Margie Lawson
Make your writing soar
On June 9, 2009, I wrote an email to Margie Lawson that would change the focus of my life for 13 years. "Congratulations on winning the auction for a brand new website design!"
Margie's website at that time was 5 years old and needed a facelift, so she'd taken a chance and bid on a website developer she'd never heard of in Brenda Novak's auction. And I'm so glad she did!
Deleyna's Dynamic Designs was fresh and new, even though I'd been working on the web since... well, we won't talk about that. I started playing with websites because I felt they'd be a big part of my writing career. It only made sense to focus on websites for writers.
In the last 13 years, I've published 2 novels, a series of non-fiction books, grown Deleyna's Designs, and started my indie publishing business!
I've also drafted 8 neglected, whimpering novels.
All of those novels were quietly calling to me until I ran into World Anvil. Then, their whimpers turned to cries of desperation, and now my worlds are screaming.
The last few years, LWA has grown so much! All the beautiful students! Incredible teachers! This isn't just a website any more, it is the most amazing school for writers that you can imagine. Margie and the other teachers are not just training writers to write, but to have successful writing careers.
Meanwhile, my writing has been languishing, and I can't take the screaming from my unfinished novels any longer.
With great sadness, as well as excitement, I will be stepping down from being Margie's tech guru at the end of September. Don't worry: I won't be leaving the Margie world.
How else will my writing soar??
Three people will take over my job: two you know, and one you will love meeting.
First - and always - the amazing Margie Lawson will handle more of the day-to-day decision making for the school. Expect her to empower the school the same way she has empowered our writing.
In person Immersion Master Classes are back! And expect even more power from Margie as she manages this super-powered writing school!
Next - Jenn Windrow (aka Margie's assistant) will handle the write-ins and even more customer service than she has been. Jenn keeps things organized and running smoothly. Ever cheerful and creative, if you haven't met her, drop in to one of the Wednesday Write-Ins and say hello!
And the magical new person - Monica (aka Lisa's assistant) will take over as the website guru. I've taught Monica everything I know, and she's taught me a ton as well. Monica has a degree in website usability. If you've noticed the website becoming more user friendly of late, that was Monica's influence.
I'm not vanishing. You'll still see me in the classrooms and write-ins. And hopefully, you'll see a lot more writing from me! Margie and the LWA community are a part of my family.
Lisa Norman is the owner of Heart Ally Books, an independent publishing company. She also owns a website design company specializing in creating websites for authors, Deleyna’s Dynamic Designs. For over 25 years, she has worked with both indie and traditionally published writers on everything from writing through publication and marketing. She has taught students from 10 to 80, both in person, locally, and online. Her customers range all over the US, Canada, and as far away as Australia. Mostly she coaches people one-on-one, and she loves public speaking. She’s most proud of her children, adores her husband, and seems to be constantly surrounded by cats.
Lisa is the author of a series of nonfiction ebooks, Publishing Gold: Step-by-Step Guides for Success In Your Writing Career. She also writes under the pen name of Deleyna Marr.
Featured image by Deleyna via Midjourney
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