Cover Reveal for Sweeter Than Tea

The cover is here at last!  Sweeter than Tea, a collection of Southern short stories from BelleBooks, will be released in early June.  Be sure to catch my short story, "Running Raw," in it!

Speaking at Ascendio 2012!

I will be presenting A Writer's Guide to Harry Potter workshop at the wonderfully popular Harry Potter symposium, Ascendio 2012, in Orlando from July 12 - 15.  Details will be uploaded soon.  There is a writers conference planned as part of the overall fan experience.  You can read more about the Quill Track at my blog post.  Hope to meet you there.

New Title and Release Date

BelleBooks has given a new release date and title for the upcoming short story collection in which my story, "Running Raw," will appear.  Now, Sweeter Than Tea will be released in May 2012.  I'll upload a cover as soon as I get one.

Critiquing Online for November

For the rest of November I am giving critiques at Adventures in YA and Children's Publishing's monthly First 5 Pages contest. You can check out the entries and critiques here.

Upcoming Online Workshop

I will be teaching my most popular workshop, A Writer's Guide to Harry Potter, online at SavvyAuthors starting November 7. This is a month-long, intense course that analyzes the techniques Rowling used to make Harry Potter such a success for other novelists. Find more information at SavvyAuthors.

Leaky Fun!

LeakyCon was fabulous! Had loads of fun. You can see my full report at my blog here.

For regular updates from me, you'll want to follow my blog, as that's where I'm posing the most. As well as Twitter.

Don't forget my two upcoming workshops for Savvy Authors.

Finally, A Writer's Guide to Harry Potter is up on Kindle. Give it a wave! :-)

Celebrating the End of an Era

Woot! I'll be joining a humongaloid group of fans in Orlando during the week of the release of the last HP movie and with events at Universal's Harry Potter theme park! As part of LeakyCon's 2011 academic and fan conference, I'll be presenting A Writer's Guide to Harry Potter. Hope to see you there!

Two Upcoming Workshops

I will be presenting two workshops for Savvy Authors in the upcoming months. Conflicts of Myth will be presented throughout the month of September, to be followed by A Writer's Guide to Harry Potter in October - November. Please check out the links and sign-up!

Community College Workshop

I will be teaching a one-day workshop on A Writer's Guide to Harry Potter at Central Carolina Community College on Saturday, January 22, 2011. If you live near central North Carolina, please join me for a day of learning, discussion, and writerly fun!

Tweeting @HP4Writers

In addition to my regular Twitter account @SPSipal, I started a new one a few weeks ago to go along with my new blog. If you're interested in analyzing JK Rowling's techniques and style to help improve your own, then check out my new Tweets @HP4Writers and Harry Potter for Writers blog.

Savvy Blog Post

Want to know how to thrill your reader, whether your reader be agent, editor, or bookbuyer? Then check out my blog post at Savvy Authors on Giving the Reader More: An Analysis of JK Rowling.

New Blog -- Harry Potter for Writers

The workshop I have given for years, A Writer's Guide to Harry Potter (formerly known as Writing with Magic (for Muggles)), has been so popular, that I've finally done something I should have done months ago -- created its own blog! In between workshops, writers often want to ask questions or discuss elements of the series that go beyond the scope of my presentation. Now we have a forum where we can share and learn together. Check it out at Harry Potter for Writers. And please leave a comment!

Savvy Authors Workshop

I will be presenting A Writer's Guide to Harry Potter online during the month of August at Savvy Authors. For the first time, I'll be conducting a couple of live chats during the course of this workshop, along with the regular intensive lessons. Hope to see you there!

Carolina Writers Conference

I will be presenting A Writer's Guide to Harry Potter as a two-hour workshop at the Carolina Writers Conference on April 17. Hope to see any of you near North Carolina there!

FFP Blog Posted

The Fantasy, Futuristic, and Paranormal Chapter of RWA just posted a blog article from me that's an introduction to the workshop I'll be teaching there starting January 4, 2010. Would love to have your comments!

Presenting a Writer's Guide to Harry Potter

I will be presenting what used to be called Writing with Magic (for Muggles) online in January for the RWA Fantasy, Futuristic and Paranormal Chapter. The name change was necessary because people usually assumed I just covered fantasy/magical aspects, and really the workshop is appropriate for writers of most types of commercial fiction.

New YA Fantasy Complete!

Haven't been available to update the site lately because I've been happily writing. It's a first draft and still rough, but THE END has arrived! This is a young adult contemporary fantasy adventure with mystery undertones -- and the best thing I've every written. :-)

Woods Charter Foundation Benefit Workshop

On Saturday, January 31, 2009, I will be presenting an all-day workshop to benefit The Woods Charter Foundation, Inc. The two workshops presented will be A Beginners Guide to Writing Commercial Fiction and Writing with Magic (for Muggles). Please see the Woods website for more information and registration.

Upcoming Workshop

I will be presenting Writing with Magic (for Muggles) in May 2009 as an online course for Lowcountry RWA. When more details and registration are available, I'll post them here.

Chasing Kat Wins!

Chasing Kat has won first place in the Spicy Category of the Summer Sizzle Contest sponsored by Ohio Valley RWA. The final judge was editor Kathryn Lye of Harlequin Blaze.

Double Finalist!

The Artemis Key and Chasing Kat have both finaled in the PASIC (Published Authors' Special Interest Chapter) Book of Your Heart contest. The Artemis Key now goes for final placement to Becky Vinter of NAL, and Chasing Kat goes to Leis Pederson at Berkley.

TARA Contest Finalist

Foreign Wives Club has finaled in the 2008 Tampa Area Romance Authors Contest, and will now be judged by Lindsay Louis at NAL!

Large Print Edition Available

On Grandma's Porch is now available in a large print edition in hardback. More Sweet Tea will be available in early August as well.

Star Sipal

Thanks to the Spacecoast Authors of Romance Writers Launching a Star Contest, and their coordinator Lee Duncan, there is now a star in the sky named Sipal! They were going to name it Susan Sipal, but my kids were so thrilled with the idea of a star bearing our name, that I asked them to simply make it Sipal. Look hard one clear night in the Big Bear constellation, and you just might see our star twinkling at you. :-)

Contest Win

Great News!! Southern Fried Wiccan not only won the young adult category of the Launching a Star contest sponsored by Spacecoast Authors of Romance, but was judged the Overall Contest Winner!
Yes, I'm psyched!

Editorials Published

My 3-part editorial, Egyptian Myths in Harry Potter, has been published on Mugglenet.com. Check out each one:
Harry of the Two Ways
The Contendings of Harry and Voldemort
Harry's Sacred Egyptian Triangle

London Presentation During Harry Potter Release!

I will be presenting Writing With Magic (for Muggles) and Seeking Egyptian Myths in Harry Potter at Sectus, an Unofficial Harry Potter Conference, July 19-22 in London, England.

B&N Book Club Presenter

Along with several other authors from The Plot Thickens ... Harry Potter Investigated by Fans for Fans, I will answer questions for the month of June and July at Barnes and Noble's Waiting For Harry Book Club Boards.