Many of you may know that in addition to creative nonfiction, I write comic books. I began writing the Lung Girl comic book series in 2016. If you don’t know about it yet, find out on my Writing page. It’s about a 12-year-old Indian superhero who kicks butt and saves the world from lung health issues. These comics are educational and they raise funds for The Sid Foundation, a nonprofit I founded back in 2015 that raises funds and awareness for lung transplant research.

I don’t just write comic books, however, I also teach comic book writing. My partner Carlos “Loso” Perez, MFA, owner/founder of Prime Vice Studios, and I are known as the comic book teaching duo in the Metro-Atlanta area. If you are familiar with this area, we teach workshops on the Atlanta Beltline, The Wren’s Nest, The Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center, and many other locations. We teach any age from middle school kids to college students and older (14+).

We recently received a grant from The Pollination Project to teach free workshops in our community as well. So, if you live in the Metro-Atlanta area, our next workshop could be in your neighborhood!

Here's a list of some upcoming workshops/events:The Wren’s Nest- June 25th and July 23 (workshops)
West Cobb Library- July 14th (workshop)
MiniCon - July 21st (this workshop is part of MiniCon- a free one day comic con hosted by the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center including artists, vendors, workshops, panels, cosplay, food trucks, and King of Pops!)
ASIFA South Mixer- July 25th (guest appearance)
Sewell Mill Library and Cultural Center - July 28th (workshop)
The Atlanta Beltline - The week of August 6th (3 day workshop)

The workshops include an exclusive copy of the Prime Vice Studios “Fresh Voices Comic Creation” Workbook that includes everything you need to know about comics “from conception to creation.” So whether you are a writer, an illustrator, or both, this will help you learn the process of comic creation.
Follow the Prime Vice Studios Facebook page to find our events and registration information.
To learn more about Prime Vice Studios, visit www.primevice.com or follow them on social media @prime_vice.

I will also be teaching “Social Media and Blogging” workshops at the Sewell Mill Library and Cultural center this Fall so stay tuned for those dates!

Sign up for my newsletter at the bottom of the page for updates on my writing and events as well.
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I hope to see you all there! :)

Next Wednesday’s blog will be more #browngirlwrites stories.

Until then…
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Happy Writing! :)


Find me on social media. Links at the bottom of the page 👇🏽

During the weekend of November 3rd, I had the opportunity to attend the Atlanta Writers Conference. It was my first writers conference and my first Atlanta Writers Club event.

As writers, we all imagine the moment we finally find an agent to represent us or find that editor to work with who just gets us. Agents and editors are people we dream about for most of our careers but we rarely get to meet them.

At the conference, I got to meet agents and editors from big and small publishing houses in person. I was able to ask questions and have discussions with them. I even got a query letter critique from an agent and editor at HarperCollins. They helped me figure out how to pitch my memoir to agents when I’m ready.

I learned many things at the conference and I cannot possibly fit them all in one blog post. So, for now, I am sharing everything I learned specifically related to memoir.

What agents/editors are looking for in memoir:

1. Your Voice
2. Your Voice
3. Your Voice
   
   

When it comes to memoir, it doesn’t matter how unique or nonunique your story is as long as your voice is unique. It is the voice that sells a memoir.

What agents/editors don’t want to see:

1. Starting a manuscript with dream sequences. Cliché.
2. Having a character look at themselves in the mirror and describe their physical attributes. Be more creative in how your character is physically described, for example, have another character describe her in a conversation. Also, don’t over describe the character. Tell the readers only what’s necessary to the plot and leave the rest to their imagination.
3. Spending too much time describing environment. Again, describe only what’s necessary to the plot. Leave something to the reader’s imagination.

​Legal advice for memoir writers from agent/attorney Paul S. Levine:

• Join or create your own local critique groups.
• Learn how to give and take critiques.
• Attend writing conferences to learn and network.
• Join online writing groups.

I got to learn and share this experience with two of my friends and fellow writers: Lila Dostal and Jaleesa Mitchell. You can check out Lila’s work at www.subrosawriter.com and find Jaleesa on Facebook!

Because of my great experience at this conference, I am looking forward to the next Atlanta Writers Conference in May 2018!

I hope you found the content in this blog useful. Share and comment below with what you found most helpful in this blog and what you would like me to talk more about in the future.
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Thanks for reading!