When Authors meet Authors...
Especially in Austin, Texas...well, lets put it this way. Way too much fun was had!
So, I went to a writer's conference last week, my first ever. I really wanted to go to the conference, but the cost of it wasn't in my foreseeable future. Praise God for contests and scholarships. I was awarded a scholarship (does that make me an award-winning author now?? Hee, hee!), and was able to drive the couple of hours it took to get to Austin. One observation here...rush hour traffic there? Oy!
Anyway, got there, checked in and because the hotel is a popular place, had to wait an hour for my room to be ready. It was worth the wait. Gorgeous room. If you're ever in the Austin, Texas area and want a room with the most comfortable beds and nicest rooms. the Renaissance Austin is your place to stay. The fact that the conference was there was icing on that particular cake.
So, looking at my conference stuff, I noticed that I kind of messed up on the dress code, so out the door I went to find business casual. Found a couple of things and bright and early Friday morning, I headed down, my poor swollen feet in heels. I get to the check-in table and look to see other attendees milling around wearing...wait for it...jeans and tennis shoes. Yeah...slightly over-dressed. The sweet girl at the table suggested since they weren't quite ready to check in yet that if I would like to go and change into something comfortable, that I had plenty of time to do so. Guess who high-tailed it to her room! This girl!
When we finally got into the conference room, I was in awe. Easily a couple hundred people were there from just about anywhere in the US and probably elsewhere in the world as well. The morning was jammed packed with information and fun and give-aways and of course, Ted Dekker. The man is flat out funny. When our first break came along, I accidentally (yes, it was sort of an accident) bumped into him and let him know how grateful I was to be a winner of one of the scholarships. I also let him know he is one of my most favorite authors. No, really...he is. I can't tell you how many of his books I own.
Julie Lyles Carr was another of my favorites from the conference. She is what she herself referred to as the Cruise Director. A mom of eight (I know, right? I commend her...I barely could handle two!), it boggles the mind how she has any time at all to do any writing. And funny? She's hilarious!
Sandi Krakowski, author of BeMore knocked my socks off. Yes, another funny woman who dug deep into my soul and touched a couple of things that the Holy Spirit has been nudging me on as well. Fantastic speaker.
James Rubart was another speaker that day. Something just occurred to me...I think they scheduled all of the funny people on the first day...but that isn't to say the others weren't funny...there definitely were some light-hearted moments, but the ones that got me to snort a couple of times were on the first day of the conference. Y'all know who you are....keep spreading that sunshine!
The day wrapped up with an Author Panel comprised of Ted Dekker, James Rubart, Susan May Warren and Mary DeMuth. This was pure wonderfulness and there were tons of laughs.
Oh...I forgot to mention. Before lunch, I ran into Ted Dekker again. Yeah...really this was a true accident because he turned around and started to walk when I was walking past. He was talking to someone else and I didn't want to bother them, so I started to go around. Anyway, we ran into each other and talked for a few minutes. Definitely a foot-in-mouth discussion for me. He asked where I came in from and I told him Houston. I joked about our traffic here and then made my faux pas...I mentioned that Austin drivers were crazier than Houston drivers. His response? "I live in Austin..."
I closed my eyes, pressed my lips together and nodded my head in shame...yeah, I was sure I just insulted him. I left the hotel shaking my head as I went to take back the business casual clothes I'd purchased the night before.
At the end of the conference, true to our southern Texas weather, a monkey wrench was tossed in.
You have to love our weather. Truly the old adage fits here...if you don't like our weather, wait five minutes...it will change. We were having freezing rain. One inch thick ice on my car. By afternoon it was melted, but by two o'clock the barometer was doing its funky stuff again, and the fibro was kicking in. Nothing like an organic weather machine to tell you when the weather's changing. I waited the conference out as long as I felt I could without running into the slick roads. Left early, but not without a few pictures...one with my favorite author.
