 13, is free, and involves the following types of activities:

  • Author panels
  • Author presentations
  • Book selling
  • Live author meet-and-greet sessions

Children’s programs air at 6 p.m. and adult programs air at 7 p.m. Featured authors appear in virtual online booths on Saturdays. More information and registration for the event can be found online here.

When the registration URL is available for Linda’s mystery making event on March 6, it will appear here.

Mystery Making with Sisters in Crime New England

by
Advertising the February 10th Mystery Making Event
Hosted virtually by the Barrington Public Library

Join my writer friends at me at Mystery Making with Sisters in Crime New England. I am (and have always been) active in a number of writers organizations–and never more so than since joining Sisters in Crime New England (SinCNE).

Mystery Making is the brain child of SinCNE. It involves a panel of four writers who create a brand-new mystery novel, on the spot. Members of the audience suggest character names and other story elements for us to use.

In the past, we hosted these events live and in-person, but the virtual events are just as much fun. Join Edith Maxwell, Sarah Smith, Tonya Price, and me on Tuesday, February 10 from 7 to 8 p.m. to plot a mystery!

Registration ends at 9 a.m. on the day of the event, so register now. Visit the Barrington Public Library for more information or to register.

Advertising the SinCNE mystery making event on February 10

The organization lists future events on its website. My next Mystery Making with Sisters in Crime New England takes place on March 6, along with fellow writers Lisa Lieberman, Lorraine Sharma Nelson, and Tonya Price. Join us at the Florida Gulf Coast Sisters in Crime Southwest Florida Reading Festival.

Want to help Make a Mystery?

by
Join us for a Mystery Making event.

Join me and fellow mystery writers Debra H. Goldstein, Tilia Klebenov Jacobs, and Clea Simon brainstorm together to create a brand new mystery. Give us your audience suggestions and help make a mystery!

The Lucius Beebe Memorial Library in Wakefield, MA hosts the event in coordination with Sisters in Crime New England. In the past, we presented these events in person but haven’t let the pandemic slow us down. Help make a mystery by registering and logging in on the date of the event. Then, once we begin, simply suggest character names, murder plots, settings. Feel free to suggest anything else that adds to the fun!

A maximum of 50 people can attend and the cost is $0, so register now. Click this URL to register: https://wakefieldlibrary.assabetinteractive.com/calendar/mystery-making-with-sisters-in-crime-new-england/

Click here to learn more about my writing events.

I participate in many of these mystery makings throughout the year. I also appear at other events such as book signings, author panels, and author interviews. Stay tuned for my next two books in the upcoming months. The second edition of Second Time Around will be available and a new book, co-written with author Herb Holeman is waiting for a publication date.

SILA Foundation Webinar

by

I’m honored to have been asked by the SILA Foundation to develop and present a webinar for their monthly series.

The webinar will be presented live on Thursday, May 21 at 3 p.m. Eastern time. The topic is: Insuring Cannabis Risks.

Click here to register: https://www.silafoundation.org/2020/05/webinar-insuring-cannabis-risks/