Thursday, September 9th, 2010 :: 7 pm
Bellevue Launch for She's Gone Country
BARNES & NOBLE
626 106th Avenue Northeast, Bellevue, WA 98004
(425) 451-8463
~ Join Jane for the Bellevue launch of her new release She's Gone Country! Jane will be signing books at the B&N store, followed by a party at Ooba Tooba!

Saturday, September 11, 2010 :: 6:30pm
Seattle Booksigning
THIRD PLACE BOOKS
17171 Bothell Way NE #A101
Lake Forest Park, WA 98155
Ph 206-366-3316
~ Jane will be reading from SHE'S GONE COUNTRY, answering questions and signing copies of her new book. Drop by and say hello if you can!!

Sunday, September 12, 2010 :: 2pm - 5pm
California Book Event: Visalia
Borders Books
3415 S. Mooney Blvd.
Visalia, CA 93277
~ Jane's going to be throwing a very fun book release party for all her Visalia family, friends, and fans. There'll be food, drink, and copies of SHE'S GONE COUNTRY available so save the date and stay tuned for more info soon!

Saturday, October 2nd, 2010 :: 4:30-6 pm
Literacy Signing - Open to the Public
EMERALD CITY CONFERENCE
Hilton Bellevue Hotel
Bellevue, Washington.
~ Bookfair
Saturday, October 2, 2010

Meet Jane, Brenda Novak, Megan Crane, Liza Palmer, Julia Quinn and dozens more of your favorite authors!

Saturday, October 2, 2010 :: 11 am
Writing to Sell: Getting Started
Workshop with Megan Crane and Liza Palmer
Hilton Hotel
300 112th Avenue SE
Bellevue, WA 98004
~ Jane, Liza and Megan will be presenting their workshop, Writing to Sell: Getting Started. A fantastic workshop by three bestselling authors.

Monday, October 11th, 2010 :: 6pm - 8:30pm
Texas Book Tour: Dallas Launch for SHE'S GONE COUNTRY!
TBA
TBA
~ Join Jane for a special party as she launches her Texas Book Tour! You won't want to miss the cocktails, fun food and conversation. Jane will be reading from and discussing She's Gone Country and answering your questions. You'll also have the chance to pick up a signed book and JP Swag Bag of reader goodies to take home. Please join Jane as she kicks off her Texas Tour in Texas style!

Thursday, October 14th, 2010 :: 5-7pm
Texas Book Tour: San Antonio
The Twig Book Shop
200 E Grayson, Ste. 124
San Antonio, TX 78215
www.thetwig.com
210-826-6411
~ Jane will be doing a meet and greet with refreshments provided by the Twig, then a reading/talk and a book signing.

Friday, October 15th, 2010 :: 4-6pm
Texas Book Tour: Georgetown
HILL COUNTRY BOOKSTORE
719 S Main St
Georgetown, TX 78626-5700
(512) 869-4959
~ Jane will be signing copies of She's Gone Country! Stop by and say Hello!

Sunday, October 17th, 2010 :: 12pm - 3pm
Texas Book Tour: Katy
KATY BUDGET BOOKS
2450 Fry Rd
Houston, TX 77084
281-578-7770
~ Join Jane for a fun Country party and book signing! Cool entertainment with a Western pop. Hope to see you there!

Sunday, October 17th, 2010 :: 4:30pm - 6:00pm
Texas Book Tour: Houston
BRAZOS BOOKS
2421 Bissonnet St.
Houston, Texas 77005
(713) 523-0701
~ Jane will be reading from She's Gone Country during a Meet & Greet and Book Signing! Come join her for a fun-filled evening!

Monday, October 18th, 2010 :: 10am
Texas Book Tour: Houston
BLUE WILLOW BOOKS
14532 Memorial Drive
Houston, TX 77079
(281) 497-8675
~ Join Jane for a fun Mom's Morning Out! There will be cowboy craft activities for kids and an author chat for Moms.

Sunday, October 24th, 2010 :: 3pm - 5pm
Woodinville Booksigning
Star Guild Fund Raiser
Block C of Downtown Woodinville
18025 Garden Way N.E.
Woodinville, WA 98072
425-398-1990
~ Jane will be attending the Star Guild Fundraiser and signing copies of She's Gone Country!

Saturday, January 15th, 2011 :: Time TBA
Workshop for San Diego RWA Chapter
San Diego, CA
~ Jane will be presenting a writing workshop for the San Diego RWA Chapter. Topic and time still to be announced. A book signing will follow the event. Book signing is open to the public. Check back for updates and more info!

