34th year! Hard to believe we’ve kept it going so long. The attendance varies but we have a super time. 

We were disappointed that Carolyn and Ron Steele were unable to make it this year. She’s also an author, so I was especially anxious to meet her. We’re keeping our fingers crossed for next year! Please check Carolyn out here. Also hoping for Robert and Barbara, and Mada and Lawrence next year. Without David, Robert and Ron not a lot of “Steeles” there.

Having Carolyn would have been three authors attending! Carolyn, my sister who writes as PK Corey and me – What can I say, a talented family. 

Not too many of the next generation there this year. They’re all busy with young families and full time jobs, while so many of us are retired or have accumulated extra vacation over the years. Just so they know they’re always welcome! 

Wanted to share a picture of where it all started – this is Grandmother and Granddaddy’s 50th anniversary celebration.

See you all next year!

I’m home and happily exhausted. The 10.5 hour drive each way took a toll, but look at all the books I brought back. I see contests in the near future.  

Had a wonderful time and mostly stayed inside due to the heat – but it was July in Florida. Plus with so many incredible presentations to attend no time to go out. My only problem was in deciding which of the presentations to see.

Wednesday through Saturday was full. Just some of the sessions I attended included Mark Dawson on Savvy Marketing, Kristen Painter and Roxanne St. Clarie on Self-Publishing in an Ever Changing Market. The PAN Keynote was Faith Salie on the Approval Junkie, a panel on the secrets of self-publishing, and a high energy session on Burnout Prevention with Emily Foster and Amelia Nagoski.

The Golden Hearts luncheon was separated from the Ritas this year which I found to be very enjoyable. A full list of the winners is here – Golden Hearts and Ritas.

Linnea Sinclair, Cindy Holbby and Stacey Kade led Boldly Going: Writing Science Fiction Romance. Got to attend Writing Great Sex Scenes with Patience Bloom, Flo Nicoll and Kathleen Scheibling, but missed Cattle Ranching for Dummies, Unsucky Blurb Writing (need this one!), Indiana Jones in the Ballroom, and How a Lady Does it: Sex in Historical Romance.  Need to clone myself for the next conference.

There was a lovely party given by Soul Mate Publishing for their authors – and one of the best meals I had the whole conference in addition to meeting so many new (to me) authors.  

Also got to see so many authors I admire and follow. Fangirled on Suzanne Brockman and Virginia Kantra. Got to talk a little with Heather Graham – told her that I’d been compared to her on a review of Wraith’s Heart and thanked her for the boost in sales. Saw Katharine Ashe, Samantha Chase, Elizabeth Langston, Sabrina Jefferies, Cyn Haydn, my incredible editor from Soul Mate Publishing, Char Chaffin, and of course roomed with Nancy Lee Badger. 

Beverly Jenkins won the Nora Robert Lifetime Achievement Award and gave the greatest speech.

Lots of  Hearts of the Carolina were there as well – Kate Parker, Davida Samenski, Laurel McMacken, Jennifer Delamere. There weren’t enough hours in the day.

Attended the Leadership Breakfast with Nancy on Saturday and learned a lot more than I had even considered about what RWA does behind the scenes for authors and chapters. Gave me a new appreciation of the work of the organization.

If you haven’t been to a conference yet, put it on your schedule – Denver in 2018. If possible, it’s an incredible experience.

I’m creative in my own way. I mean I am a multi-published author. But then I go see the homes of young women in my family and I get jealous.  

Turns out, I have no decorating gene.

Went to see my niece’s new home this week – she’s been in it less than two months and it’s completely decorated with pictures on the wall and beautiful touches everywhere. 

I cannot say the same for my place. The gene just passed me by.

Visited La Daughter’s new apartment a few weeks ago and had the same feeling. Why don’t I know about these beautiful little touches?

La Daughter-in-law even has a Etsy site where she makes these lovely little touches that add so much. Check it out here – HoneycuttCo

Okay, none of these women write books but dang where they would sit to write them look so good! Not showing you my office, no way. Six months here and pictures still sitting against the wall in some areas rather than being hung. And while I decluttered to a fantastic level, there’s still more I could get rid of . . . Sigh

Oh well, they can come here and decorate for me any time!

At least I have this…

It was an iffy start to any trip–first sat on the runway in Greensboro for over an hour due to electrical problems, and after it was repaired had to go back to the gate to finish the paperwork (really!), so arrived in Atlanta about 18 minutes before the connection was supposed to take off. Ran to the gate to find that flight was also delayed due to weather in Dallas, so they hadn’t started boarding. And despite Scary News, everyone was patient, cordial and helpful. A stranger on the plane looked up what gate I needed to run to in Atlanta and let me know I might make it since it was delayed as well.

Should mention the hotel, not the best I’ve stayed in but not the worse. A known chain and the people were very nice. The free breakfast was one of the best I’ve ever had. But there was that mouse in our room . . . They moved us immediately to a much larger room, but the bathroom was half the size and there was no shower curtain. I’m sure the person at the desk was so unnerved by the mouse (I know I was) that he forgot to report the shower curtain. Hope we didn’t make too much of a mess.

But the good stuff was excellent. Had beautiful yellow roses for Texas waiting for me. Got to see La Daughter and her partner and their new apartment. It was so nice!  Much better than mine at their age and the neighborhood was charming – walkable to pubs and stores and still a neighborhood feeling. (Bette, recognize the table? And the mirror is hanging on the wall to the side.) A little name dropping here, but we got to meet and visit with James Hime, Edgar Award Finalist and author of Where Armadillos Go To Die among others, and his lovely wife. They are the parents of La Daughter’s partner so even more in common with them than I would have guessed. 

Dallas has some incredible restaurants and I feel like I tried them all. I’m not the kind of person who thinks to take a picture of their meal (and wouldn’t have embarrassed La Daughter in front of his parents in any case) so I have no pics of the meals, but trust me they were incredible. Had grilled scallops over corn risoto at Season 52, garlic shrimp at Javier’s, and then Sushi Zushi as a few examples.

I’d never been to Dallas before but the one place I wanted to see was Dealey Plaza. I was 10 when the world turned upside down there. We walked it and saw the book depository that even though I’d never seen personally, was so familiar to me. I was very surprised by the emotion the site brought up. I would have thought that was long in the past but it was more present for me that I could have guessed.  

Have a lot of traveling ahead of me this fall with RWA Nationals, Moonlight and Magnolia’s conference, a beach trip with the grandson and this was a great start. Even got in some writing (yes!), so it was a great kick-off to summer.

All in all have to give the visit a 9.7+. It was wonderful seeing where La Daughter lives and of course getting to meet such wonderful people. We’ll be back.