St. Charles author to lead writing workshop at ECC

Would-be authors can get free tips and advice from a local writer this weekend.

St. Charles author D.C. Brod will lead an Elgin Community College Writers Center Special Topics Workshop on Saturday, Feb. 25.

This free workshop will be held from 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the Student Resource Center, Room SRC 320 at the college, 1700 Spartan Drive, Elgin.

Brod’s latest novel, 2010’s “Getting Sassy,” received a starred review in Publisher’s Weekly. She will discuss the benefits of writing a novel that is the first in a projected series rather than a stand-alone novel.

According to Brod, such series are popular with publishers, as they have the potential to grow readership with each novel as readers become attached to the main character.

The free class also will address some of the special considerations that go into a series, including creating a character with the legs to last for additional novels, the importance of setting, keeping track of details from one book to the next, the all-important supporting cast, keeping the series fresh, and marketing the series.

Brod refined her touch for capers and thrillers at the ECC Writers Center and produced her first novel, “Murder In Store,” in 1989. The novel was the first of a five-book series featuring private detective Quint McCauley, who resided in the fictional Chicago suburb of Foxport.

Her other work includes the contemporary Arthurian thriller, “Heartstone,” and several anthologies. Brod’s short stories also have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine. Several of her stories have won Reader’s Choice Awards.

For information, contact Rachael Tecza at rtecza@elgin.edu or (847) 214-7578.