By Julie BUTCHER

On Saturday, the La Crescenta Woman’s Club (LCWC) hosted its 15th Author’s Luncheon at its clubhouse at 4004 La Crescenta Ave. More than 100 club members and community friends listened to inspiring writing advice from three authors, raised money for local charities and enjoyed a tasty lunch catered by Gourmet A Go Go, served by members of Pasadena’s Hoving Home community.

LCWC member Carol Stein has been helping to arrange the authors for the event for the past 15 years “way back since we took over the work from the Verdugo Metropolitan District.” She explained the process of identifying and recruiting authors to speak at the annual luncheon.

“We ask the members for recommendations, of course. The authors have to be local because we have no money to offer them an honorarium.” She added that the club has held the luncheons for 20 years “because reading is important. Plus, how many fashion shows can you do?”

Event chair Debbie Cant continued the “Bookworms” theme in her welcoming message to the crowd.

“Thank you for joining us, sharing our love of books,” she said, then thanked the committee and club members who helped organize day. She then introduced the three authors invited to speak – Désirée Zamorano, Matt Coyle and Dianne Dixon.

Zamorano lit up the stage with her animated story, knowing she wanted to write, knowing that she had to write about the complicated lives of women, about families, about her Mexican-American mom and her adult daughters.

“We are everywhere and yet we are invisible. We don’t see a lot of representation or else we see stereotypes,” she said, adding, “and I’m not exactly Sofia Vergara.”

She explained that was the inspiration behind writing “The Amado Women,” to “show us in all our intricacies, diverse, detailed, and authentic.”

Matt Coyle drove up from San Diego where he lives with his yellow Lab, Angus, because he “never looks askance at an opportunity to talk about my writing. This is such a good cause,” he noted with a wave around the banquet room festooned with book decorations, book centerpieces and cutout red “bookworms” everywhere.

Coyle said he wanted to write since his dad gave him a copy of Raymond Chandler’s “The Simple Art of Murder.” His fifth novel in the Rick Cahill series, “Wrong Light,” was published in December.

“You have to write if you want to be a writer,” he said, sharing his writing journey with a uniquely endearing, self-effacing humor. “I worked four golf companies out of business and I finally told myself, ‘You have to write now or you can’t tell anyone you’re a writer.’ So I joined a writers group and I took a writing class. ‘Write what you know,’ they say. ‘I say write what you want to know.’ Expect a lot of rejections; look for the ‘good’ rejections.”

He recalled an agent telling him that Jonathan Kellerman wrote six novels before his first was published.

In response to a question from the audience, Coyle offered this advice to aspiring writers: ‘Stop aspiring and start writing. Write when it’s easy. Write when it’s hard. Get into a routine and write every day. Take classes to learn the basics of storytelling. Join writing organizations specific to your genre. Go to writers conferences.’

Author Dianne Dixon always knew she had a story to tell.

“What we do, essentially,” she began her remarks, “is storytelling. Tell me a story. Tell me my story. Tell me your story. We form friendships, discover people we don’t like, telling each other our stories.”

“Mine was a childhood of dark, unhappy circumstances,” Dixon shared her story with candor. The one place she found joy was in stories and words, in the telling and hearing of other people’s stories. Through it all, she knew she wanted to write, that she needed to write. And so after a successful career in film and TV writing, her first novel, “The Language of Secrets,” was published in 2011.

As had the other authors, Dixon offered her own inspiring words of advice: “If you know there’s something you were born to do, even if people have told you that you’re too old or too young or too anything, it is never too late. It’s not too late to write your book, or to plant your garden, make your music. Whatever it is, just do it. Do it! Do it! It’s your story to tell and it will change your life to tell it. You are more powerful and more beautiful than you know, so tell your story!”

Vickere Murphy presented a certificate of recognition to the group from State Senator Anthony Portantino and lunch was served, as the silent auction and raffle wrapped up, and the writers sold and signed copies of their books.

The La Crescenta Woman’s Club is “an organization dedicated to community improvement by enhancing the lives of others through volunteer service,” part of a national network committed to “living the volunteer spirit.”

For more information or to join the local club, call (818) 658-1104.

  Julie BUTCHER