Gearing up for RWA

What I'm reading: Pointe and Shoot by Natalie M. Roberts

What I'm writing: Chapter 12

I leave in a few days for the annual national conference of Romance Writers of America in San Francisco. I'm looking forward to being surrounded by hundreds of people who also hear voices but aren't forced to live in padded rooms. I'm looking forward to cooler weather. I'm looking forward to meeting my agent face to face. I'm looking forward to seeing all those 'names on spines', and listening to their words of wisdom.

I'm looking forward to the behind the scenes tour of Customs & Immigration. I'm looking forward to the Death by Chocolate party where they'll announce the winners of the Daphne du Maurier contest. It's been an honor to have been nominated. Seriously. My book is with a small press, and a primarily e-publisher to boot. So hanging with names like Brenda Novak is just plain amazing. I even did the unimaginable – bought new shoes. I'm looking forward to seeing my brother, even if it's only for an afternoon. He's already made the restaurant reservations. And, after the conference, I'm looking forward to a week of decompression in Oregon with DH's sister and her husband. Since my current WIP is set in Oregon, it's a research trip, too.

What I'm not looking forward to: Packing. It's like packing for two trips. RWA tends to be wardrobe intensive, with meetings, award ceremonies, as well as all day in workshops. Then, staying with relatives in Salem requires an entirely different set of clothes. Laid back, casual. With the airline restrictions on luggage these days, it'll be a challenge to get everything I need into the requisite suitcases. And there are all the 'promotional extras' to cram in there somewhere. Although my contributions won't be making the return trip, normally the giveaways I collect equal or exceed what I leave behind. Thank goodness for my eBookwise. I can fill it with enough reading material so I don't need to haul books.

Then there are all the 'leaving home' details to remember. Cancel mail, paper. Have neighbor alerted to watch the house for things left in the driveway or on the porch. Change all my email groups to no mail or special notices. Make sure I've got all the necessities, which puts me right back to packing, because if I don't have it, there's not much time to run out and get it. I should make a list, of course. But I never got around to making a list for a month in Africa; two weeks on the west coast shouldn't be that hard.