I’m thrilled to announce that I will be interviewed by the amazing Stephanie Chandler of The Nonfiction Authors Association on Monday 1/24 at 11:00 am. I’ll be discussing the benefits of using a Muse Board.

Fiction Writer
I’m thrilled to announce that I will be interviewed by the amazing Stephanie Chandler of The Nonfiction Authors Association on Monday 1/24 at 11:00 am. I’ll be discussing the benefits of using a Muse Board.
Lots of content in this month’s Gazette, please see my interview on page 16 with actor/sculpture artist Tom Franco.
Also, check out my piece on Half Moon Bay on page 11, TWO book reviews this month for Tosca Lee’s medical thrillers on page 14, plus sweet Bennet and info on dog food recalls in my dog rescue column on page 15.
http://www.diablogazette.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/10/Diablo-Gazette-October-21D.pdf?utm_medium=website
What’s happening at Orinda Books?
So You Want to Write a Book…
Four local writers, all members of the California Writers Club, Mt. Diablo Branch, will discuss their writing and publishing journeys and offer tips for aspiring writers. A Q&A session will follow.
Saturday, January 25, 2:00 to 3:30
Joining us will be:
David George has published his debut novel, Granddad’s Garden – Stories of the Natural World. Granddad’s Garden explores the relationship shared by a granddad and his grandson while discovering nature’s laws together. David is President of the California Writers Club, Mt. Diablo Branch, and writes a monthly column on gardening for a local newspaper.
Jill Hedgecock writes monthly book reviews and dog rescue columns for The Diablo Gazette. Her short stories, personal essays and nonfiction pieces have appeared in multiple anthologies, newspapers, and magazines. Her debut novel, Rhino in the Room, won a New Apple Literary Award in 2019.
Dorothy Edwards recently published her first children’s story, Langston’s Moon, a picture book about a young boy who sees the full moon for the first time and believes it is a giant sugar cookie. When the moon dwindles to a tiny sliver, he fears a sky monster has eaten it and the moon will disappear forever.
Andrew Benzie has published a series of books on die-cast collectables which are available on Amazon. A Bay Area native, with over 30 years of experience in the design industry, Andrew established Andrew Benzie Books in 2010 to help authors design, publish, and market their books.
If you have any interest in writing and/or being published,
this is “must-attend” event.
Orinda Books, 276 Village Square, Orinda, CA (925) 254-7606
November 13
7:00 – 9:00 PM
Napa Valley Unitarian Universalists Church Sanctuary,
1625 Salvador Avenue, Napa
My talk will cover differing formats (physical versus digital), what content can be used in creating a board, the advantages and a few pitfalls to be aware of while creating this tool, and how the muse board can help strengthen writing weaknesses and inform plot.
I will talk about how I discovered ways to capture emotion through the use of images, prevent time-wasting by documenting important details through visuals, and deepen the exploration of characters personality. Muse boards can even be used to develop less important characters to make them feel less like a device and more like real people.
Here is a link to a blog post on muse boards for more information:
https://www.thecreativepenn.com/2019/10/02/writing-tips-using-visual-inspiration-for-your-stories/?fbclid=IwAR1oYF8Bz6qIlEMCspJdLS8gLr94nnZg1Tmw5fZqkggZG3jVsCPg43jt0WQ
Rhino in the Room selected out of 200 submissions for August:
Your logline has been promoted as the best NOVELS of the month:
Top NOVELS for August 2019
Topic: Muse BoardsDetails coming soon.
Please listen in at 10 am on 2/16 to my interview with the Nonfiction Authors Association. Here is the link: https://nonfictionauthorsassociation.com/podcast-interview-jill-hedgecock-02-16-2022-how-to-use-a-muse-board-to-keep-your-writing-process-on-track/ The associated blog can be found at: