Two days after completing Ironman USA in Lake Placid, I flew to Atlanta to attend The RWA National Conference. Four incredible days packed with information, energy, and thousands of other writers, not to mention the bonus of spending the evenings with my son and daughter-in-law. I chose workshops to learn about career, craft, research, and the business of publishing. I attended chats with Nora Roberts, Julie Garwood, and Carly Phillips. I was inspired by keynote speakers, Meg Cabot and Christina Dodd, who shared their stories and gave us (unpublished writers) hope that if we are persistent, we might one day see our books on shelves, too.

I met writers at every stage of their career, some just starting out, and others with many completed manascripts behind them. Published and unpublished – all lovely, unique, individuals with a common thread, the love of the written word, the emotions stirred by black & white print. What an amazing community of people.

I came home with ideas buzzing, excitement flowing out of my suitcase, and new friends to keep in touch with. I met with an incredible agent who liked my work and requested a few revisions, which I am busy working on — will she want to represent me? The thrill of ‘maybe’ ripples up my spine as I look at each word I’ve written and try to find a way to polish it to brilliance … Guess that is my cue to get back to work. Until later – Christine.