April 11, 2026 at 11:00 AM at Yocum Institute
John Kissinger on Cheyenne - How an Imaginary Person Becomes Real
John shares the processes, tasks and resources he uses to help him imagine and narrate a fictional character he has never been: a 17-year-old young woman, including using music and photographs and experiences for inspirations.
After hearing how John uses an invented perspective, or persona, for a main character that is vastly different from his own, we will explore how to use this imaginative and useful tool in our writing, and how it can enhance storytelling, even from our own perspective.
In March, 2022, John was a guest on the BCTV show, "Artists Speak Out" to discuss his fiction and learning to narrate as a woman. The replay can be viewed at the link below: Artists Speak Out.
BIO: John graduated from Blue Mountain Academy in Hamburg PA, has degrees in theology from Southern Adventist University in Tennessee, and in library science from Kutztown University. He managed the book department of Moyer’s Book Mart in downtown Reading for twelve years, was a librarian at Alvernia College for fourteen years, the director of IT at Alvernia University for thirteen years, and the library director for Kettering College and Kettering Medical Center for five years. And all that time, what he really wanted to do was write books. Since retiring, he concentrates his time on completing a series of novels, mostly mysteries with a little science fiction and a little more romance, set in Chattanooga, Tennessee. These self-published books, Sanguinary Angel, Revenant Angel, Inclement Angel, and Angel Provocateur, are centered on the exploits of Wayne Hoyer, private investigator, and Cheyenne Grigsby, high school senior. About ten years ago, he discovered one of the series’ main characters, Cheyenne, who has absorbed one of the series’ main narrative roles, in which she explores such issues as love-at-first-sight, age-gap relationships, extraterrestrials on Earth, and graduating from high school with honors while leading her school’s cheer squad. For John, the challenges Cheyenne presents include how to arrange and execute photo shoot sessions, and how to narrate as a woman, tasks he expects to continue for the rest of his life. John is a Berks County native still living in the house where he grew up and where he raised his family of three amazing daughters with his amazing wife.
May 9, 2026 at 11:00 AM at Yocum Institute
Jayne Brown on How Authors Can Shape and Select Material for Wide-Ranging Audiences and Situations
Writers are often called upon to present our creative work to audiences in short excerpts, such as a 10-15-minute reading from a collection, or a 1-paragraph synopsis of a book-length work. Often our subject matter is difficult or requires background information to make sense. This workshop will look at some ways to engage audiences quickly, whether giving a public reading or writing a brief synopsis for a potential publisher, including a brief sample reading from The Third Remembrance, my recent autobiographical chapbook, and a group discussion of various situations we’ve experienced in trying to connect quickly with an audience.
BIO: Jayne Brown is the author of My First Real Tree (Foothills Press), and The Third Remembrance (Finishing Line). Her poetry has appeared recently in Calyx, Persimmon Review, Gyroscope Review and an anthology of Pennsylvania poets. She was a teacher of writing in California colleges and at Penn State Berks until retiring in 2018. She has been a board member of Berks Bards, and was the 8th Poet Laureate of Berks County