PAT DALTON
By all accounts of the early members, Pat Dalton (now deceased) was the driving force behind RMFW’s creation. I found little on the internet about her life, only lists of books published. Here are the memories of a few early members.
“Pat Dalton was actually the founder of the organization, then called Rocky Mountain Romance Writers. Romance Writers of America formed in 1982 or 1983 after a group of romance writers from all over the United States got together in The Woodlands (a suburb north of Houston). Pat was a fledgling agent at that point, and she had found out that industry information would be shared with members of the organization. So, she scoured the Denver area to find that first group of writers, who happened to be all women. There were about ten. This all began because Pat Dalton had her ear to the ground. The lynch pin to it all was Pat Dalton … and all because she wanted in on this new source of industry information for the boom of the romance genre that was just beginning then.”
~ Sharon Mignerey
“Pat Dalton, Carol Caverly and two or three others met at Pat’s house. Pat wanted to bring writers together… Her agency (which I used for many years) was Diamond Literary Agency (for every facet of your career). She published eight or nine novels and many, many travel articles. She also managed a resume service.”
~ Kay Bergstrom
“Pat Dalton was the driving force behind forming RMFW. I was invited to join the founding group toward the end of the work they did… It was easy for me to be enthusiastic and supportive The hard work had been done, and done well… Pat Dalton made RMFW happen… Pat and I clashed from the moment we met. I have no idea why… She would “forget” to tell me about meetings, etc. I never understood why. A few years later, Pat called me one day to tell me that she had finally sold a book. Puzzled, I asked her why on earth she was calling me? And she said: I have no one else to tell. So sad. Jump forward a few more years, and we found ourselves early for a conference. She asked if we could have dinner together. And it was good. We got to know each other to some degree, and I discovered there was a lonely woman there, trying to make it on her own, fulfill a dream, and had no friends or support system at all. As far as I know she never pushed to claim credit for RMFW, but truly, without her, it wouldn’t have happened. She did the hands-on work to establish RMFW. “
~ Maggie Osborne
PAT WERNER
Pat Werner (deceased) is remembered as either a founding member or very early member. She was the author of at least 25 books. Her first book, If Truth be Known, was published in September 1985 and she was among the authors to jump enthusiastically support early ebooks (we’ll touch on that later in the year).
“Pat Werner passed away many years ago after a long bout with cancer. She was one of the most generous and positive people I’ve ever known. And, she might have been one of the original members.”
~ Sharon Mignerey
LEONA (LEE) KARR
Lee Karr published 15 romances between 1980 and 1996. She mentored Susan Hornick as Sue wrote her first Harlequin romance and I remember Lee at the 9-11 conference, the first she had attended in years. Lee now has severe dementia and has not been able to contribute to anniversary articles. She joined RMFW not long after its founding (1984 or 85).
Harlequin offers this online bio (excerpted, date unknown): “The first time Leona (Lee) Karr saw her words in print was in the sixth grade when she won an essay contest and her entry was published in the city newspaper. That same thrill, always tinged with a little surprise, is still there after over 30 published books. Her books have been translated and published in many foreign countries with over a million of her books reprinted. Leona “wheels and deals” from a wheelchair after she was struck with a bout of polio just one year before the vaccine was approved for use. She has been on the Waldenbooks bestseller List, nominated by Romantic Times for Best Romantic Saga, and Best Gothic Author. She has been honored as the Rocky Mountain Fiction Writer of the Year, and has received Colorado’s Romance Writer of the Year Award. She is a presenter at numerous writing conferences and has taught college courses in creative writing. She is delighted when readers confess that her books kept them up half of the night reading.”
CONNIE RINEHOLD
There are only a few remembrances of Connie Rinehold (deceased) aside from that she was part of RMFW’s founding. The internet provides this: Connie Rinehold spent her childhood seeing the world, thanks to being an Air Force brat. She published her first novel in 1989 — and discovered that it was used as a prop in the movie Silence of The Lambs. She is also known as Eve Bryon. As a Harlequin American Romance author, Connie Rinehold wrote one romance (1991).
“Another founding member was Connie Rinehold. She was one of the active organizers for the very first conference that was held at the Aurora Public Library down by the Aurora mall. Connie Rinehold was president when I joined in 1984.”
~ Sharon Mignerey
CAROL CAVERLY
Carol Caverly is one of our few remaining founding members. When I first heard about RMFW, I attended a monthly educational program where Carol presented on how to write a synopsis. Her presentation (and Sharon Mignerey’s warm welcome) sold me on the organization. I joined not long after (1994). I am including excerpts of Carol’s memories from an article in the February 2001 RMFW newsletter written by Carol.
