Jul 10thExploring the Writer’s Craft

Just a reminder to all those interested future writers, the third annual writer’s conference presented by Women Who Write, “Exploring the Writer’s Craft” will be held on Saturday, July 12th. The registration begins at 8:30 AM and the first sessions will start at 9 AM. The $60 registration fee includes lunch. Seniors, students, and members of Women Who Write will pay a $45 registration.

There is a keynote speaker and 12 individual sessions. Attendees can make choices of which ones they prefer. (See my earlier post for the speakers.) A wine reception will be held at Wight-Meyer Vineyard and Winery for those wanting to go. Authors  will be selling and signing their books during the conference.

My presentation will be in the afternoon and is titled “Sip, Swirl, and Write: A Guide to Writing About Wine. I hope to see you there.

Jul 8thGreat Day Live

My first experience of appearing on a television show was very enjoyable. I was quite nervous thinking about it, but once the interview began, Laura Rogers made it easy to be comfortable. Talking about my book and Kentucky wineries on Great Day Live will hopefully be the birth of a lot of new Kentucky Wine Lovers and will also bring a lot of interested writers to Exploring the Writer’s Craft on Saturday.

I am attaching a link to the site if you’d like to watch the segment.

 Video Link: http://www.whas11.com/great-day-live/video/Kentucky-wine-author-Faye-Collins-Women-Who-Write-hosts-Writers-Workshop-266219331.html

Jul 7thExploring the Writer’s Craft

For those who watch WHAS, in Louisville, I will be talking about the writer’s conference and my book on the morning show Great Day Live, 10 AM, on Tuesday, July 8.

Jun 13th“Exploring the Writer’s Craft” with Women Who Write

I wanted to share the following announcement, sent to me by Susan E.Lindsey, about a writer’s workshop that I will be taking part in on July 12. Hope some of you will find it interesting. I’d love to see you there.

Registration Opens for “Exploring the Writer’s Craft” Speakers at July 12 workshop include novelist Allie Pleiter and biographer Alanna Nash; registration discounted until June 15 

Writers across the region are invited to the third annual writing workshop organized by Louisville-based Women Who Write, July 12, at Jefferson Community and Technical College, 505 Buffalo Run Rd., Shepherdsville, Ky. The full-day workshop, “Exploring the Writer’s Craft,” focuses on helping writers build skills.

Keynote—prolific novelist Allie Pleiter of Chicago (The Firefighter’s Match and other novels)

Guided Writing / Poetry—Dr. Annette Allen (Country of Light and What Vanishes)

The Right Word: The Power of the Particular—Bobbi Buchanan, editor of New Southerner

Swirl, Sip, Write: Writing About Wine—P. Faye Collins (A Wine Lover’s Odyssey Across Kentucky)

Audio Books: Part of Your Publishing Model—Carol Dines, narrator of 400+ books

Humor for Lunch—Joan Dubay, Women Who Write member

The Exhilaration of Writing Historical Nonfiction—Sid Easley (A Courthouse Tragedy: Politics, Murder and Redemption in a Small Kentucky Town)

Blogging with Purpose—Amy Higgs (http://write-is-might.com)

How to Hire and Work with an Editor—Susan E. Lindsey, owner of Savvy Communication

A Perfect Romance—Sandy Loyd, author of fifteen romance novels

Writing Biography—Alanna Nash (Baby, Let’s Play House: Elvis Presley and the Women Who Loved Him)

Izhiibii’an (Write Things a Certain Way)—Ojibwe poet and professor Dr. Selene Phillips

Writing Historical Fiction: Getting Started—Mary Popham (Back Home in Landing Run)

Free Write: Give Yourself Permission to Just Write—Linda Satterlee-McFadin

Although the event is organized by Women Who Write, all writers (female and male) at all levels of experience, are encouraged to attend. Books published by the speakers will be available for purchase. After the workshop, attendees can mingle with speakers at a reception featuring Kentucky wines.

Lunch is included in the registration fee of $60; a discounted rate of $45 is available for seniors (60+), students, Women Who Write members, and those who register by June 15. Online registration is now open at www.WomenWhoWrite.com or attendees can register by mail: Women Who Write, PO Box 6167, Louisville, KY 40206.

Women Who Write Inc. • PO Box 6167 • Louisville, KY 40206 • www.WomenWhoWrite.com

May 24thJane’s Saddlebag 2nd Annual Wine Festival in Northern Kentucky

Wine lovers are in for a treat next weekend. Jane’s Saddlebag will be hosting its second annual wine festival on May 31 and June 1, from Noon to Six. Over twenty wineries, along with a number of vendors, will be participating. Last year’s festival was a success and this one looks like an even bigger event. Wine lovers who have attended wine festivals in Northern Kentucky before will find familiar wineries, as well as discover some new ones. There will be something for every taste.

I will be there both days signing copies of A Wine Lover’s Odyssey Across Kentucky. Hope to see you there.

Apr 30th2nd Annual Wine Festival at Jane’s Saddlebag

Once again, wine lovers will be able to try a variety of Kentucky wines, in a lovely pastoral setting, at Jane’s Saddlebag in Union.  Jane’s Saddlebag is a complex of 35 acres, consisting of a restaurant, a wine shop, a petting zoo, and a general store that is new this season. Their Second Annual Wine Festival will be on May 31, and June 1, from noon to 6 PM. Pre-sale tickets, which will guarantee free parking and quick entry, are available until May 25 either at Jane’s Saddlebag or at their website. (Look in my links.)