Did I have fun? To quote Sarah Palin..."you betcha." Did I learn a boatload? Absolutely! Did I make some new friends? I did indeed and I look forward to next year!
So, I went to a writer's conference last week, my first ever. I really wanted to go to the conference, but the cost of it wasn't in my foreseeable future. Praise God for contests and scholarships. I was awarded a scholarship (does that make me an award-winning author now?? Hee, hee!), and was able to drive the couple of hours it took to get to Austin. One observation here...rush hour traffic there? Oy!
Anyway, got there, checked in and because the hotel is a popular place, had to wait an hour for my room to be ready. It was worth the wait. Gorgeous room. If you're ever in the Austin, Texas area and want a room with the most comfortable beds and nicest rooms. the Renaissance Austin is your place to stay. The fact that the conference was there was icing on that particular cake.
So, looking at my conference stuff, I noticed that I kind of messed up on the dress code, so out the door I went to find business casual. Found a couple of things and bright and early Friday morning, I headed down, my poor swollen feet in heels. I get to the check-in table and look to see other attendees milling around wearing...wait for it...jeans and tennis shoes. Yeah...slightly over-dressed. The sweet girl at the table suggested since they weren't quite ready to check in yet that if I would like to go and change into something comfortable, that I had plenty of time to do so. Guess who high-tailed it to her room! This girl!
When we finally got into the conference room, I was in awe. Easily a couple hundred people were there from just about anywhere in the US and probably elsewhere in the world as well. The morning was jammed packed with information and fun and give-aways and of course, Ted Dekker. The man is flat out funny. When our first break came along, I accidentally (yes, it was sort of an accident) bumped into him and let him know how grateful I was to be a winner of one of the scholarships. I also let him know he is one of my most favorite authors. No, really...he is. I can't tell you how many of his books I own.
Julie Lyles Carr was another of my favorites from the conference. She is what she herself referred to as the Cruise Director. A mom of eight (I know, right? I commend her...I barely could handle two!), it boggles the mind how she has any time at all to do any writing. And funny? She's hilarious!
Sandi Krakowski, author of BeMore knocked my socks off. Yes, another funny woman who dug deep into my soul and touched a couple of things that the Holy Spirit has been nudging me on as well. Fantastic speaker.
James Rubart was another speaker that day. Something just occurred to me...I think they scheduled all of the funny people on the first day...but that isn't to say the others weren't funny...there definitely were some light-hearted moments, but the ones that got me to snort a couple of times were on the first day of the conference. Y'all know who you are....keep spreading that sunshine!
The day wrapped up with an Author Panel comprised of Ted Dekker, James Rubart, Susan May Warren and Mary DeMuth. This was pure wonderfulness and there were tons of laughs.
Oh...I forgot to mention. Before lunch, I ran into Ted Dekker again. Yeah...really this was a true accident because he turned around and started to walk when I was walking past. He was talking to someone else and I didn't want to bother them, so I started to go around. Anyway, we ran into each other and talked for a few minutes. Definitely a foot-in-mouth discussion for me. He asked where I came in from and I told him Houston. I joked about our traffic here and then made my faux pas...I mentioned that Austin drivers were crazier than Houston drivers. His response? "I live in Austin..."
I closed my eyes, pressed my lips together and nodded my head in shame...yeah, I was sure I just insulted him. I left the hotel shaking my head as I went to take back the business casual clothes I'd purchased the night before.
At the end of the conference, true to our southern Texas weather, a monkey wrench was tossed in.
You have to love our weather. Truly the old adage fits here...if you don't like our weather, wait five minutes...it will change. We were having freezing rain. One inch thick ice on my car. By afternoon it was melted, but by two o'clock the barometer was doing its funky stuff again, and the fibro was kicking in. Nothing like an organic weather machine to tell you when the weather's changing. I waited the conference out as long as I felt I could without running into the slick roads. Left early, but not without a few pictures...one with my favorite author.
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