RMA Publicity

Details: Published: 06 June 2019

Sigma's Bookshelf Wraps Up Novel Writing Workshop for Teens

   Sigma's Bookshelf wrapped up its fourth and final novel writing workshop made possible by a grant from the Metropolitan Regional Arts Council (MRAC) , thanks to a legislative appropriation from the arts and cultural heritage fund.
   Between Oct. 2018 and June 2019, about 40 teens participated in the two day workshop, "Novel Writing for Teens," offered at the Hopkins Center for the Arts, and the offices of MN Hands and Voices.
   Sigma's Bookshelf staff provided instruction on the following: where story ideas come from, character development, story outlining, getting started on your manuscript, editing, proofreading, and publishing options.
   The workshop received strong accalades from attendees. Among the feedback received: "It went so well into detail about all the parts of the writing and publishing process, and it made me a better writer," said one attendee. "I got what I expected and more. It was really fun to do all the writing exercises too," said another.
   Learn more about Sigma's Bookshelf, the first and only book publishing company exclusively for teen writers, at SigmasBookshelf.com.

Details: Published: 04 June 2019

COR Retreat's New Program Director Interviewed by Eden Prairie News

There is a story in this week's Eden Prairie News about COR Retreat's new program director, Nancy Kaley, who resides in Eden Prairie, Minn.
Kaley is a recovering food addict who found the road to recovery after attending the five-day, four night retreat in 2014. COR Retreat teaches a way to live free from the obsession with food and the excess weight it causes. It is a proven 12-step method to stop overeating, and provides a path to a healthy lifestyle.
“What COR Retreat offers is like treatment, and I needed treatment, the very thing I was doing for other people,” said Kaley, who at the time she attended the retreat has been working as a Licensed Alcohol and Drug Counselor for nearly 20 years. “I needed to stop my life, take time off from work, go somewhere away from my day to day life, learn, detox, and talk about the steps in a new way.”

Kaley has remained abstinent for more than four years, and when the opportunity came along to become COR Retreat’s Program Director in early 2019, she jumped at the chance. She now leads COR Retreat’s monthly retreats at the McIver Center, which is on the grounds of The Retreat in Wayzata, Minn. However, COR Retreat is not affiliated with the programs offered by The Retreat. COR Retreat is also not affiliated with and does not represent Overeater's Anonymous, Inc. or any other recovery program.

Since its founding in 2011, COR Retreat has served about 1,000 people. The company was started up by Twin Cities entrepreneur Burt Nordstrand, who is credited with introducing self-service gas stations to the Upper Midwest. He built his successful business, SSG Corporation, from virtually nothing.

Nordstrand also authored the award-winning memoir, Living with the Enemy: An Exploration of Addiction and Recovery. Originally released in 2010, a special anniversary edition, which includes the story of how COR Retreat came to be, was published in 2019. Learn more about the book at LivingwiththeEnemy.net.
The next COR Retreat will take place from June 12 - 16, 2019. Learn more at CORMN.org.

Details: Published: 06 May 2019

"Cooked to Death Volume IV: Cold Cut Files" Featured at Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul May 31

There is something about food that pulls people together. When you take your first bite of a scrumptious hotdish, it may bring back memories of time spent with grandparents when you were a kid. Baking a cake may remind you of the first thing you did with your spouse as a married couple.

Food connects us to the past, to places we have visited, and to places we want to go. It also serves as the anchor for a collection of anthologies edited by Minnesota foodie Rhonda Gilliland. The fourth book in the Cooked to Death series: Cooked to Death: Volume IV: Cold Cut Files, officially launched on May 11 at Once Upon A Crime in Minneapolis. Also in May, editor Rhonda Gilliland and several of the authors signed books at Next Chapter Booksellers in St. Paul on May 31. A preview story was published in the MN Sun Sailor newspaper. On May 18, several of the authors signed books at Scout & Morgan in Cambridge, Minn. That event was promoted in the Chisago-Isanti County Star newspaper.

The book features stories involving food, murder and intrigue written by 19 mystery writers from Minnesota, Ohio, Alabama, Colorado and Washington, D.C.

Details: Published: 23 May 2019

Calumet Editions Author Norm Mitchell Reads From "The Hidden One" in Golden Valley, MN

Norm Mitchell, author, The Hidden One, led Coffee Talk on May 22 at Brookview Center in Golden Valley, Minn. , just in time for Memorial Day.

   The novel, inspired by the author's love for history and stories his father told him of the older man's experiences as a serviceman during World Wars I and II, is the story of Ashley Cooper. The tale begins in 1962 after the violent death of Ashley’s lover, Olga, who was also his Russian Lit professor, and a Russian émigré from Paris. Before he has the chance to recover from that tragedy, death strikes again. In 1993 when Ashley’s stepfather, Colonel (David Cooper) dies, Ashley’s stepmother, Ronnie, decides the time has come for him to learn the truth about his identity. It’s a journey he shares with his daughter, Annie, who has recently discovered she has uncanny psychic abilities. Together, they embark on a mission to discover their new family, the mysterious Iskandarovs.
    CCX Media sent a crew to the reading and will be airing a story on Memorial Day.
    Norm Mitchell retired from a long and successful career as a financial advisor and consultant in 2013. After traveling for a while, he decided the time had come for him to once again work on the novel he had started writing some 20 years prior.
   Learn more at CalumetEditions.com.