welcome to the heart full of ink writing retreats!

choose your adventure

Spring Retreat
Summer Retreat
Fall Retreat

the best week of your writing career

Every writer deserves a space to flourish and create.

Writing can feel like a very isolated job, with just you, your imaginary friends, and the computer screen. When you try talking to your friends and family about the world in your head, they smile politely but their eyes glaze over because they just don’t get it.   

But what if you could spend a week surrounded by nature and a group of other romance authors who do get it? A group of authors who have their own imaginary worlds, a favorite pen, and know the joy of the right word to describe a peen.

Heart Full of Ink Writing Retreats are exactly that! 

Our retreats are cozy-themed productive getaways. 

For a week, you’ll hang out in a cabin in the Great Smokey Mountains with four other romance authors, a personal chef, and your favorite editor sitting on the couch next to you. Plus all our imaginary friends. You can’t forget them. 😉

During the day, you’ll have plenty of quiet time to write, plot, and ask for feedback or word help from everyone. You can go for a walk in the woods, do arts and crafts just for fun, read a book, do yoga, or anything else you want to do to refill the creative well. At night, we’ll watch movies together or play NSFW games (and sometimes make our own better/dirtier version because it’s too easy for romance authors) and laugh for hours. Some nights, we’ll sit around a campfire, making s’mores and talking and bonding for hours under the moonlight. 

You deserve to be inspired, feel rejuvenated, and write a shit ton of words!

Pick Your Retreat

It was… such a relief. To be with other women who understood, who could relate, who could laugh and cry and be real. To feel like I was amongst others that were just like me, going through a lot of the same bullshit. The amount of support was insane. The kindness was next level. I had a lot of anxiety getting on that plane and fucking going for it. I cried the whole way to the airport. To get there and have every fear erased because everyone was so amazing was the best thing I could have asked for. I felt like I was allowed to just… exist, and there was no judgement for what that looked like for each individual—which is not a feeling I have very often. Oh, and I got a veritable FUCK TON of work done, so there’s that.

K. R. Fryatt

Author of Of Moths and Stone

who is this for?

You! The Heart Full of Ink Writing Retreats are specifically introverted romance authors at any stage in their writing career. Although if you’re an extrovert, these retreats are for you too because we need you. In a house full of introverts, we need at least one extrovert to get the conversation started. 

These retreats are for romance authors who need a break from the real world and reconnect with nature and their muse. Who need a week where they don’t have any outside distractions from their writing goals. Who need a week where they don’t have to worry about food, cooking, meal planning, or even cleaning up the kitchen. Who need to be surrounded by their community of fellow romance authors. Who need their editor at their side while they tackle a giant chunk of their current project.  

 

If you’ve published novels, fantastic. This retreat is for you. 

If you have written your first book but you’re stuck in revisions and need help, great. This retreat is for you. 

If you just have an outline/idea for a book and need a shove in the pants to get started, you’re definitely in the right place. This retreat is for you, too. 

 

While a majority of the attendees are current Heart Full of Ink clients, that is not a requirement! It’s just a perk if your editor already knows your story before coming to the retreat.

“I 100% recommend attending your retreats to get to know your editor.  Don’t get me wrong, I did get a sense of who you (Casey) were when we Zoomed, but it was the in-person aspect that made me understand you better (and love you more).” 

Elle Riley

Author of Too Hot In Miami

what you’ll get

  • A pre-retreat 30-minute plotting session to go over your goals and set up for success. (Worth $100)
  • One week of lodging with your own private room at a cabin the Smokey Mountains. (Worth $2500)
  • Three meals per day (breakfast, lunch, and dinner) prepared and served by House Mom Rhianna. (Worth $800)
  • Snacks and other writing fuel, available in our fully stocked kitchen. (Worth $100)
  • Open bar. Every night. (Worth $200)
  • A dedicated one-hour one-on-one plotting session with Casey to deep-dive into your story. (Worth $200)
  • Undisturbed, unlimited writing time!!! (Priceless)
  • A professional award-winning photographer, for new headshots and a fun, themed photoshoot. (Worth $750)
  • A two-hour forest bathing session (a guided, walking meditation). (Worth $200)
  • Unlimited access to Casey for questions about plot, word choice, pep talks, and whine and wine time. (Priceless)
  • A post-retreat 30-minute plotting session to make sure you’re still on track with your goals. (Worth $100) 

You get all of this for only $2500!

 

 

And if you register four months before the retreat starts, early bird pricing is only $2250

✨Payment plans available!✨

what you’ll accomplish

I can’t guarantee what you’ll accomplish because every author comes to the Heart Full of Ink Writing Retreats at different stages, with different goals. But I can tell you what my clients have achieved at past retreats. 

 

Roseanne Beck wrote three times what she normally does in one week. She typically writes about 5,000 words in a week. During the retreat, she wrote over 15,000 new words in her manuscript.

 

K.R. Fryatt “got a veritable FUCK TON of work done.”(Her words.) During one retreat, she wrote over 20,000 words in one week. During another retreat, she used over 100 sticky notes to plot out the second book in her series and also wrote about 10,000 words.  

 

 

 

 

Spring Writing Retreat

Dates: March 22 – 29

Location: Gatlinburg, TN

Spots Left: 0

Early Bird Price: $2250

Regular Price: $2500

Summer Writing Retreat

Dates: May 24 – 31

Location: Gatlinburg, TN

Spots Left: 4

Early Bird Price: $2250

Regular Price: $2500

Summer Writing Retreat

Dates: July 26 – August 2

Location: Gatlinburg, TN

Spots Left: 1

Early Bird Price: $2250

Regular Price: $2500

Fall Writing Retreat

Dates: October 25 – November 1

Location: Gatlinburg, TN

Spots Left: 4

Early Bird Price: $2250

Regular Price: $2500

*Please note that while we try to keep the website up-to-date, it might not reflect availability accurately.

