Devote a weekend to reinvigorating your creativity and revising your manuscript on the beautiful shores of Long Island Sound. Tune out distractions from the outside world as you spend time brainstorming, critiquing, revising and setting goals with other talented, committed crime fiction writers. Authors Hallie Ephron, S.W. Hubbard and Roberta Isleib will guide you in assessing and improving three essential components of your writing.

This is not a conventional lecture-style conference. Each participant will submit in advance three short sections (2-10 pages) from a work-in-progress. In the course of the weekend, you will rotate through three focus groups, each of which will examine a different sample of your work-in-progress:

Here’s a preliminary outline of activities:

Hallie Ephron is author of the Edgar nominated WRITING AND SELLING YOUR MYSTERY NOVEL: HOW TO KOCK ‘EM DEAD WITH STYLE, and the award-winning crime fiction book reviewer for the Boston Globe. She is co-author of five Dr. Peter Zak mystery novels by G. H. Ephron (St. Martin’s Minotaur), and author of the forthcoming 1001 BOOKS FOR EVERY MOOD (April, 2008) and the psychological suspense novel, BABY, BABY (HarperCollins, Winter 2009).

S.W. Hubbard is the author of TAKE THE BAIT, which earned an Agatha Award nomination for best first mystery, and its sequels, SWALLOW THE HOOK, and BLOOD KNOT, all published by Pocket Books. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and the upcoming anthology, ADIRONDACK NOIR. She has ghostwritten a thriller that will be published by Knopf in 2009.

Clinical psychologist Dr. Roberta Isleib is the author of seven mysteries published by Berkley Prime Crime, including DEADLY ADVICE and PREACHING TO THE CORPSE. Her books and stories have been short-listed for Agatha, Anthony, and Macavity awards. She is the president of Sisters in Crime International.

SeaScape is a retreat center located on 33 acres belonging to the Sisters of Mercy in Madison, CT. The grounds include a private beach on the Long Island Sound. The building was originally the home of Marlo Thomas and Phil Donahue. Rooms are pleasant, comfortable and most have a water view. While there is no TV or phone service, the center does provide WIFI access. Meals are taken in the dining hall of the Mercy Center and provide a wide range of food options.

The SeaScape Writers Retreat is limited to 18 participants (14 sleep-over, 4 commuter).
Registration price includes all meals, from Friday picnic dinner through Sunday lunch.
Retreat with private room: $500 - Single rooms are SOLD OUT!
Retreat w/ shared room (2 twin beds): $400
Commuter: $300
Most rooms share a bath and will be assigned on first-come, first-served basis.

You will have an opportunity to work on 3 writing samples, 2-10 pages in length, double-spaced, in doc or rtf files.