This year’s festival has over twenty wineries including some of the state’s most popular. Those attending are local Northern Kentucky wineries: Elk Creek Vineyards, Atwood Hill Winery, StoneBrook Winery, Verona Vineyards, Generation Hill Winery, Serendipity Winery, Rose Hill Farm Winery and Redman’s Farm Winery. Other regions of the state will also be represented at the festival by the these wineries: Smith-Berry Vineyard and Winery, Lovers Leap Vineyards and Winery, Forest Edge Winery, Wight-Meyer Vineyard and Winery, Talon Winery and Vineyards, Horseshoe Bend Vineyard and Winery, Noah’s Ark Winery, McIntyre’s Winery & Berries, White Buck Vineyards & Winery, White Moon Winery. Indian Creek Winery and Best Vineyards & Winery from Indiana, and Southern Wine will be pouring tastes.

Music will be provided throughout the festival with entertainment such as:  Bluegrass Mafia, Jane’s Gang, Ron & Country Pride, Lonesome Jared & the Heart Attacks.

Over forty vendors will have booths offering a variety of products. Origani Owl, Crafted Quilts, KY Gentleman Cigar Company and others offering items such as jewelry and wood furniture.

I will be there signing copies of A Wine Lover’s Odyssey Across Kentucky.  Hope to see you there.

Mar 16th7th Annual Wine Barrel Tasting for the Springs

Each spring, McConnell Springs sponsors a wine barrel tasting in the Bluegrass. The sponsoring wineries offer visitors an opportunity to taste one of their wines from the barrel. For those who enjoy the tasting experience; this allows tasters to enjoy the nuances of flavor that change over the aging process, especially in their favorite wines. The 7th Annual Wine Barrel Tasting for the Springs will take place from 11 am to 5 pm, on March 29, 2014. Seventeen Bluegrass area wineries will participate this year. Visitors will travel on their own, pay a $20 donation at their first stop, and visit whatever number of wineries they choose. Wineries will offer a one-ounce taste of a wine of their choice.

McConnell Springs, a National Historic Site, is the location where William McConnell and a group of explorers camped in 1775. While there, news reached them of a victory at Lexington. They named that future settlement Lexington. Today, visitors can visit the site with its natural landscape and historical remains of that early settlement. Proceeds from the Barrel Tasting will help fund improvements at McConnell Springs.

A list of participating wineries, a map , and a downloadable brochure are available at the McConnell Springs website. Go to www.mcconnellsprings.org and check out Events and Activities.

Most people are looking forward to the coming of Spring. What better way to celebrate spring, than a celebration of Kentucky’s wineries. Hope to see you there.

Feb 18thNational Drink Wine Day 2014

National Drink Wine Day is February 18, 2014. This day is a celebration of wine, its benefits, and its versatility. As I’ve written many times, wine is a celebration and an event. In moderation, wine can be beneficial to your health. Wine has been around for over 6,000 years and has been the focal point of special occasions for most of that time.

Whether your choice is red, white, or rosé, sweet or dry, wine is the preferred drink of people around the world. Americans consume approximately 13% of the wine made in the world, making us the top country in wine consumption. Recently, wine news reported that Americans were drinking more Italian wines than Italians were. Though some states are not as far along in their development, all fifty states make wine. Americans are planning vacations to various wine regions of the United States every year. Wine should be celebrated on National Drink Wine Day,  as well as the other 364 days.

From one wine lover to another, Cheers!

Feb 10thLove and Wine on Valentine’s Day

Thoughts of wine and romance seem to go hand in hand. With Valentine’s Day nearing, wine lovers are looking for ways to show their love to a special someone. Celebrating your love at a Kentucky winery has become an annual event for many. Many of the wineries, such as Horseshoe Bend Vineyard and Winery, Equus Run Vineyard and Winery, Talon Vineyard and Winery, and Prodigy Vineyard and Winery, have scheduled special events.

Whether you choose one of these, or would like to go to another winery, I suggest that you go to the Kentucky Wine website (check my links), and visit the website of the winery of your choice.

If you celebrate with your loved one at home, look for one of Kentucky’s fine wines at wine shops and liquor stores around the state. My husband and I are looking forward to celebrating our love with our first bottle of 3 Reds by Wight, produced by Jim Wight at Wight-Meyer Vineyard and Winery.

Have a wonderful Valentine’s Day!

Jan 23rdJane’s Saddlebag

For those of you who visited Jane’s Saddlebag in Boone County last summer for their first annual wine festival and are hoping for a second one, you’re in luck. They will be hosting another festival this year, a two-day festival on Saturday, May 31, and Sunday, June 1. Last year’s festival was so successful that they are expanding to two days from noon to six both days. Jane’s Saddlebag is perfect for an afternoon of relaxing and drinking wine.

If you were unable to visit Jane’s Saddlebag last summer, I recommend that you visit. Many wine lovers who attended last year have asked me whether there would be another festival this year so I’m sure they will be looking forward to it.

They will also be hosting a Fall Festival on September 20, with crafts and wines. You can check back for more information.

I’ll be there and hope to see you there.