Conference Highlights

I survived the devotional:

Yes, I cried. Not deep racking sobs or anything, but I got choked up enough to not be able to talk for a few moments. Long enough that a friend considered running up to finish it for me. I made it through with God’s help…but there was a back-up devotional in place just in case. :-)

I learned a lot:

I took the Donald Maass early bird session. Incredible. I could have gone home after that and felt like I’d had an entire conference, minus the dressing up. Got some great ideas for my work-in-progress.

I figured out that group pitching is the way to go. When I panic and go blank, someone else who believes in my work can pick up the pieces and give me time to breathe and figure out what to say next. Thanks Betsy and Lori.

I sat through another of Susan May Warren and Rachel Hauck’s classes. They are so fun and down-to-earth. Love those ladies. I also went to a marketing class and a few others.

I got to know quite a few people better:

Sandra, my roommate for Wednesday night, who managed to score a complimentary plate of cheese and something that looked suspiciously like caviar.

John, who looks like Spock on his blog profile picture, and who nearly laughed out loud when he heard I was going to give a devotional. He had a right to laugh. If I hadn’t been crying, I would have been laughing.

Andrew, a newbie who bravely told the whole table about his story while we laughed. Dude, your story idea has stuck with me. You made an impression!

Lori, another of my roommates who is a total blast, and her writing is amazing. If you don’t believe me, ask the editor who dragged her over to another editor’s table during her appointment and told the lady, “You have got to read this.”

Betsy, a.k.a. The Writing Machine. My other roommate and a great writing bud. I’m still trying to figure out how all three of us got up, showered, dressed, presentable, and down to breakfast in one hour.

Liz, a fellow LIS author. And so many others…

The hotel staff was great:

During the break before my devotional Saturday morning, I headed out to the lobby to find a quiet spot to try to calm myself down. Hugging myself, I started to walk past the hotel restaurant. The hostess saw me and asked if I was cold. I said no—nervous. She gave the kindest smile and said, “You’ll do fine.” That afternoon I passed her again, and she asked me how I did.

The first face I really saw after I finished my devotional was a server’s. Beaming, she smiled sweetly and wiped away tears, and I figured I must have done okay.

Some funny stuff:

Jenny B. Jones won an award for one of her books. She wasn’t there to accept it, so her agent, the great Chip McGregor, took the stage, decked out in his kilt. And proceeded to direct us all in the wave, as per her instructions.

Keynote speaker and best-selling author Debbie Macomber read some of the reader mail she’d gotten over the years. Like, “Your books are the macaroni and cheese of my life…” and a few others not quite so flattering.

Jamba Juice…Harry Kraus informed us that in Africa, this isn’t something you’d want to drink. Ever.

Some Denver stuff:

My uncle gave me a tour of Denver. I saw the cool buildings downtown. The mountains…oh, and some more mountains. Some elk on a golf course. The blue horse statue with the creepy glowing red eyes. The crazy Mexican restaurant that was like Rain Forest Café on steroids. The zoo that was really awesome except for the meerkat. Yes. One lone meerkat. With no sand to dig in. AND I saw it snow…while I was wearing flip flops.

Some writing stuff:

I didn’t get any invites to send anything, but that was okay. The project I was pitching was very different. Instead, I did make some good contacts, and I got some great advice how to make my different story more saleable. I’m definitely going to be working on that.

ACFW is such an amazing conference. The atmosphere is full of love and a desire to please God. The worship is great—Rachel leads with such a sweet spirit. The big-shots don’t act like big-shots. We’re all there to learn and to serve and to help each other and pray for one another. If you want to write fiction, join the organization. It’ll be one of the best things you ever did.