June Letter From the Editor - New Beginnings

June! Fabulous, sunny, green, beautiful June! Soon it will officially be summer (though I tend to consider it summer once school lets out). Various libraries will be launching their summer reading programs (Pikes Peak Library District started theirs June 1, so if you've got kids, hit any PPLD branch to sign them up for some great reading incentives).

June completes the vibrant changes that began earlier in spring. It furthers the new beginnings taking place. And in spirit of June's new beginnings, I'd like to welcome our newest Writing From the Peak columnist, Donnell Ann Bell. You can find a link to her website with her fellow columnists in the right-hand sidebar. Welcome, Donnell! We look forward to your contributions to Writing From the Peak.

We also have some exciting news about our Write Brain programming. Pikes Peak Writers has teamed up with Delve Writing to record our Write Brains so they can be accessed online, in their entirety, within a few days of the Write Brain. If you live too far to come down, weather causes a cancellation, or any other reason you can't attend the Write Brains in person, you'll now be able to watch them online. Not only that, but about once per quarter we'll offer one Write Brain that is broadcast live and recorded entirely online, which means we can now bring in speakers from all over the country, rather than limiting them to Colorado only! And even if you aren't able to get one of the limited live slots to attend that night, you'll have access to it online within a few days.

Want to try this out and see exactly what I mean? Page Lambert's May Write Brain, Manifestation of Yearning: The Flesh & Blood Factor of Good Storytelling, is available online right now! You'll have access to her speaking and her PowerPoint notes, simultaneously. Try it out by CLICKING HERE!

As part of this partnership, Delve Writing will also be providing a quarterly post here on Writing From the Peak. They'll bring you more great content on the craft of writing, and tips and tricks for writers.

Finally, Pikes Peak Writers is now offering a quarterly email with information on upcoming events. The first one will come out soon, and will include details on our June, July, and August Write Brains, and on some exciting events we're offering at the end of June! This is a trial to see how people like it, but quite a few have signed up already. If you'd like to sign up for the quarterly email, send an email to events [at] pikespeakwriters [dot] com, with "Quarterly Event Email" in the subject line, and the email address you'd like it sent to in the body of the email.

Here's to a wonderful month of new beginnings of all kinds for you and yours!

~Shannon Lawrence
Managing Editor, Writing From the Peak
NCE Director, Pikes Peak Writers