Local Writers Extras

When we talked with Writers Conference faculty member Anne-Marie Oomen about the possibility of an event to celebrate her newest, award-winning memoir, As Long as I Know You: The Mom Book, the conversation quickly turned to what Oomen calls “book good.”

We learned, then, that as much as Oomen loves to read her work in front of a crowd, she also has bigger goals for this book. Specifically, she wants to share what she and her family learned as they navigated her mother’s deteriorating health and transition into assisted living with others who are currently facing—or will soon face—this stressful time of life.

To bring this vision to life, we planned this evening to be both a literary event and a community conversation. Local author Virginia Brackett will moderate the event and will be in conversation with Oomen about the book itself and the craft elements that make it unique.



In addition, Tim Wholf, Johnson County’s new Director of Aging and Human Services, will join Oomen and Brackett to discuss the realities of navigating the system when a parent or loved one is aging and needs assistance.

In addition to discussions with Brackett and Wholf, Oomen will read from the memoir, which was awarded the 2021 Association of Writers and Writing Programs Sue William Silverman Prize for Creative Nonfiction and will take questions from the audience. Books will be available for purchase from local business The Green Door Book Store & Gift Shoppe.

-- written by Lisa Allen, adult services specialist

Jaime Lynn Heller’s life is filled with roles: counselor, teacher, parent, spouse, daughter, aunt, neighbor, writer, and a multitude of others. How is it that she finds the energy to juggle all this? She uses poetry as her caffeine.

Heller’s chap book “Domesticated” was published in 2015 (Finishing Line Press) and “Buried in the Suburbs” was published in 2018 (Woodley Press). 2019 was an exciting year for Heller as “Buried in the Suburbs” received a Kansas Notable Book Award from the State Library of Kansas. This collection of poems aims to show the natural rhythms of the world that are overlooked. You can find a complete list of Jaime Lynn Heller’s works on her website.

Jamie will be at this year’s Writers Conference facilitating writing exercises with Metaphor Dice! Get your creativity rolling early with this unique writing tool.

—written by Kathryn “Katt” Cooper, adult services specialist

Clear, concise, accurate: these are words that guided Diana Richards in her 25-year career as an instructional designer and business trainer. Turns out, they are the same words that drive her as an editor and writer.



Those words and the practice they embody have helped Diana in her years as a Senior Tutor in the Writer Center at Johnson County Community College. Diana has also been a copy editor for an international magazine and says, “It doesn’t matter what you’re writing. Whether it’s fiction or non-fiction, a mystery or a romance, you will lose your message if it’s not built on a strong foundation of solid grammar and proper punctuation.”



So it’s no surprise that Diana will join us at this year’s Writers Conference to offer One-on-One Edits, which will focus on readability and transparency. These sessions, Diana says, are not for theoreticians or academics; they are for real writers in the real world. Emphasis will be on how to use punctuation and grammar to enhance your story, not impede it.



Diana is a past winner of our writing contest. Her story, “Cactus,” was selected in 2021 for the category The Fool’s Journey. You can read it here.



—written by Lisa Allen, adult services specialist

Jessica Conoley has been on the faculty of our Writers Conference for years for a reason: attendees love her. They relate to her, respect her, and consistently tell us that her sessions are full of information, interesting, and engaging.



And that’s no surprise to anyone who’s spent any time with Jessica. She’s not only an accomplished writer and creative careers coach; she’s curious about others and genuinely interested in seeing people live their dream.



Jessica writes both fiction and non-fiction. Her fiction falls into the fantasy genre, where she creates dark and Ghibli-esque worlds with nods to her beloved 80s action films. Her non-fiction focuses on personal essays and career advice with a focus on mental wellbeing. Jessica also founded and leads The Creative’s Apprentice, where she provides step-by-step, easily implementable mindset and educational guidance so creatives can stop worrying about all of the “business stuff they’re supposed to do” and focus on the creative work they love to do.

Jessica was kind enough to participate in a little bit of Q&A so you can get to know her better before meeting her at the conference:

Why do you write? I write fiction to process the emotional/subconscious things I'm not ready to process in reality.  For example, the book I signed with my agent for is a fantasy prison escape novel.  A few years after I finished it I realized I was processing how I felt working in corporate America and my need to break free of a career path that was unhealthy for me. I think writing the book helped me find the bravery to leave that traditional 9-5 & start my own creative career. I write nonfiction to help other people. I have a knack for simplifying & de-scarying business and then teaching mentally healthy business practices to people. I find it very rewarding when my non-fiction writing empowers writers and other creatives.

Who do you read? Whose work sustains/inspires/challenges/soothes you?  I read a lot of SFF (science fiction/fantasy), Nnedi Okorafor, Naomi Novik, Katherine Addison, Becky Chambers. I also read a ton of business/behavioral science/marketing/energy type stuff. My go to books in the hardest year of my life were Paulo Coelho's The Alchemist & Caroline Myss's “Anatomy of the Spirit”.

How does being a business owner inform your own creative work? I see business as a creative medium in and of itself. My goal is to run a company where we find energy giving or energy neutral ways to grow our individual creative careers and help others. Anytime there's an energy draining task that we hate to do, (marketing is the white whale of course) my job is to explore and find a different way to do it that doesn't feel like a drag.

What excites you about what you're teaching at the Writers Conference? I love helping writers meet their writing career goals, but what surprised me was how many people were living their dream & still tormented with anxiety and stress.  It became my mission to help writers reach their career milestones AND enjoy living their dream in the process.  Historically, the mental health of writers hasn't been at the forefront of conference programming, but this year we had multiple organizations came to us super excited about the topic.  It gives me hope that we as an industry are ready to embrace a healthier mental way of going about our writing dreams.

What do you really want attendees to know about you? You can live your creative dreams and do it in a mentally healthy, sustainable way that can bring in money. It will take work, time, and investment in yourself. But you are worth it and you deserve to be happy and bring your writing to the world simultaneously.

You can keep up with Jessica by visiting her website (linked above) or on Instagram and Twitter at @thecreativesapp



—written by Lisa Allen, adult services specialist