VS Grenier ~ Award-Winning Author, Speaker & Podcaster

It's Saturday October 19th and the St. George area community begins making its way into the Lexington Hotel Ballroom. It's still early as authors are setting up their tables to greet, talk and sign books for eager lovers of the written word...and it's only 9am. The day is just beginning. David W. Smith and VS Grenier welcome those who have begun to show up. It's time to get the Book Expo underway and all the exciting events Smith and Grenier have planned for the day. Guest speaker John Sebba shares some poetry with our gathered audience before winners of the 2013 Youth Poetry is announced. Author and poet Lin Floyd steals the show as she announces the 2013 Youth Poetry winners. Many of the winners are present to not only receive their award, but also to read their poems to all in attendance. Now for a bit of fun. David W. Smith and VS Grenier have added another fun treat to the St. George Book Festival this year beyond the Charity Dinner Friday Night (Oct.

Join BTR's World of Ink Network every Monday on The Writing Mama show with host Virginia S Grenier as she talks with debut and award-winning authors about writing, the importance of reading and thier latest works. This week debut author Maryann Tatro is our guest Monday Oct. 21st at 4pm eastern. MaryAnn Tatro attended Southern Ohio Business College and received a degree in Office Administration and Communication. She also attended Cooper School of Art for one year and took with her a love to create, design and color. She worked several years for a publishing company in Cleveland while raising her son Ryan. Tatro’s inspiring children’s picture book, Milton the Square Shell Turtle released Summer 2013 and is published by Halo Publishing, Int. Milton is a story of a turtle. Unlike other turtles with round or oval shells, Milton has a square shell. You can find out more about MaryAnn Tatro, her book and World of Ink Author/Book Tour at  http://tinyurl.com/oz73p

  I have been working over the last few months, along with my co-chair David W. Smith, on the relaunch of the St. George Book Festival. It's been a lot of work and I've enjoyed every minute of it. I have been interviewed, quoted, etc. ever since October hit and as the week came closer to the big event (Oct. 14-19, 2013). What I didn't expect was making the front page as the lead story in my local paper.  You can imagine the shock and surprise I felt as I walked into the ballroom of the Lexington Hotel on Saturday October 19th for the final and biggest event of the book festival week...the Book Expo where we had over 30 authors there to talk, sell an autograph their books for Washington County, Utah community for free, to see many of the authors holding up the front page of The Spectrum where I was not only the lead story but also half the page had this picture above printed with it.  I don't think we are ever prepared to see ourselves in the spotlight as an a

Scott Driscoll, an award-winning writing instructor at UW, Continuing and Professional Education, took several years to finish Better You Go Home (October 2013, Coffeetown Press), a novel that grew out of the exploration of the Czech side of his family in the 1990s after Eastern Europe was liberated. Driscoll keeps busy freelancing stories to airline magazines. VS: Scott, I want to thank you for being my guest here on The Writing Mama today. What do you do to help balance your writing life with your family life? Scott: I have to sheepishly admit, it helps to have a spouse who works full-time with benefits.   I do most of the child shuttling.   That leaves me free to write during the day.   I teach (mostly night classes at the UW) so for years and years I have been gone two nights a week and my wife has had to cover that (and it also means much of my time during the day is consumed with prepping for classes or reading student material). Any way you do it, the key i

David W. Smith and I as co-chairs of the St. George Book Festival were interviewed for this Sunday paper. We are both really excited about the changes we have made and bringing back some of the things our community loves from this festival that is state wide in Utah. The blurb and article link are below. We invite all those living close or who can travel to join us Oct. 14-19, 2013. The deadlines to RSVP and get a booth have been extended to Oct. 16th. A new chapter: Book Festival returns with 2013 Utah Poet of the Year and charity dinner in St. George, Utah. Read more at http://www.thespectrum.com/article/20131012/LIFESTYLE/310120007/A-new-chapter-Book-Festival-returns-Utah-Poet-Year

Denise Zarrella is an Emmy Award-winning reporter who has spent the past two decades covering hard news. She has met with historic figures, including U.S. Presidents and roc stars, but the people she has been most touched by are the children at the center of many of her stories. Zarrella began her career at Fox’s “America’s Most Wanted,” where she researched cases involving unsolved crimes and missing children. From there, she shifted gears to news and headed to Atlanta, where she became an Associated Producer at CNN’s World Headquarters. While at CNN, she began reporting for TBS’s morning show “Interact America,” and her on-air journey began. She left CNN and TBS to become a full-time Anchor/Reporter at WBBJ, in Jackson, Tennessee. She has also world in Champaign, Illinois, and Wilkes Barre, Pennsylvania, which returned her to her hometown in the Poconos.   VS: What do you do to help balance your writing life with your family life? Denise: Writing this