All Monthly Meetings are Virtual until further notice.
Members can find the programming meeting links on the RCRW’s forum and on the private Facebook page.
Guests may attend two meetings to help make their decision to join. Some meetings are exclusive to RCRW members only, such as the December holiday workshop. Please contact [email protected] at least 72 hours in advance for a link to access the remote meeting. We use the Zoom software.
Meetings and Programs are live and are not recorded.
We ask Guests who attend their second Virtual Programming Workshop to please consider helping us continue bringing excellent programming content by donating to RCRW.
Please note that the meeting platform has changed to Zoom. Please contact [email protected] for the correct monthly link.
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Virtual Meeting Schedule
Rose City Romance Writers (RCRW) meets the second Saturday of each month.
Meeting are at no-cost for RCRW Members. People are welcome to attend our meetings, up to two times, before they are required to become RCRW chapter members.
10-11(ish): Chapter business meeting
11-12:30(ish): Workshop/presentation
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June 13, 2026 Programming
Writing Blurbs & Pitches that Sell
We’ll explore examples from bestselling books across genres, learn easy step-by-step processes for crafting a summary, and discover how a well-written blurb makes overall marketing easier. As a bonus, we’ll look at how AI has changed search optimization parameters and how we can use that to our advantage.
Topics include how to:
-Craft short but effective one-sentence taglines.
-Summarize the characters’ goals, motivations, and conflicts to intrigue readers.
-Figure out which blurb format and voice best meet genre expectations.
-Blend hero arcs and turning points into a sparkling mixture.
-Use tropes, themes, and power words to add pizzaz.
-Leverage AI tools and changes to our advantage.
Presenter Bio:
Originally from Sweden, USA Today bestselling author Asa Maria Bradley writes sexy paranormal romance and romantacy with a twist of Norse mythology. Booklist attributes her writing with “nonstop action, satisfying romantic encounters, and intriguing world building” and Entertainment Weekly says, “when it comes to paranormal romance with explosive action scenes, Bradley has that nailed.” She is a RITA and Reviewers’ Choice Awards finalist, as well as a Holt Medallion and Booksellers’ Best Award winner. Asa came to the US as a high school exchange student and quickly fell in love with ranch dressing and TV crime dramas. Currently, she lives on a lake deep in the forest of the Pacific Northwest with a British husband and a rescue dog of indeterminate breed. Sadly, neither obeys her commands.
July 11, 2026 Programming
What I’d Wish I’d Known About Marketing
Writers are bombarded with advice about how, when, and how not to market their books, and most of this wisdom is shared with great confidence in predicted results. But if marketing is such a straightforward undertaking–buy ads, see sales skyrocket!–then why aren’t we each on an extended vacation in the paradise of our choosing? Grace shares a few lessons learned and regrets admitted that shed light on the foregoing conundrum, and even has some suggestions for simple, sensible marketing approaches that might work FOR YOU.
Presenter Bio:
Grace Burrowes is a New York Times and USA Today Bestselling author of more than a hundred romances and mysteries, spanning both historical and contemporary subgenres. She has published with major traditional houses as well as independently, and loves nothing more than talking books, publishing, and writing life. She lives in rural Western Maryland, and balances volunteering as a certified therapeutic riding instructor with cat wrangling and fretting over works in progress. Learn more at her website: https://graceburrowes.com/
August 8, 2026 Programming
Talking with Tule and Taking Pitches with Sinclair Sawhney, Senior Developmental Editor with Tule Publishing
- Tule’s mission statement
- How Tule works collaboratively with authors
- What Tule is actively looking for and working on
- What Tule has learned about the digital marketplace —how things have changed and trends
- How Tule is making inroads with the film industry and what we have learned
- An editor’s view of what makes a successful story—think of your reader? What is the fantasy you are delivering? How can you write a story of your heart, but still be a business person? What is your brand and how do you communicate that?
Presenter Bio:
Sinclair Sawhney is a former journalist, middle school teacher and preschool owner who holds a BA in Political Science and K-8 teaching certificate from the University of California, Irvine and a MS in Education with an emphasis in teaching writing from the University of Washington.
She has worked with Tule nearly since the beginning as a developmental editor, focusing on romance, and yet I edit mysteries and thrillers as well. She works with authors to develop their proposals, hone their craft and the story all the way through the editorial and production stages to the book release. Also I work with authors to brainstorm story challenges, help focus it for the market, and work with the author on the back cover blurbs and film decks or one pagers if one is requested by a producer.
Tule (https://tulepublishing.com/) is a collaborative process. Editors often work as a liaison between authors and the editorial team, to clarify the author’s vision and to communicate the realities of the market and production process and consult on blurbs, covers, film potential, etc. Sinclair also represents Tule at industry events and workshops, speaks with a few RWA chapters, take pitches and read submissions.
As a published romance author herself, Sinclair is in a unique position to communicate clearly and empathetically with authors. One of her favorite parts of her job is brainstorming story and working collaboratively to solve story challenges and mentor for craft.
September 12, 2026 Programming
The Sisterhood of Archetypes
This deep dive into a paradigm of female archetypes will guide you through a rich and layered framework from which to start creating your sisterhood of characters. Learn how to cast a balanced story thread of strong female archetypes and interesting stock characters to create the emotional story arcs that will have your readers turning the pages.
Presenter Bio:
Elizabeth Boyle is a New York Times bestselling author of 25 novels, several novellas and a couple of short stories. Her books have won the Romance Writers of America RITA award, the RT Love and Laughter Award, and garnered starred reviews in Publisher’s Weekly and Booklist, as well as appearing on the USA Today bestseller list.
A writer who loves to dig into the nooks and crannies of story telling, she shares her passion for great writing craft with writers from all over the world. Her most recent novel, O Little Town of Bethlehem, is a story of unlikely friendships, starting over, and a fair bit of knitting and baking. https://elizabethboyle.com/
October 10, 2026 Programming
Build Better Characters
Creating realistic characters means understanding why people behave in the way they do. This workshop outlines how writers can use psychological theories to better understand their characters making their manuscripts feel more realistic and helping readers to connect to the story. Participants will learn how motivation works, the importance of internal conflict, and how individual’s beliefs shape their reality, relationships, and decision making. Prompts will be provided so attendees can apply these concepts to their novel/story.
Presenter Bio:
Eileen Cook is a multi-published, award winning author with her novels appearing in nine languages. She’s written YA, Middle-Grade, Non-fiction, and most recently under the pen name Kate MacIntosh, an adult historical novel that People magazine named a best book of December. She’s an instructor/mentor with The Creative Academy and Simon Fraser University’s The Writer’s Studio. Several of her books have been optioned for TV or film, but she hasn’t yet had a chance to walk the red carpet. However, she has perfected her Oscar speech into her hairbrush.
Eileen lives in Vancouver where she is always in search of a great bottle of wine, a swoon worthy period drama, and can be counted on to pet any random dog she meets.