BLACK DIAMONDS RWA

The Black Diamond RWA meets in Antioch, CA the first Saturday of every month.

Our "small but mighty" chapter stays progressive by bringing you a variety of workshop speakers and online courses.  Please explore our website and email us with any questions!

Upcoming Events (Click on Meetings Link for more detailed information):

**February 4, 2012: Tawny Weber (Blaze Author) speaks on Goals

**March 3, 2012: Vanessa Kier, Monica McCarty and Veronica Wolff speak on World-Building In Multiple Genres

**April 7, 2012: Author Shelley Bates speaks on creating communities with secondary characters.

**May 4-6, 2012: BDRWA Annual Retreat - Location and details TBA

**June 2, 2012: Cyndi Faria speaks on Hooks & Pitches

**July 2012: No Meeting due to RWA National Conference

**August 4, 2012: TBA

**September 1, 2012: TBA

**October 6, 2012: TBA

**November 3, 2012: TBA

 

Introducing Tiffany Emerson

Welcome, I am Tiffany Lyn Emerson.   I was born in the San Francisco Bay Area and I have lived there my whole life.  I am at a place in my life were I have decided to make the time to pursue my life long dream of writing a romance novel.  Of course that means squeezing it in between work, my two wonderful children and an awesome husband, but so far I am making it all work. 

I have a bachelor’s degree in Information Systems which has nothing to do with writing.  I currently work in an IT environment and it is a very fast paced stressful job.  Writing has been a great stress release and it allows me to be creative.  I have been writing stories in my head since I was a kid and I am excited about taking pen to paper or actually fingers to keyboard. 

I love spending time in the great outdoors.  Some of my favorite places to visit with my family are Half Moon Bay, Northern California Redwoods, Yosemite, Oregon and Hawaii. I am enjoying my journey so far into the writing world and I look forward to learning more about the art of writing and sharing my journey with others.

Visit Tiffany's website

Introducing Julie Leyva

Introducing Lee Lopez

Lee served as the Black Diamonds first president since the organization of the group in 2005. She’s been a member of RWA since 1995. This is the first time she has served in this type of capacity, at anytime in her life. As one of the founders of the Black Diamonds, she is immensely proud of the small, but mighty group of diverse writers.

Recently retired, after twenty years as a Correctional Officer, Lee writes medieval paranormal, with all the traditional and non-traditional vampires, werewolves, and witches. Someday she intends on writing about her experiences as a Corrections Officer, but not yet. There is plenty of time for those stories.

She lives in Northern California with her retired cop husband. She’s a Red Cross volunteer, paints, bikes, horse back rides and hikes in the hills near her home, where she spends hours watching a pair of Golden Eagles hunt. Of course she loves to read. Her favorites are Philippa Gregory, Susan Carroll, Elizabeth Kostova, Dan Brown and Steve Berry, to name a few. Her three grown children, have given her eight wonderful grandchildren, who are the light of her life.

 

Introducing Jackie Fleming

Introducing Poppy Reiffin

Introducing Linda Livingston

Introducing Tawny Weber

Harlequin Blaze author, Tawny Weber, is a 2004, 2005 and 2006 Golden Heart Finalist and 2005 Harlequin Blaze Challenge Winner.  She's served the Romance Writers of America since 2002 as chapter secretary, publicity chair, contest co-coordinator, and webmistress in several RWA chapters. 

Tawny's first Blaze, out in May of 2007, is called DOUBLE DARE - It's a fun story of a Bad Girl and a Sexy Cop, and the dare that brings them together.  Her 2008 releases include DOES SHE DARE? in January, and RISQUÉ BUSINESS in November.  Her newest releases are COMING ON STRONG (April 2009) and GOING DOWN HARD (May 2009). One of the New Faces of Blaze, she's looking forward to many more stories in the bookstore. 

She lives in Northern California with her husband and two daughters.  With a supportive family excited about her writing, Tawny knows she’ll achieve her career goals.

 Visit Tawny's website

Introducing Jill James

 

Writing is often solitary work, so thank goodness for the Black Diamonds.  Jill James has been a member of this chapter since its conception in January of 2005.  She is a member of RWA and several other RWA affiliated chapters.  She splits her time between writing sensual, seductive, sizzling romances and her duties as vice-president and PRO Liaison for the Black Diamonds.  Oh yeah, she squeezes time for her husband and kids in there somewhere too. LOL 

Writing has been in her blood and her mind for many years.  Her first manuscript, thankfully stowed away under the bed, was written on an electric typewriter with a manual return.  Several desktops and laptops later make the writing easier, but never the storytelling. 

Jill has several rejections and contest scores to show for her efforts but she knows time, pressure, and perseverance are needed to turn coal into a shiny, precious diamond.

Visit Jill's website

Introducing Karin Tabke

 

Karin's life fostered the term controlled chaos. Mother of four, wife to one, caretaker of many critters and CEO of her own business, she manages to find time between her sons' football games, her husband's football games (he's a head coach), her daughters' dramas, troubleshooting in the office and life interuptus, to write some really sexy stuff.

Hot cops rule Karin's stories. She writes what she knows. Lucky girl that she is, Karin sleeps with her own real life (retired) hot cop. Feel free to drop her a line @KLTabke@aol.com.

  Visit Karin's website

     

Introducing Virna De Paul