FEB new Authors Hall of Fame with featuring Manuel Ramos

For all the skiers and snowboarders, January was your month in Colorado. Those of us who were the snow shovelers, it wasn’t. Bitter cold much of the month, over a ten-day period, I had in excess of ten massive shovelings for my long, wide driveway. In the 34 years I’ve lived here, this opening to winter ranks at the bottom. Ugh.

Onward … Did you miss out on our Drum Roll Time? In January, the Hall began its new series, the Author Happy Hour with one of our Inductees on the second Friday of the month. Insights, ahas, creativity reveals, tips for authors at all stages, and of course, what they are currently working on in their writing ... and life. Dom Testa kicked it off—it was a fun hour filled with surprises. Holy Moly ... it was a great hour.

This month, 2019 Inductee Marilyn Van Derbur Atler sits in the Hot Seat. Other Hall authors ready to reveaal their "truthiness" on the Author Happy Hour during 2023 include Jerry Jenkins, Michael Gear, Mary Tyler Young, Margaret Coel, Charlotte Hinger, Kevin J. Anderson, Patricia Raybon, Jill Tietjen, and Avi. What a gift for any author ... and book lover to be part of. They will have the opportunity to ask the featured author questions.

A separate email will go out with registration to attend. All sessions will be recorded. Hold the date on your calendar: Friday, February 10th with Marilyn and me.

Register to grab your Seat HERE: https://bit.ly/FRIAuthorHappyHour

Second Drum Roll ... Nominations are OPEN for the September 16th 3rd Induction Gala for the Colorado Authors Hall of Fame. Who will they be? I’m clueless ... get your nominations in—and recommend to others to nominate as well. The details are on the Hall Home page. All nominations must be in by February 28th just before midnight.

Get your Nominations in HERE: https://coloradoauthorshalloffame.org/nomination-form.html

And this month 2021 Inductee Manuel Ramos reveals his insights on Myths, Fairy Tales and Other Lies About Writing. He and 2019 Inductee Mary Taylor Young our featured authors.

Attitudes at Altitude’s promise to our readers …

We celebrate the outstanding authors inducted into the Colorado Authors’ Hall of Fame ® (Hall) in 2019 and 2021. They are the first in the United States that only honors published authors exclusively. The next Induction will be on September 13, 2023. Put the date on your calendar. The venue is the Double Tree Hilton Denver Tech Center in Greenwood Village.

Each month, past Inductees are featured with their background and latest books.
One of our past Inductees will offer their sage advice on "how they do it"–whatever "it" is.
You will be the first to hear about the Hall Events that are planned. Nominations for 2023 Inductions are OPEN ... Who is your favorite author—one that has delivered mega hours of reading enjoyment ... one that has made an impact on society or their field? Nominate them in February. Forms are on the Hall's website.

It’s Nominate a Favorite Author Time!

Will a 2023 Hall Inductee Be Someone You Nominated?

The Colorado Authors' Hall of Fame honors the authors of extraordinary, published works who meet the Hall’s criteria. Members of the public must study the criteria and enact their nominations of exceptional authors. Nominations are accepted from organizations or individuals throughout the state. A diverse group of Colorado citizens, including literary professionals, is recruited to serve as the Selection Committee.
The Selection Committee reviews all nominations, performs additional research if necessary, and selects nominees for induction into the Colorado Authors' Hall of Fame.

They can’t be Inducted unless they are nominated ... that’s the first step.

Nominations are OPEN until February 28, 2023—submit yours ... and tell others to do so as well. And remember—it’s the breadth and inclusion of how great ... important ... impacting your Nominee’s body of work is. The judges do not read the books, although many may be aware of some of a nominee’s published work.

NOMINATE HERE: https://coloradoauthorshalloffame.org/nomination-form.html

Marilyn Van Derbur Atler is in the Author Happy Hour Hot Seat and is part of the Hall’s 2019 honored Inductees.

Her award-winning book, Miss America By Day stands as a benchmark and left much of her Colorado home base stunned with its revelations when she spoke the words in public, "I am an incest survivor." During the past 20 years, her book has been used as a college text book and has educated judges, lawyers, health providers about the long term physical impact of sexual abuse and has given hope to millions of survivors worldwide.

During this month’s Author Happy Hour, you will hear her voice … how she found it … and how millions of children, women, and men have been impacted. Her voice, her book, her insight, and her wisdom has made her a "she-ro" and a mentor for millions of survivors.

Manuel Ramos

Colorado native Manuel Ramos was among the first Latinos to publish in the mystery genre and was given the title "the Godfather of Chicano Noir" by the esteemed writer Luis Alberto Urrea. His books are set in the community in which he lives – Denver’s Northside, aka Highlands – and in rural Colorado. As the Los Angeles Times observed: "He is known as a crime writer, but that doesn’t quite capture what he does. His books are love stories, political dramas, mordant cautionary tales [with] characters who are Latino, black and white, artists, professionals, and laborers … described in staccato chapters like a catchy corrido." Manuel is the author of eleven novels and one short story collection.