“When I moved to Denver in 1980, I wanted to establish writing connections as meaningful as those I’d left behind in Wyoming. The first event I found and attended was a writing seminar held by Maggie Osborne…It was wonderful…something about Maggie, or her humorous approach, made it stick in my mind — forever. Later, after the group had been formed that is now RMFW, I met Jasmine Cresswell… I had so much admiration for her erudite way with words (still do), her ease in using them, and her amazing prolificness. I felt certain writing was easier for her than for someone like me who had to struggle to get every word right. My moment of enlightenment came when the two of us were writing letters of invitations to editors and agents for a conference. To my surprise, I discovered that I wasn’t the only one in the world who wrote letters in three or four drafts. To this day, when faced with a seeming impossible rewrite, I just tell myself, ‘Even Jasmine has to rewrite,’ and plunge in. Remembering the fun we had and how we laughed trying to get those letters to sound just right, makes it all possible. Then there’s Sharon Mignerey. We go back a long way, too. I don’t even remember when we first met, but we were in a lot of critique groups together, co-chaired a conference, etc., etc. But what I remember about Sharon is a short phrase she said at some point in our acquaintance that I’ve never forgotten… Sharon said, ‘I’m an emotion junkie.’ It has become one of my pop-up writer’s aids, appearing faithfully at those puzzled moments when I then think, ‘Aha, yes. Of course. I need more feeling here.’ These writers aids are with me constantly, and I think they’re good ones:. The importance of the individual words on the page; sticking with what you want to achieve no matter how difficult; rewriting is part of the game; emotions and feelings are as important in your characters as they are in your life. The years pass, life patterns change. Unfortunately, I don’t see any of these people on a regular basis anymore. There is e-mail, or we meet occasionally at conferences, or special occasions with squeals of recognition. I just want them to know that they are a part of me always, as sappy as that sounds, every time I put pen to paper.”
MAGGIE OSBORNE
Maggie Osborne was a founding member of RMFW but declines to take any credit for the formation of the group. For her, it was Pat Dalton’s baby and she sees her role as inconsequential. For me, Maggie has been an idol and an inspiration since my first reading of her novels. I attended my first conference in 1994 and recall Maggie’s workshop. She told us it was all right if we couldn’t write every day, that we had to take care of ourselves first, that it made us no less a writer if we had to adapt. That statement allowed me to feel okay about my limited writing schedule and to hang in there.
“I really had very little to do with the formation of RMFW. Pat Dalton was the driving force… I was invited to join the founding group toward the end of the work they did. They wanted a published author to lend credibility, I think. And I had 2 published romances at the time. It was easy for me to be enthusiastic and supportive… All good. What they wanted from me was mostly to stand around and be the published author. LOL Once I understood that, I was willing to do it. LOL Over time, it appears that I have been credited with the beginnings of RMFW. That’s not really correct. I came late to the game. The hard work had been done, and done well. But my role in the doing is minuscule. And it’s fabulous that 40 years later, RMFW is still thriving! Still helping writers become authors. When I became serious about pursuing a writing career, nothing like RMFW existed. I didn’t know a published writer. There was no one to answer basic questions. To offer an encouraging word. To explain how to submit a manuscript, agents, publishing houses. I would have been thrilled to meet a published author. RMFW makes all that possible and easy. Many good people have had a hand in making the organization what it is today. All of them deserve a place in writer heaven. Some would argue that e-books have made being published easier. Maybe. But it’s never really easy, is it? And success is measured in many different ways. RMFW addresses all writer issues, and offers help along the path. RMFW also celebrates their published authors, and in such a competitive industry, with so many competing for recognition, that’s a wonderful thing.” ~ Maggie Osborne
“I loved going to critique group when both Maggie and Jasmine were present. They often disagreed with one another, and they had absolutely valid reasons for their points of view. I learned so much from the two of them, and their Lively discussions and very solid disagreements let me to the truth we all know, which is no one really knows what makes great fiction. We all think we know, but do we really?”
~ Sharon Mignerey
Bio from online sources: “Maggie Osborne is the best-selling author of over 58 historical and category novels under her name and Margaret St. George. Maggie has won numerous awards including Best Category Novel of the Year from Romantic Times, a RITA from Romance Writers of America, several Career Achievement Awards from Romantic Times, and a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Romance Writers of America. Maggie sells all over the world, is regularly featured in the Doubleday Book Club, and had a novel optioned for a TV film (which didn’t get made). She is a former national President of Romance Writers of America, and a co-founder of Novelists Inc.”