Ames Writers CollectiveJoin Ana McCracken for our Open Write Tuesday on Zoom or in person at Fifth Street Writers.
WHAT’S AN OPEN WRITE?
We join together, share what we’re working on, and write for ~90 minutes. At the end, we share our successes, and sign off. Easy peasy.
Email Ana, [email protected] to register for the event.
To learn about Ana , check her out here.
Join Ana McCracken for our Open Write Tuesday on Zoom.
WHAT’S AN OPEN WRITE?
We Zoom in, share what we’re working on, and write for ~90 minutes. At the end, we share our successes, and sign off. Easy peasy.
Click here to register for the Zoom link.
To learn about Ana , check her out here.
Join us for our Open Write Tuesday on Zoom.
What’s an Open Write?
We Zoom in, share what we’re working on, and write for ~90 minutes. At the end, we share our successes, and sign off. Easy peasy.
Click here to register for the Zoom link.
Join Rachel Aukes for our Open Write Tuesday on Zoom.
WHAT’S AN OPEN WRITE?
We Zoom in, share what we’re working on, and write for ~90 minutes. At the end, we share our successes, and sign off. Easy peasy.
Click here to register for the Zoom link.
To learn about Rachel and what she’s written and published, check her out here.
Join Rachel Aukes for our Open Write Tuesday on Zoom.
WHAT’S AN OPEN WRITE?
We Zoom in, share what we’re working on, and write for ~90 minutes. At the end, we share our successes, and sign off. Easy peasy.
Click here to register for the Zoom link.
To learn about Rachel and what she’s written and published, check her out here.
Join Kris Abel-Helwig for our Open Write Tuesday on Zoom.
WHAT’S AN OPEN WRITE?
We Zoom in, share what we’re working on, and write for ~90 minutes. At the end, we share our successes, and sign off. Easy peasy.
Click here to register for the Zoom link.
To learn about Kris and what she’s written and published, check her out here.
Announcing Kris Abel-Helwig’s first crime novel, Rule of Odds—Fresh Cut!
Crime Scene Photographer Quinn Agatha Sheridan determines the lighting conditions when the incident occurred and documents the scene. Her ability to see what others miss, in addition to a knowledge of the hidden meanings of flowers, draws her into a murder investigation in which the killer leaves unusual bouquets on creatively staged bodies.
Available for purchase on Amazon, Ingram, and Barnes & Noble.
What’s your genre?
Picture books, YA, currently modern crime fiction
Are you published?
Self published
What inspired you to become a writer?
After being diagnosed with breast cancer and then witnessing the devastation of 9.11.2001, I wanted to put into words and illustrations the desire to nurture and protect by growing roots and giving wings to my children and those of my family and friends. After substitute teaching for eight years, I began to write young adult novels with clever protagonists and quirky casts of characters inspired by dreams and the high school experiences of my three sons, as well as my own. In addition, a playlist of the music I listened to while writing enhances the reader’s experiences and sets the tone for each chapter.
What author(s) do you admire and how have they inspired your writing?
Picture books: Maurice Sendak, Mercer Mayer, Sandra Boynton, Eric Carle
Young adult: J.K. Rowling for showing loving family and friendship relationships, her world-building imagination, and the ability to drop breadcrumbs while weaving tales that engaged adolescents, teens, and adults.
Mystery: Louise Penny because of her wonderful character development
Name three of your favorite books and their authors
Beach Music by Pat Conroy
Still Life by Louise Penny
On Writing: A Memoir Of The Craft by Stephen King
What’s one thing readers should know about you?
Sarcastic characters run amuck in my head and converse with me and each other when I’m walking my pups in the woods or swimming laps.
What one piece of advice would you give a budding writer?
Write your character’s unique story, not the one someone else tells you to write.
Author Bio
Kris Abel-Helwig is the author, graphic designer, photographer, and illustrator of multiple picture books and young adult novels. Fictional characters inhabit her dreams and haunt her nightmares. Their stories emerge while swimming laps, walking pups, and drinking espresso. Substitute teaching inspired her young adult Hero series, including the award-winning I WISH MY WORDS TASTED BETTER. Her newest endeavor, a captivating modern crime fiction novel, RULE OF ODDS: FRESH CUT, is about a twenty-five-year-old crime scene photographer with botanical knowledge who is drawn into the hunt for a serial killer that leaves victims clutching flowers with dark meanings.
Diagnosed with breast cancer in March 2001, a benign brain tumor in 2022, and a new breast cancer in 2026, Kris advocates for early detection, aggressive treatment, and thriving happily ever after… She and her husband live on the side of a mountain in Colorado with a herd of animals and look forward to visits from their three sons, two daughters-in-law, four grandkids, and friends near and far. Visit Kris here.