Every summer Jane participates (alongside hundreds of romance writing colleagues) in the RWA annual "Literacy for Life" booksigning benefit. The event is free and open to the public. Every year the benefit raises thousands of dollars. For more information on this event, visit rwanational.org.

Jane at the 2008 National RWA book signing to promote literacy, in San Francisco. See photos from past RWA's annual booksignings.

Jane regularly speaks at writers groups worldwide. Read on to view a list of WORKSHOPS Jane loves to share. Click on any workshop title to be whisked away to a detailed description. Bring Jane to speak at your writer’s group meeting or conference. Contact Jane for availablity.

~ Writing in 1st Person Workshop

~ Intense & Tight: Pacing the Short Contemporary

~ Love, Sex, and the Alpha Male

~ Playing Nice with Your Dragon

~ Creating the Unforgettable Heroine

~ Writing Tight Dialogue

~ Voice & Market Workshop: Writing Smart, Writing Well, Writing to Sell

~ Ten Keys to Success & Survival: What Every Romance Author Should Know

~ Writing Hot: It's Not Just Great Sex

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Writing in the 1st Person Workshop

Jane Porter will take a close look at the industry trend of writing in first person and discuss the pluses and minuses of writing in 1st person instead of 3rd. The workshop will also examine dialogue, themes, and dramatic importance in today's bestselling chick-lit and women's fiction novels. If you've ever wanted to explore voice and narrative in today's market, this workshop is for you.

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Intense & Tight: Pacing the Short Contemporary

The short contemporary novel isn't a shorter version of the long contemporary novel. It's a totally different beast altogether. Readers that love short contemp series, love it because it's a roller coaster read-fast, intense, tight. The magic of the short contemporary is the pacing.

The short contemporary thrives on tension, and our job as writers is to deliver this tension. We want to hook readers on page one and keep them hooked. The goal is to get them reading breathlessly, to have them turning pages without putting the book down.

For readers to read with this breathless anticipation, we've got to learn to intensify the short contemporary's story time. There's no room to waste in these books, no place for extra words, or slow, meandering scenes. If we can think of our books as mini-mainstreams then we'll be able to deliver the flavor, texture, conflict, motivation of a longer book by just narrowing the scope of the plot.

To establish an intense and satisfying pace, writers need to watch out for
potential dangers and irritants, as well as learn craft techniques that will increase story momentum without losing energy.

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Love, Sex, and the Alpha Male

The Alpha Male as Top Dog (Definition of an Alpha Male)

An Alpha Male Doesn't Run from a Fight (character and motivation)

The Alpha Male's Emotional Appeal (why readers love him)

The Alpha Male is a Sophisticated Lover (how to write love scenes with sizzle & tension)

Why the Alpha Male needs a Mission (the hero is transformed by love)

An Alpha Male needs an Alpha Female (write the right heroine for your hero)

Jane uses video clips from Tarzan, High Noon, Last of the Mohicans, Goldfinger, and Gladiator to demonstrate these points.

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Playing Nice with Your Dragon

This workshop examines the writer's life, using dragon symbolism to demonstrate how we commercial writers must remain devoted to craft and the art of fiction, while refusing to allow our muse to run the show unchecked, showing up at will, deserting at will, and generally creating havoc.

A dragon run amuck is not a good thing. A dragon out of control eats villagers, creates terror, spits fire -- this dragon is not helping anybody and would generally be hunted down by the hardier castle knights and warriors and put to death. Not a good end to a beautiful, mythical beast.

How to keep a dragon happy?

1) The dragon wants pretty much primary importance in your life.
2) Your dragon wants to be told he or she's beautiful.
3) Dragons like regular cycles of activity and rest (i.e. your dragon has to be allowed to sleep-a lot. In fact, a sleeping dragon is a sign of a healthy life.)

We dragon keepers (not slayers!) walk a fine line: we must allow the dragon healthy independence without letting the dragon control the future.

How to do this? Define Your Expectations, Be Prepared for Pit-falls, and Problem Solve, including developing a psychology of power. Most of us weren't raised to think of ourselves as warriors, or dragon keepers, and yet the creative life demands we assert ourselves and take responsibility for what we think and what we hope to achieve.

