A long-overdue ACFW Conference recap

Hello friends!! It's been a while (again...)! I apologize for my long absence, but I at least have a good excuse - I've been writing! More on that in a bit, first I'll start with the promised recap from the ACFW Conference now that I've had over a month to process :)

The conference was amazing!! San Antonio is apparently still very hot in late September, but most of the event was indoors, anyway, and I did enjoy my excursions out onto the beautiful River Walk. The conference itself had wonderful content, from practical tips on writing and marketing to inspiring sessions about the spiritual aspects of being a Christian writer and staying positive and focused on what's important. It was exciting and humbling to have a "Finalist" ribbon on my name badge (in case you missed it, Common was named as a finalist in the Young Adult category of the ACFW Carol Awards!!! Eeeeeek!), and although Common didn't win, being surrounded by so many amazingly talented authors was a powerful reminder of just what an honor it was to be among such company. And I couldn't be more excited for the winners!! God is doing incredible things in my life and the lives of so many fellow authors, which is awesome to see.

I'd been so torn about going (I had to leave my 4-month-old baby home, after all!), but this conference was so steeped in knowledge, wisdom, and prayer, which was exactly what I needed! After spending a fun day touring San Antonio with my lovely aunt, I came home feeling reinvigorated and ready to write! In the month since I've been back, I've finally hit my stride with Traitor, Book Two in my Tales of the Mystics series, and have already doubled my manuscript's word count! If I can keep up this momentum, I'm hoping to have my first draft completed by the end of the year - yay!! I SO appreciate everyone's patience as this story has slowly come together in the midst of life's many interruptions.

I hope you're all having a great Fall, I'm hoping to post again soon with even more exciting updates!

Realm Makers 2016 Overview

I hardly know where to start with this post! I attended the Realm Makers conference for writers of speculative fiction (fantasy, scifi, dystopian, steampunk, etc.) the last weekend of July, and it was epic. I've been home for almost two weeks, and I'm still processing all the amazing lessons I learned (both writing-related and life in general) and people I connected with.

I won't go into all the classes I attended in detail (though feel free to reach out and ask, if you're interested!), but they were everything from marketing and creating a great proposal, to inspiration about the unique gift of being a writer, to how different writing stages compare to dating milestones, to engaging discussions about how faith impacts our writing and what Christian literature is and should be. Suffice it to say I learned a lot!

But the highlight of the conference by far was being surrounded by so many like-minded people. At every turn I met someone who has embarked on a journey as crazy as mine, and it was such a pleasure to be able to share, commiserate, laugh, and even cry with them. I couldn't believe how hard it was to say goodbye to these new friends, even though we had only spent a few days together.

Realm Makers also provided me the opportunity to meet with several agents and editors and pitch my manuscript. While a nerve-wracking experience, I so appreciated their kindness, encouragement, and genuine interest in my story. I'm feeling more motivated than ever to finish editing to get my manuscript submission-ready! I'll be sure to post any updates along the way!

And now...the moment you've all been waiting for! What mystery costume did I wear to the Realm Makers costume banquet??

Ta da! Any fellow Big Bang Theory fans out there? That's right, I was Amy Farrah Fowler :)  Not as many people recognized my costume as I'd hoped, but I still had a great time!








Attribution: http://vignette2.wikia.nocookie.net/bigbangtheory/images/8/8a/Amy_farrah_fowler.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20120408145704