Midwest Romance Writers

Directions Website Contact the organization

Midwest Romance Writers Founded in 2002, Midwest Romance Writers (MRW) was formerly a chapter of the national Romance Writers of America. Don't let the name fool you.

We have since broadened our scope to include the study and support of other genres. Midwest Romance Writers (MRW) members write in a variety of genres including cozy mysteries, contemporary and historical romance, romantic suspense, paranormal fiction, women’s fiction, and mainstream fiction. We are fortunate to have members who have attained best-seller designations on Amazon, USA Today, and New York Times Lists. The purpose of our organization is to educate and support fiction writers of all genres at every stage of their writing career. MRW helps authors improve their writing craft and book marketing skills by providing guidance, positive critique, and insight from industry experts.

09/29/2026

Next Meeting:

Thursday, October 8, 2026, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. Eating and chatting
6:45 p.m. Short business meeting
7:00 program
Carrabba’s Italian Grill
10586 Metcalf Ave.
Overland Park, KS 66212

Program:
Writing with the Senses

Soup is just soup until someone eats it.

A story is just words until someone reads them.

What is in the experience that makes us eat an entire bowl of soup or devour a six hundred page book?

What changes a Dick and Jane story into a To Kill a Mockingbird kind of story we won't soon forget?

Join Nora on October 8 for tips on how to wield the power of the sensory experience in our writing.

Nora Wolfenbarger is the author of the Blackbird series. She loves to write thrillers and mysteries where lives hang by a thread. From murder to human trafficking, mind control, and kidnapping, her plot of choice encourages readers to root for the underdog. Throw in a little humor, tense action and thrilling twists, and it becomes clear why her readers keep coming back for more.

When not dreaming up new challenges for a main character, she and her husband raise cattle in Missouri. They have a dog named Truman and a cat named Elvis. Her weakness is gooseberry pie, homemade of course.

Follow Nora’s latest adventures on Goodreads, X, Facebook, and LinkedIn.

2026 MRW Retreat was awesome! We ate a lot, talked a lot, laughed a lot, made some jewelry, ate some more...and even lea...
09/20/2026

2026 MRW Retreat was awesome! We ate a lot, talked a lot, laughed a lot, made some jewelry, ate some more...and even learned a bit about writing! Needless to say, most of the talking was about books...reading them and writing them! Huge thanks to Michelle Grey for again letting us invade her wonderful home!

08/05/2026

Next meeting:
Thursday, August 13, 2026, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. Eating and chatting
6:45 p.m. Short business meeting
7:00 program
Carrabba’s Italian Grill
10586 Metcalf Ave.
Overland Park, KS 66212

Program

Building Your Own Editing Checklist

Your book is finished. Now comes the hard part! Editing! Goldie Edwards will tell us where to start this process and will address common mistakes as well as your own personal mistakes then end with tips for polishing your manuscript.

G. A. Edwards is a retired English teacher now spending her days as a writer, editor, speaker, and founder and co-administrator of a local writing group. A lover of all things books, her goal is to share the joys of literature one word at a time.
A voracious reader of numerous genres from an early age, she now writes gritty contemporary thrillers for teens with flawed heroes you’ll want to come out on top. She’s even thrown in a couple of suspense and romance short stories.
Memberships in Midwest Romance Authors, Writers of Warrensburg, and as a previous intern for the New Adult line with Entangled Publishing, L.L.C. helped hone her writing skills and introduced her to the many authors she counts as friends.
She lives in the Midwest where she enjoys working with budding and experienced authors, traveling with her husband, and spoiling the grandchildren she is barely old enough to claim. She swears she loves teens, a good story, and her minivan, but avoids celery, glitter, and squirrels when possible.

06/08/2026

NEXT MEETING!

Thursday, June 11, 2026, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. Eating and chatting
6:45 p.m. Short business meeting
7:00 program
Carrabba’s Italian Grill
10586 Metcalf Ave.
Overland Park, KS 66212

Program:

Fast Draft Your Novel from Page One to Done

June’s program will be a video of Jessica Brody’s workshop regarding steps she has learned to get that first draft done quickly.