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Creating the Unforgettable Heroine

Creating the Unforgettable Heroine, the companion workshop to New York's Love, Life, Sex and the Alpha Hero Workshop, analyzes the traits of the unforgettable heroine, as well as the challenges of getting the complex heroine right on paper. Unlike the larger than life hero, the heroine must be emotionally accessible from the start of the book-firmly grounded in reality-and yet someone the reader can cheer for.

Meeting Reader Expectations
Because the majority of our readers are women, our readers have different expectations for the heroine than the hero. Our heroines can't be as flawed as the heroes, and yet our heroines must still grip the reader's imagination. Our readers want strong heroines, real women that are compelling, powerfully motivated, and ultimately heroic.

Where do we find the traits of this compelling heroine?
While our hero stems from our imagination, the heroine must come from our hearts and lives. The traits of the unforgettable heroine are found within each of us -- she's the woman we'd want as our best friend, the woman we ourselves would like to be.

How do we create such a heroine -- not just once, but in book after book?
Using video clips from six popular films, Jane discusses the unique challenges women face from a historical and modern perspective, addressing issues like sexism, feminism, cultural limitations and prejudice, and the complexity of being strong without alienating other women and men.

The challenges facing the heroine are daunting, but unforgettable heroine is able to meet these challenges with courage, humor and passion, winning not just our reader's respect, but ensuring an unforgettable ending.

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Writing Tight Dialogue

Dialogue makes up the biggest chunk of your novel. Dialogue gets readers turning pages. And dialogue is what helps your readers fall in love with your characters.

So how do you write tight dialogue? It's a two step process. You write.
And then you edit. And the editing, quite frankly, never ends. I'm usually
line editing my dialogue until my editor won't let me touch the
manuscript -- or print out -- one more time.

Dialogue basics: dialogue goes hand and hand with pacing. Through dialogue you can convey essential details in an interesting and efficient way.

Used correctly, dialogue
A. Progresses the Plot
B. Reveals Character
C. Shows (Emotional) Context
D. Entertains

In the workshop Jane discusses linguistics, the differences between male/female communication styles, and shares 10 craft techniques for using dialogue to make your characters and conflict come alive.

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Voice & Market Workshop: Writing Smart, Writing Well, Writing to Sell

Your writing voice is you on paper. It's the basic storyteller in each of us putting an idea together. You can embellish a voice, strip a voice, but in the end, the voice is what it is. To write smart, and write well, you have to know who you are to develop your strengths and use your personal style and themes to sell.

It's vital to establish the you before you target your audience. Know your strengths, preferences, even weaknesses as a writer. Know what sets you apart and yet what also ties you to other writers. This knowledge has to be more than genre-specific. Don't merely accept that you are a historical writer, a mystery writer, or a category writer.

In this workshop Jane uses fairy tales, Greek myths, and market knowledge to teach others how to succeed in the romance industry. The workshop focuses on Voice & Style, Voice & Theme, and Voice & Market and helps participants identify their own strengths and personal themes, along with possible markets for submission.

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Ten Keys to Success & Survival:
What Every Romance Author Should Know

This workshop examines the ten things Jane knows now but wishes she knew earlier about our industry. Obviously every writer's experiences are unique, but we all should know the basics, and this is Jane's list of basics every writer will want to know. The workshop covers: craft know how, mental strength, personal & professional relationships, publishing hurdles, reviews, and more

The ten key to success and survival are:

1. Secret to Selling
2. The Secret to Survival
3. Goal Setting
4. Perseverance/Mental Strength
5. Market Knowledge & Submission Acumen
6. Get Feedback
7. Rules of Rejection/Revision
8. Be Smart About Relationships
9. Reviews
10. Marketing & Publicity

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Writing Hot: It's Not Just Great Sex

Oscar Wilde once wrote, "The essence of romance is uncertainty." It's a clever observation. We walk a fine line when we woo — come on too ardent, and the undecided suitor might flee. And certainly in every male/female meet there's a combination of self-consciousness, uncertainty — and mutual attraction. And it's our jobs as writers, storytellers, to exploit those very human traits. In the early stages of a romance, these three traits drive every step of the new relationship.

The workshop will look at relationship studies, including studies that emphasize the link between happiness and sex, passion and reason, and the chemistry of desire and attraction.

The workshop then applies the results of these studies to our literary craft, focusing on how characterization, plot, motivation and conflict determine the level of sensuality, sexuality and intimacy in every romance, and how every romance novel is different. We can't just write great sex scenes. We have to write a great book. Jane will share tips and techniques for making a story sizzle — emotionally as well as sexually.

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