Where I was, what I was doing, Part One.

The Romance Writers of America's National Conference was held from June 28th through July 1st in New York City in Midtown Manhattan. This trip was the perfect combination of NYC (crowds, humidity) and RWA (creativity, inspiration).

I'd been dreaming of New York since I was a young girl, and I'd been dreaming of going to Nationals since I joined RWA six years ago. What a perfect opportunity to combine my dreams into one neat package! The Charming Man was not about to be left behind, so the two of us planned and schemed until we got our butts in our airplane and took off. :)

I've often said that if you want to learn to write, you must join RWA. This conference proves it.

2000+ writers mingled with agents, editors, heads of publishing houses, and each other. The book signing's line coiled around three floors and then out to the street - and it raised $57,000 for adult literacy. Editors from every publishing house spoke freely about their jobs and what kinds of books they were looking for.

There were hundreds of workshops in five tracks:

• Craft
• Career
• Writer's Life/Muse
• Publishing
• Research

Just on the first day, there were over twenty five workshops with names such as:

• Building Your Author Website
• Creating Three Dimensional Characters
• Show Me the Money! (Yes, it was about how you will get paid as an author)
• Writing Romance through Separation and Divorce
• Twenty Five Years in Romance: An editor explains Romance Publishing and how it works

As you can imagine, it was like earning a BA in Creative Writing in a long weekend. And it rocked!

Home!

I have returned from the wilds of the East Coast! I am currently drafting my posts about my visit to New York and the RWA National Conference. But first, a picture to tease:

A black figure libation bowl from the Metropolitan Museum of Art.