I am happy to announce that I will be a workshop presenter at Story Circle Network’s National Memoir Conference entitled “Stories of the Heart VII” in Austin April 11 – 13, 2014. I just received my notification yesterday that my proposal was accepted for an hour and a half workshop entitled, “How Writing 20 Minutes a Day Can Transform Your Life.” I am pleased and humbled since there were only 20 slots and over 65 proposals from a very impressive array of presenters from all across the country.

I am a big supporter of Story Circle Network, whose mission statement reads: “An international not-for-profit membership organization made up of women who want to document their lives and explore their personal stories through journaling, memoir, autobiography, personal essays, poetry, drama, and mixed-media.” I have been a member for several years now, have taught online classes in Flash Fiction and Flash Memoir, Personal Essay, as well as Writing as a Way to Heal, and have also been a SCN national conference presenter twice before. My association with this organization has made a major difference in my life and that is no exaggeration. I have met a range of interesting women through my Internet writing group, my classes and at the conferences and they are smart, genuine, and dedicated writers. Many are older women, who are savvy to the complexities of life and know how to draw from their personal experiences to produce powerful and often heart-wrenching stories that go straight to the soul of the human condition.

So, you can see why I am so pleased to be asked back for another year as a presenter.

If you are a woman who is interested in telling your own stories, then check out Story Circle Network. com. If you want to experience a fabulous writing conference, then consider coming to Austin in April. I can guarantee it’s going to be great. I had the opportunity to read all the proposals and I know just how fabulous the offerings are. It’s a wonderful time for learning and camaraderie, which can be read as FUN.

Thank you, SCN, for including me this year. I am delighted.