RWA Conference Notes

I'm back from the conference.

I slept horribly in our hotel room, especially the last night, so I'm a bit tired. (I was terrified of knocking Macy onto the floor so I slept as still as possible. Not as easy as one might think!) Despite being dog tired, I thought I'd write a quick paragraph or two about the conference since I was the first of our little group to arrive home. I'm sure there will be more to come from the others.

Jackie was the official photographer, so she's the one who will have to post pics, including one of her with Nora. She can also tell you all about being Jacquie D'Alessandro's biggest fan:)

It was the first time Jackie, Macy, Katrina and I met in person, and I have to say there were no big surprises. After all my worries about it being awkward, it really wasn't. At all. In fact, Macy, Jackie and I stayed up till 2 am just chatting about anything and everything our second night there. The other women were just as I envisioned them-- although Macy was way more extroverted than she lets on!! The adjectives that come to mind are-- bubbly, vivacious, adorable, determined, funny, independent, flexible, organized, lovely, resourceful, real and easy to hang with. Oh, and they're all pretty darned hot!

The three or four best things for me, besides hanging out with the AoTP chickas, were SEP's presentations and book signings, Michael Hauge's dynamic workshops, seeing so many stars, the Lisa luncheon speakers-- Lisa Kleypas and Lisa Jackson-- meeting so many writers, getting free books (although I didn't get as many as the others due to space constraints), realizing how much I like the other members of RWA-- I really liked everybody I met-- the tiramisu cheesecake and the idea sparks.

Hmmmm. That was more than three or four but bare with me. I think I slept two hours last night, and I didn't sleep on the way home because I sat with another writer who was so fun. It turns out she's in my local chapter. Woo hoo! I actually met several writers from the Chicago area, which I'm very happy about.

The big thing I brought home is a HUGE motivation to get back to basics. To write, write, write. I'll be getting up at 4:30 tomorrow, for example. I also have a brilliant idea for a day job. Brilliant, brilliant. More on that as I determine how feasible it is (but if you want a hint, remember that my number one favorite job, amongst all the many, many jobs I've had, was running a bookstore).

Ramble, ramble. Hope that was somewhat coherent for you. If you want better posts on the conference check out Live from Dallas. It's off to bed for me:)

Cheers and happy writing,

Alyson