"Put Your Heart in a Book" at the 2004 NJRW Conference!

Registration is about to begin for one of the premier romance writing conferences in the nation. New Jersey Romance Writers 2004 Put Your Heart in a Book" Conference, which will be held on Oct. 8-9 at the DoubleTree Hotel in Somerset, is expected to attract approximately 400 people interested in the romance writing industry.

(PRWEB) August 12, 2004 -- Keynote speaker will be Jennifer Blake, the New York Times bestselling author whose career has spanned five genres and more than a quarter of a century. A charter member of Romance Writers of America®, Blake holds numerous awards for her writing, including RWA®s highest accolade, the Golden Treasure RITA for Lifetime Achievement. With more than 50 titles to her credit, including Royal Seduction, Shameless, and her acclaimed Louisiana Gentlemen series, Blake has been published in 19 languages with an estimated 30 million copies worldwide.

Stella Cameron, who has more than 10 million copies of her books in print and five New York Times best-sellers to her name, is the luncheon speaker for the event. The author of more than 60 novels, Cameron has won numerous awards for her historicals and contemporary novels of romantic suspense, including the Romantic Times Career Achievement Award, the Romantic Times Best Suspense Novel of the Year and the Bestselling First Historical Romance Award.

In addition, the first 100 registrants to the conference will be entitled to attendance at a special presentation by Christina Dodd, the author of 25 novels who regularly appears on the bestseller lists of the New York Times, USA Today, and Publishers Weekly. Dodd, whose books include Just the Way You Are, One Kiss From You, Scandalous Again, and Lost in Your Arms, also has won numerous awards, including RWA®s Golden Heart and RITA Awards.

Continuing a popular feature that debuted at the Put Your Heart in a Book" conference last year, NJRW will host three craft retreats: double-length sessions focused on the craft of writing. The speakers are renowned authors Tami Cowden, who will discuss hero and heroine archetypes; Dee Davis, whose session outlines the structural guidelines for building a plot; and Virginia Kantra, who will focus on Deep POV (point of view).

Additional workshop speakers include authors who have won the RWA® RITA, the romance industrys most prestigious award, as well as a host of New York Times and USA Today bestselling authors. Topics include writing contemporary young adult novels, choreographing the action in your novel, time management, in-depth workshops on characterization, setting the scene at the CIA, a day in the life of a profiler, what writers need to know in reviewing their book contracts, creating opening pages that sparkle, publicity and self-promotion for authors, and writing winning query letters, as well as targeted panels focusing on such areas as chick lit" and romantic suspense.

Weve tried to design the conference to meet the needs of writers in all phases of their careers, whether theyre beginning their first manuscript or are a multi-published, award-winning author. Were also adding a few special touches since this is NJRWs 20th anniversary year," explained Beth-Ann Kerber, the 2004 conference chair.

The event will close with a Literacy Book Fair and Autograph Signing that is open to the public, from 4-6 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 9. Close to 60 authors are expected to be on hand to sign their latest releases and meet readers. A portion of the proceeds will go toward the New Jersey Chapter of the Literacy Volunteers of America. In the many years that NJRW has hosted this Book Fair, NJRW has raised close to $10,000 toward literacy efforts.

Cost for the conference is $170 for NJRW members and $195 for non-members. For more details, send an e-mail to register2004njrwconf@hotmail.com or jnbkerber@att.net.

Founded in 1984, New Jersey Romance Writers is a chapter of Romance Writers of America and is home to nearly 250 members, including 80 published authors. NJRW is a nonprofit organization dedicated to providing support, information and resources to writers and published authors, acting as a central information point for activities in the field of romance writing and the romance publishing industry. The group meets monthly at the Holiday Inn in Jamesburg. For more information, write NJRW, P.O. Box 513, Plainsboro, NJ 08536; or visit the organizations Web site at www.NJRomanceWriters.org.