His writing has received numerous awards and recognition including the Colorado Book Award (twice) and the Chicano/Latino Literary Prize from the University of California at Irvine. He’s been a finalist for the prestigious Edgar Award from the Mystery Writers of America and the Shamus Award from the Private Eye Writers of America.

Books of note: My Bad, Angels in the Wind, and Denver Noir

Mary Taylor Young

is an award-winning nature writer who has been bringing the West to life in books and other significant ways for more than 25 years. She is the author of 18 books including the Rocky Mountain National Park; The First 100 Years and Land of Grass & Sky; A Naturalist’s Prairie Journey.

She’s written hundreds of magazine articles and pieces for various governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations. Her "Words on Birds" column appeared in the Rocky Mountain News for 16 years.

She has been awarded the Professional Achievement Award for Wildlife Education from The Wildlife Society. Her multiple book awards include the 2018 Fran Waters Award for exemplary literary achievement and a canon of writing that communicates a deep understand, celebration and love of the west. The Association for Conservation Information honored her with its National Award and the Association of Partners for Public Land named her its Publication of the Year.

Books of note: Colorado Mammals, Land of Grass and Sky, and Colorado Reptiles and Amphibians

Myths, Fairy Tales and Other Lies About Writing

By Manuel Ramos

A common myth is that writing depends on inspiration, or a muse often referred to as the right conditions, whatever those may be. If that were true, would anything ever be written? Maybe it’s that I didn’t recognize my muse when it appeared. The fly buzzing around my computer? The spam email? The dog-eared but embarrassingly empty notebook that sits on my desk, challenging me to fill it with dialog, plots, and character sketches?

The truth is that writing requires ambition. You gotta want it and want it bad. A half-hearted writer will produce half-assed writing. A well-exercised imagination helps; good grammar is nice; a growing vocabulary is essential. But none of it matters without the desire to write. Ambition defeats writer’s block every time.

In response to the question, "Have you ever been surprised by what your characters do or say?" some writers, including myself, have used a stock fairy tale answer: "My characters took over and all I could do was go along for the ride." I’ll admit that I do not always see where my writing will end up; that characters may enter stories on the fly, without any preconceived plan; and that as much as any reader I have been surprised by twists in my stories. But it all comes from my head, the product of hard labor and imagination, and not from magical forces guiding my pen or keyboard.

I love to talk about my writing. I can go on for hours about my output but only after the books have been written. It can be a mistake to talk about something that hasn’t been written yet. What is imagined perfectly by the writer can never be completely duplicated on the page.

I’ve met people who told me they were writing, when what they meant was that they were thinking of writing. They have beautiful ideas for novels; an entire six-volume series ready to go (in their heads); and encouragement from family and friends. But they aren’t writers until they stare at the empty page or screen and put together a paragraph, a sentence, or even the first word.

There is the notion that writing is its own reward. The act of writing, of producing a good story, is healthy. I am happier when I am writing. My mental well-being depends on my ability to continue to write. But the reward comes from knowing that someone else is reading my writing, that someone has picked up what I produced and used it.

Readers sometimes ask when I am going to write another book. I appreciate the question. But I am always writing. There isn’t a season for writing, no day of the week reserved for writers, no Writers Write Now month. Some authors write because of deadlines, agent threats, editor demands, or job responsibilities. I write because if I don’t, I will suffer through sleepless nights and boring days. I respond to myself.

Manuel Ramos is a retired attorney and Colorado native. He is the author of eleven novels and a short story collection. His fiction is often categorized as Chicano Noir, and his last four crime fiction novels are part of his Mile High Noir series.

Dan Janal is an award-winning reporter and newspaper business editor who has interviewed President Gerald Ford and First Lady Barbara Bush during his career. He is also a book coach, editor, and ghostwriter.

The Los Angeles Times called Dan "an online marketing expert" because he wrote one of the first books ever written about Internet marketing in 1994. He was on the marketing team that launched America Online (AOL). He has written and edited thousands of press releases, newspaper articles, and blog posts.

He has lectured globally, from Beijing to Budapest and across the US, Canada, Mexico, and Brazil. He’s taught at Berkeley and Stanford.

As an author, he has written and published more than a dozen books which have been translated into six languages. Dan's newest book is Write Your Book in a Flash.

Visit his website at www.Janal.com

Support the Hall

The Colorado Authors' Hall of Fame celebrates the accomplishments of living and passed authors who have been connected to Colorado—their words, wisdom, accomplishments, and the life-changing impact their works create. The result: their legacy lives on.

The Hall is an all-volunteer-run 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that honors and celebrates authors connected with Colorado by birth, residence, temporary residency for writing encouragement and support, writing about elements within Colorado, or placing storylines in or about Colorado.

Authors’ words have immense power and impact on changing others’ lives. They solve problems, bring awareness to a topic, and provide hours of pleasurable reading. It’s the power of their words.

Your financial assistance through donations and participation at events supports the bi-annual Induction Gala in odd-numbered years, the Aspiring Author Scholarships, and the general operation to bring these events to the public.

Support the Hall for this year going forward.