Our Premise and Plot Chats are an opportunity for you to visit one-on-one with an experienced, renowned author… about YOUR manuscript! While our First Pages workshops give you the opportunity to get feedback on your first pages, this is your chance to get big-picture feedback on your overall novel from an author you respect!

This is your chance to ask questions like: Is my premise compelling? Am I hitting all the plot points? Does my pacing feel right? Are my subplots supporting the theme? Is there a way to make this arc even more deeply satisfying?

Each chat is 25 minutes long, and you will have the opportunity to send up to two double-spaced pages for your mentor author to look over ahead of time. We recommend that these pages include a brief outline/synopsis and a few questions to help your mentor know what kind of feedback you are looking for.

Pages are due March 7th, 2025 by 10:00 pm MST.

Premise and Plot Chats cost $55 and will be available as an add-on at the time of registration.

2025 Mentors

JOLENE PERRY

Author and Book Coach (Waypoint Authors)

Jolene began teaching writing in 2011. She’s mentored workshops at the Storymakers Conference, taught on panels at Association for Writing and Writing Professionals (AWP), taught breakout sessions at Alaska Writer’s Guild, Alaska SCBWI, American Night Writer’s Association (ANWA), and been a special guest at several writing retreats. She spent a year interning at the Bent Agency where she read over a hundred manuscripts, and was the Author in Residence at Alaska Pacific University. She’s worked as a freelance editor, helped writers find agents, actors/community advocates find their writing voice, and strengthened projects bestselling and award-winning authors.

VICTORINE LIESKE

USA Today Bestselling Author

Victorine self-published her first book, Not What She Seems, in April of 2010. In March of 2011, Not What She Seems began its 6-week run on The New York Times best-selling eBook list. By May 2011 she had sold over 100,000 copies. Victorine’s first romantic comedy novel hit the USA Today Bestselling books list in January 2015. When she’s not writing, she’s watching swoony Korean Dramas, or making something with her extensive yarn collection.

J. SCOTT SAVAGE

Award-Winning Author of 23 Books

J. Scott Savage is the author of the Farworld series, the Case File 13 series, and the Mysteries of Cove series. He grew up in Northern California and now lives in Utah with his wife and four children. Scott has held too many jobs to count, including: a mall Santa, French chef, CEO of a dot com, plumber, radio station talk show host, and the guy who sits in the little photo developing booth.

GINA DENNY

Author, Editor, Publishing Professional

Gina Denny is an author, editor, and publishing professional with fourteen years of experience. She is also the royalties and operations administrator for Ayesha Pande Literary Agency. Her writing advice on TikTok, Medium, and Patreon has found a wide audience and the books she has edited have gone on to the be successful in both the indie and traditional publishing markets.

CASSIE MAE

Author and Founder, Cookielynn Publishing Services

Cassie Mae is the founder of CookieLynn Publishing Services (est. 2015). Along with editing, Cassie has published 20+ titles. She is a fan of quirky and fun characters, loves a good, swoony romance, and enjoys helping other authors get their work to the best possible story it can be. She’s been editing and formatting manuscripts since January 2012 and has worked closely with editors at Penguin Random House and a few small press publishers.

CHARLIE HOLMBERG

Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts Bestselling Author

Charlie N. Holmberg is a Wall Street Journal and Amazon Charts bestselling author of fantasy and romance fiction, including the Paper Magician series, the Spellbreaker series, and the Whimbrel House series, and writes contemporary romance under C. N. Holmberg. She is published in over twenty languages and is both a Goodreads Choice Award and RITA finalist. Born in Salt Lake City, Charlie was raised a Trekkie alongside three sisters who also have boy names. She is a BYU alumna, plays the ukulele, and owns too many pairs of glasses. She currently lives with her family in Utah. Visit her at www.charlienholmberg.com.