Jessica Brody is the author of the #1 bestselling Save the Cat! Writes a Novel plotting guides. She has also written over 20 novels for teens, tweens, and adults including The Chaos of Standing Still, A Week of Mondays, Amelia Gray is Almost Okay, the Unremembered trilogy, and the System Divine trilogy. Her debut mystery novel, How to Write a Murder, releases in September 2026 from Bantam Dell/Random House. Her books have been translated and published in over 20 languages and several have been optioned for film and television. She lives with her husband and dogs near Portland, OR. Her latest book, Page One to Done was just published by Hay House this May.

Visitors welcome!

03/25/2026

NEXT MEETING:

Thursday, April 9 12, 2026, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. Eating and chatting
6:45 p.m. Short business meeting
7:00 program
Carrabba’s Italian Grill
10586 Metcalf Ave.
Overland Park, KS 66212

Program:

ADVICE FROM THE POISON LADY

Speaker:

Luci Zahray, a retired hospital pharmacist with a Masters Degree in Toxicology, has been christened by writers as The Poison Lady. Luci first attended mystery conventions as a fan, but when she overheard mystery writers lamenting the lack of knowledge of how to kill someone with poison, volunteered with “Oh, I can tell you how to do that.” Thus began an illustrious hobby of telling writers where to buy arsenic, why methanol in hand sanitizer is a bad idea (one tablespoon orally can cause blindness), and that the nastiest way to kill someone you really don’t like is strychnine. Luci will talk to us about various poisons…how they work and where to find them. She will tell us why arsenic, the King of Poisons, one of the oldest known poisons, can still be found in our everyday lives.

02/17/2026

Next meeting:
Thursday, March 12, 2026, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. Eating and chatting
6:45 p.m. Short business meeting
7:00 program
Carrabba’s Italian Grill
10586 Metcalf Ave.
Overland Park, KS 66212

Program:
PAINT ME A PICTURE
Describing description...it's all in the details!
Patti Abshier and Diana Admire will be presenting a PowerPoint class talking about description and what makes good details even better.
Be ready to take part in a discussion of what makes a reader fall in love with your words.

Speakers:
Diana Day-Admire lives in the middle of the country, and is the middle child of an average family from Missouri. However, she is anything but average or simple, having lived a complex life to find who she truly is. She has placed in RWA chapter contests and self-published two works of short stories and poetry. She is currently working on several novels and short stories while submitting her completed projects to interested agents and editors. Diana writes about unorthodox relationships which are normal for her. Helping the rest of the world relate to them is her passion.
Patti Abshier has supported Midwestern Romance Writers for over a decade. When the group expanded to include writers no matter the type looking to grow and experience new genres, she became an official member of the group. Patti has a PhD in Epidemiology, allowing her to critique the themes of romance and other genres in a different light. She has been writing research and professional documents for over 25 years. Over her 25 years writing, she has written grants, which are their own form of fiction.

Visitors welcome!

01/01/2026

Next Meeting:
Thursday, January 8, 2026, 6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m.
6:00 p.m. Eating and chatting
6:45 p.m. Short business meeting
7:00 program
Carrabba’s Italian Grill
10586 Metcalf Ave.
Overland Park, KS 66212

Program:
Speaker Topic:
Success in publishing is unpredictable, but the decision to keep writing is not. This talk focuses on mindset, resilience, and overcoming personal and professional obstacles that make writers want to quit. Through personal experience, it reframes success, challenges “should be writing” shame, and offers a more sustainable way to stay creative and committed for the long haul.
Speaker:
Jami Albright is an award-winning, Amazon Top 100 author and experienced self-publishing professional. Best known for her Brides on the Run and Small-Town Royalty romantic comedy series, she has built a successful career by combining commercial storytelling with strong brand clarity and a deep understanding of reader expectations.

Jami is the co-host of the Wish I’d Known Then…For Writers podcast and works as an author consultant, helping writers navigate mindset challenges, career transitions, and the realities of the publishing business with honesty and practical insight. Her work centers on resilience, creative longevity, and redefining success on your own terms.
Visitors welcome!

Address

Kansas City, KS

Website

Alerts

Be the first to know and let us send you an email when Midwest Romance Writers posts news and promotions. Your email address will not be used for any other purpose, and you can unsubscribe at any time.

Contact The Organization

Send a message to Midwest Romance Writers:

Shortcuts

Share

Category