Home from the Emerald City

My travel reading: First You Run; Then You Hide; Now You Die; all by Roxanne St. Claire; The Secret Diaries of Miss Minerva Cheever, by Julia Quinn.

What I'm reading now: City of Secrets, by Katie Reus

What I'm writing. Writing? I'm still unpacking, but I'll be revising my Bad Stuff Happens on the Airplane scene thanks to a very patient seat-mate on the Seattle to Atlanta leg of my trip.

For me, the highlight of Saturday was the book signing, where I sold out. (Thanks to Allison Brennan for buying my last copy of Finding Sarah!). As with all conferences, networking abounded, and I met lots of new friends, and reconnected with some from the 2006 conference. Eileen Cook provided some great information on Why Smart People Do Stupid Things, and gave us some excellent psych fodder for our characters' behavior. Julia Hunter shared "Gadgets for the Busy Writer" tips, and Louise Knott Ahern shared PR tips.

Deb Werksman of Sourcebooks told us how to excite and editor (all the while pointing out that there were 190,000 new books published last year, and that out of the 900-1200 subs she gets, maybe 100 will be published. It's all about a good hook.

Sunday morning's first workshop was interrupted by a fire drill. At least it was late enough so most of us were in session on the ground or second level, and didn't have to go down 8 flights of stairs while carrying That Which is Essential (but are glad hubby took care of it). Allison Brennan's closing speech was the perfect wrap-up to the conference.

The trip home was more or less on schedule, and, as mentioned above, I found myself sitting next to a private pilot who was willing to answer my "I need a disaster" questions for a scene in my book.

Good to be home, although I sure miss the cooler weather. But, there's still shopping for food, unpacking and the requisite laundry to be done. And, I'll be realistic. I still haven't entered all my RWA receipts into a spreadsheet, so I doubt I'll be organizing my Seattle expenses any time soon.