June 18th Atlanta Writers Club In-Person Meeting for AWC Members and First-Time Guests

June 18, 12:45 p.m.-4:00 p.m. Eastern – In-Person at Duluth Branch Library, 3180 Main St, Duluth, GA 30096 (Georgia State University-Dunwoody Perimeter College is closed in June and July), in the meeting room (if you’re not on our mailing list, use the form here to add yourself so you will get any updates about this meeting)

This meeting will be recorded, and the recording link will be shared in the following month’s eQuill newsletter.

12:45-1:30 p.m. Network and Nosh Mixer in the meeting room: Make new friends, find critique partners in your genre, and enjoy coffee, water, and snacks

1:30-1:45 p.m. AWC announcements and upcoming events with AWC President Jill Evans

1:45 p.m.-2:45 p.m. Buzz Bernard: From AWC to the Roof of the World (via Benghazi and Shangri-La)

H. W. “Buzz” Bernard is a best-selling, award-winning novelist who’s been a member of the Atlanta Writers Club since 2005.

His debut novel, EYEWALL, which one reviewer called a “perfect summer beach read,” was published in May 2011 and went on to become a number-one bestseller in Amazon’s Kindle Store.

Three of his next four novels won EPIC eBook awards in the suspense/thriller category.

In 2020, with the publication of WHEN HEROES FLEW, Buzz switched from writing suspense/thriller novels to WWII historical fiction.  WHEN HEROES FLEW was awarded a gold medal by the Military Writers Society of America.

His next two books, WHEN HEROES FLEW: THE SHANGRI-LA RAIDERS (2021) and WHEN HEROES FLEW: THE ROOF OF THE WORLD (which was released less than a month ago) completed the WHEN HEROES FLEW trilogy.

Buzz is currently at work on his fourth WWII historical fiction novel. It’s scheduled to be released in mid-2023.

Before becoming a novelist, Buzz worked at The Weather Channel as a senior meteorologist for thirteen years. Prior to that, he served as a weather officer in the U.S. Air Force for over three decades. He attained the rank of colonel and received, among other awards, the Legion of Merit.

Buzz is a past president of the Southeastern Writers Association as well as a member of the Military Writers Society of America, the International Thriller Writers, and, of course, the Atlanta Writers Club.

Although a native Oregonian, Buzz lived for 35 years in Atlanta, and now resides in Kennewick, Washington, with his wife Barbara and their fuzzy Shih Tzu, Stormy . . . who doesn’t live up to his name.

On June 18, Buzz will talk about his journey as a writer from joining AWC in 2005 to becoming an award-winning historical fiction novelist. He’ll touch on the importance of learning the craft of writing fiction and also point out a few the more important details of creating WWII historical fiction. Buzz likes interactive sessions, so there will be ample time for questions.

2:45 p.m.-3:00 p.m. Booksigning with Buzz Bernard

3:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.: Vanessa Riley: The Truth about Historical Fiction

Vanessa Riley is the author of Island Queen, a GMA Buzz Pick and NPR Best Book of 2021, as well as the forthcoming novel Sister Mother Warrior. Riley holds a doctorate in mechanical engineering and a master’s in industrial engineering and engineering management from Stanford University. She also earned BS and MS in mechanical engineering from Penn State University.  She lives in Atlanta.