How To Sign Up:

Email Casey directly with the retreat dates you want to attend. If you haven’t worked with Casey yet, please sign up for a free consultation first. She will send you the sign-up form and the invoice. If the retreat is full, she will let you know and discuss other options.

She's So Much More Than An Editor

“Casey is the kind of editor who will stand right beside you through every step of your process, focused just as hard on that wall of ten thousand haphazard sticky notes while you try to plot your next book over the course of hours and days. She’ll offer ideas and encouragement. A joke to lighten your mood. A margarita at the end of the night when you’re feeling like you got absolutely nowhere, and a promise to do it all again the next day. And when you pass out in a chair while staring at said wall—hopeless, your brain little more than a bowl of cold oatmeal because you’ve hit a massive block—she’s the kind of person who will go find the blanket you packed, lay it gently over you, and tuck you in for some much needed rest.

 

She’s so much more than an editor, and her retreats are more than a week to get some work done. They are community and conversation and laughter. A safe place for support and healing, if you need it. Peaceful and hilariously chaotic in turns. A veritable ass-ton of genuine fun.
 
Time and again, Casey provides an environment that says everything about who she is as a human being, and I cannot possibly recommend her enough. Just go. Go. You won’t regret it.”

 
K.R. Fryatt, Author of really long, epic romantasy books

Left Motivated and With New Friends

“This spring I had the opportunity to go to one of Casey’s hosted writers retreats in a luxury cabin in Tennessee. I had never been to the area before and first let me say The Smoky Mountains are absolutely magical—a great place for a retreat. Throughout the planning and then on the trip, Casey’s communication, thoroughness, and mindfulness were apparent with every little detail from activities, like forest bathing, creating vision boards, and meal provisioning. Getting to spend time with her for one-on-one sessions and with the other amazing writers was awesome. Also just getting a chance to hang out for a week with like minded folks and have my spirits lifted by the positive energy and the peaceful time I was able to dedicate to writing was the best. I left the retreat motivated and with new friends!”

Jennifer M. Waldrop, Author of spicy romantasy and quirky speculative books

Invigorated and Relaxed

"This retreat was an absolute blast! Not only was I very productive, but I was able to workshop ideas with Casey as well as the other writers. I felt both invigorated and relaxed throughout the week, and I cannot wait for the next one!

Roseanne Beck, Author of hilarious Rom-Coms

I felt heard, and seen and very motivated!

"This has been the BEST writer's retreat by far. Editor Casey gave each writer consistent 1 on 1 time. She made sure we not only met our goals for the week but had a solid plan for the future. I felt as if Casey was genuinely invested in me as a person and as a writer. Casey created a comfortable and nurturing environment that encouraged us to write, unwind, and create life-long relationships. I will attend her retreats every year.

Casey constantly checked in with each of us to see what we needed. She made it clear when she was available for discussion. She went above and beyond to assist each of us to complete our goals for the retreat AND to set goal for after... I feel like she gave a lot more time to each of us than expected. I felt heard, and seen and very motivated!"

Elle Riley, Author of hilarious Rom-Coms

Even For A Seemingly-Hopeless Introvert Like Myself

"If an editor invites you to essentially come and live with them for eight days—offering their time, knowledge, and guidance—give it serious consideration. If that editor is Casey, don’t even think about it. Just GO!

Even as a writer, I hardly have the words to describe what a wonderful experience it was, and she was the highlight. She helped me to break through a tough chunk of my book, took the time to read and go over the result, and was so unbelievably supportive.

Everyone that attended was incredible. I feel like I was really able to bond with the other authors because Casey created an environment in which that was possible to do—even for a seemingly-hopeless introvert like myself. She provided a comfortable, safe space with tons of laughs and an endless well of encouragement. It was like summer camp for authors—complete with bonfires and marshmallows, mountains and a sky full of stars, and lots of late-night sharing/storytelling. I went for the writing, but left with friends and amazing memories.

I am already looking forward to the next retreat, and simply cannot recommend it enough. Go, go, go!"

 
K.R. Fryatt, Author of really long, epic romantasy books

Get To KNOW Your Editor

"I 100% recommend attending your retreats to get to know your editor.  Don't get me wrong, I did get a sense of who you (Casey) were when we Zoomed, but it was the in-person aspect that made me understand you better (and love you more)." 
 
Elle Riley, Author of hilarious Rom-Coms

 

 

 

Bring Casey to you

Yes, I will travel TO YOU! 

Have you ever wished your favorite editor was sitting next to you while you worked on your book, answering plotting questions in real time? Well, now we can make that happen! I will travel to you for a personal one-on-one writing retreat wherever you want! You get to decide where we go, what we do, and have my undivided attention the entire time. In the past, I have: 

  • Spent a week with a client in Temecula, California, writing and drinking all day at wineries while helping my client finish her 8th novel
  • Walked through and recreated the storyline of a client’s book in Salem, MA, visiting the inspiration for the characters’ homes, their favorite spots, the street they live on, the high school, etc. to finalize details and gain insight for her trilogy
  • Cuddled with puppies on a couch while plotting out a full series with a client at her home
  • Joined an established critique group for a week-long writing retreat and helped everyone achieve their writing goals

If this sounds like something you want to do, email me today! We’ll plan your personal writing retreat together.