Novel-In-Progress Bookcamp & Writing Retreat, Inc. Success Stories
Interview with Jennifer Rupp, attendee since 2015
Jennifer Rupp, writing as Jennifer Trethewey
Jennifer Rupp writes historical romance under the name Jennifer Trethewey. Her foundation for story-telling is grounded in her long career in theater as co-founder and former co-artistic director of Renaissance Theaterworks, one of the most successful and the second longest running women’s theater company in America. As an actor-turned-writer, she has moved her performances from the stage to the page and invites you to enjoy the drama of the Scottish Highlands in her Highlanders of Balforss series featuring brawny Scots, sweeping romance, and non-stop adventure all laced with a liberal dose of humor.
Highlanders of Balforss (Entangled Publishing)
Tying the Scot Tying the Scot
A hotheaded Highlander and a fiery English Lady–what could go wrong?
At age eleven, Alex Sinclair pledges an oath to the Duke of Chatham promising to serve and protect his illegitimate daughter, Lucy FitzHarris. Nine years later, the duke unexpectedly takes Alex up on his vow …Now a man, hotheaded Alex has difficulty convincing Lucy—who would rather starve to death than marry a vulgar Scot.
Betting the Scot Betting the Scot
He’s wagered and won her hand, but can he win her heart?
Declan Sinclair is a Highlander who believes his dreams never lie. When he spots Caya at a public house, he knows instantly she is the woman in his dreams—his future wife. Though her brother had promised never to gamble again, he engages Declan in a card game—and the prize is the lovely Caya. …Caya Pendarvis has no time for childish things like dreams or fairy tales or love. She’s the sacrificial lamb…
Forgetting the Scot Forgetting the Scot
He’ll protect his English rose with his life…
Magnus Sinclair rescued her from pirates and took the blow that could have killed her. One stolen kiss and Virginia Whitebridge fell in love with the big Scot. Unfortunately, she’s married. …It’s just Magnus’s luck to fall for a woman he can’t have.
Saving the Scot Saving the Scot
If they survive this trip, it’ll be a miracle.
Louisa Robertson’s father is furious when he finds her acting on stage. Now, she’s being shipped off to America to marry some stranger her father thinks will bring out the “lady” in her. … Highlander Ian Sinclair needs an army commission, and the only way he can get one is to safely deliver the general’s Daughter-from-Hell to her intended in America. Easy, right?
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A Description of Writers’ Heaven
This is my idea of Writer’s Heaven: six days living among writers who understand the challenges of novel writing and the publishing industry. Six days interacting with people who are interested in you, your work-in-progress, and your path to success as a published author in a setting that is soul fortifying.
Everything you need is at hand: free internet, a comfortable room and a private bath, a variety of places to write, a breezy sunlit room for instruction, three delicious meals prepared for you every day, beautiful rolling farmland and nature walks, company when you need conversation, solitude when you need concentration. Likewise, the things you don’t need are absent. No constant interruptions. No distractions. No guilt pulling at you, telling you something else needs your attention more than your writing.
Just you…
and your novel…
and people who want your novel to be brilliant.
I’ve been attending Novel-in-Progress Bookcamp and Retreat since 2015. It has been a major influence on my writing craft, storytelling, and personal development as a writer. I started when I was new to writing, still feeling my way around in the dark, but the workshops and individual consultations I had that first year let in the light. The instructors were encouraging and supportive. More importantly, they gave me concrete, actionable, constructive ways to improve my novel. I attended the year I’d just gotten a publishing contract and was terrified I would screw everything up, but again, the instructors and other writers were there to help me shore up my confidence. I attended during year I was on a crushing deadline because I knew if I retreated to Cedar Valley I would find the time and serenity I needed to finish and I did.
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KODAK Digital Still Camera
Like so many writers, I languished during this long pandemic shutdown. I need a jumpstart, a boost, an infusion of “can do” and I know I’ll find it at Novel-in-Progress Bookcamp and Retreat because it’s unique, essential, and unlike any other workshop or conference I’ve attended. It’s the time and place where I reset, absorb new information, make professional contacts, gather new friends, and remind myself that I am a writer.
It’s my Writer’s Heaven.
