A Slice of Orange

I’m on vacation and trying to figure out what to talk about this month.  I really didn’t want to bore you with another RWA2018 recap, but here goes.

Last month I attended my second RWA National Conference in Denver.  Attending conference is sort of like the first day of school and a family reunion rolled together.  I know that’s a strange observation, but work with me.  

Remember your first day at a new school?  There are two groups you were eager to see: the cool older kids and the popular girls.  Like most newbies, you were excited if anyone from either group acknowledged you.  That’s how it is at conference when you meet a  “Superstar”  and they speak to you.  It’s even more exciting if they say, “I read your book.”  That alone, propels your confidence.  But when a Superstar says, “I bought your book and enjoyed it…” it’s time to call 911, because you’ve just passed out.  I experienced both and I am still in shock.

Conference is like a family reunion because you get to see people you hadn’t seen since the last “reunion”, and are excited to see them and are thrilled they remember you.  My schedule this year has prevented me from attending my local chapter meetings, so I was very excited to see people from my chapter.  It’s like we’d just seen each other.

Another plus to attending conference this year is meeting up with old friends. I was stoked about  getting to see my friend Kitty Bucholtz and her husband, John [who now live in Sweden].   Although we’re accountability partners, along with Elena Dillon and DeAnna Cameron, and talk once a week, we hadn’t physically seen each other in a couple of years.  We got to catch up in person which we both needed. Yeah!

Another favorite thing about conference was getting to talk to Mark Dawson.  I’ve taken his courses but had some questions I really wanted answered. I was delighted to get honest feedback from him.  I also enjoyed my last session of the conference on audio books.  I left that session armed and ready to tackle a new option in my writing career.

The most unexpected treat from conference was my three roommates: Christina, Joyce and Janine.  I have never attended a conference where I had one roommate, let alone three.  I have to be honest, I had college roommate horror flashbacks, but rooming with these three was so  fun.  

These ladies graciously allowed me to stay with them and I had a great time.  We shared stories, mini brainstormed and laughed past midnight.  Having a roommate[s] allowed me to experience conference in a different way.  Because of my roommate Christina, I attended a fireside write-in at Sabrina Sol’s room.  I only wrote about thirty words, because we were having so much fun chatting, but I did get some insight into a character I’m writing.  

The other highlight of my conference was an impromptu plotting session on Friday.  I know those last two words don’t really go together.  However, if you ask the ladies [Christina, Sabrina and Alexis] at Friday night’s write-in about the “Ginger shape shifting unicorn hero”, they’d say, you can’t leave conference without a good late night write-in. SMILE.  Every time I see a unicorn or a red-head man, I’m reminded of the story.  We’ve really got to write that story.

My last-minute decision to attend RWA2018 was more exciting than I had imagined.  Shout out to the LARA ladies, my second chapter home. 

Here’s a little RWA2018 trivia.  How much do 54 books weigh?  The answer…31.5 pounds.  Thank you Southwest for two free bags and the other six books I put in my carry-on.  Next year, it’ll be a toss-up between which will weigh more, the books or all of my NYC purchases.

Happy August.

Tracy