A Busy Year for the Idaho Creative Authors Network

Whew!  It’s been a while since I have been on here! But do you wanna know why, huh? Do you wanna know why?!  This summer has been super busy with writing books and finishing books and helping others get their books out there and making the Idaho Creative Authors Network’s name known!  Those are all great things!! Do I wish there were more hours in the day and the energy to go with it? You bet I do!  But I am so thankful for the opportunities that have been presented to us this year! 

In June, the Idaho Creative Authors Network had an opportunity to be a part of the Old Fort Boise Days in Parma, Idaho. This was our first outdoor event so there was a new formula we had to create for times such as this. That is one thing we have learned as a team. We have hosted writing conferences and now there is not a lot of planning that has to go into it; it is just a formula that we plug in and each one of us knows our duties for the day and how things will be set up.   It took participating in two events (the second was the Ontario Saturday Market Author Day) for us to get that formula dialed in for outdoor situations. You have more elements to consider such as the weather (I will talk more about this in a later blog).

We were blessed this year as far as being able to make contacts and encourage others in their writing journey.   There are so many people out there that want to write but don’t know what the next step is! Our friend, Phyllis, did a great job making a board that says: We Have Answers! And yes we do!  We can help writers become authors and it is such a great feeling – for us AND them!  Our trusty right hand woman, Kimbre, came to our last event and showed us older ladies the new live stream videos you can take from your phone so we all did our first live advertisement for ICAN. What a thrill! 

Well, our year is not over. We have a lot coming up in the next  six months so get your pens and calendars out now to write these upcoming events down.

NEXT WEEK:  Saturday August 6^th, the Idaho Creative Authors Network is hosting a Book Extravaganza at the Maple Grove Grange Hall in Boise, Idaho located at 11692 West President Drive from 9:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. There will be close to 20 tables filled with over 50 books by local authors! We have been so fortunate to have the community provide situations for us to make ourselves known that we want to give back to the author community and let them have that same opportunity. 

NOVEMBER 5^th from 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. we are hosting a Holiday Gift and Book Emporium at the Cloverdale Reception Center at 1200 N. Cloverdale Road in Boise, Idaho. This is a perfect time to come and pick up some unique Christmas gifts for those on your shopping list.

NOVEMBER 5^th is also our SECOND Annual Treasure Valley Writers’ Fest and Writing contest from 1:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. at the same Cloverdale Reception Center.  We have the privilege of having three special speakers: Award-winning author, Conda Douglas, will be speaking on Writing Short to Succeed, Author and Marketing Strategist, Angela Strong, will be helping us understand the Marketing process better and Senior Accountant, Jaime Redfern, will be helping us comprehend The Business Side of Writing. This is a first-class event you will NOT want to miss. Along with the speakers, the ICAN team will be sharing writing tips which will spark your interest to ask questions to our panel at the end of evening. We will have a beautifully catered meal as well as an awards ceremony for our writing contest winners. The deadline to send in your contest submission is October 1^st. Visit Eventbrite  to see the categories and guidelines for the contest.  

DECEMBER 10^th three of the ICAN members will be reading their children’s books at the Ontario Community Library at 388 SW 2^nd Avenue in Ontario, Oregon from 1:00 p.m. to 3:00 p.m.  Sheila Eismann will be there to read her book, The Christmas Tin. Carol Green will be reading her book, Gary Learns to Skate, and I will be there to read my new children’s book The Battle for Christmas.  So be sure to bring your children and grandchildren! 

We look forward to seeing you all and helping you along your writing journey!

Doing things the ICAN way - with a little bit of class and a little bit of style!