Reorientation

More than the Whitneys and a writing conference took me off course over the past two months. But now that all of that is over and family difficulties seem to have eased, I feel ready to plunge back in, renewed and reoriented.

First, some thoughts about the Whitney Awards Gala. I loved it. I was honored to have been a finalist this year in a category that was particularly strong. The presenters did a marvelous job and were often quite creative. Sarah Eden was an inspiration! So, in the end, I didn’t mind eating the traditional “Losers Cheesecake.”

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IMG_1737And here I am with my editor, Linda Prince

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And two from my writer’s group–Liz Adair and Christine Thackeray

The conference was as terrific as ever, but I must admit that I took things easy (after Publication Primer, that is . . . and I had a great group) this year because, given the situation with my daughter, it was hard to keep my focus.

IMG_1732The 3 “L”adies — Liz Adair, Linda Adams, and Laurie Lewis

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Me and the brilliant Michelle Wilson

Still, I came away with some valuable insights from Traci Hunter Abramson on writing a series, Michael Young on recording audio books (yes, I do have plans in that direction), and most of all, our keynote speaker, the NYT bestselling novelist, Anne Perry, put juice back into my writer’s veins. (Liz and I lucked out Friday morning and got to eat breakfast with her.)

Anne Perry

I had begun to despair that my daughter’s difficulties had sapped all my inspiration. But Perry made it very clear that, regardless of genre, theme is all important. If we overlook it and take the easy path, our writing will wilt. I suppose you could say she gave me the courage to pick my brain up again and begin to prod at my view of life for its obvious and not-so-obvious truths. Whether I’m writing for youth or adults, and no matter the genre, the message is key.

The best part of the conference was getting a request for the full manuscript of my middle grade fantasy from Dystel & Goderich Literary Agent Michael Bourret. That gave me the energy to drive on down to Kanab, Utah with fellow “Writeminded” author, Christine Thackeray, and take full advantage of a writing retreat in Liz Adair’s guest bunkhouse for four days and five nights to do a final revision of THE ACADEMY OF THE ANCIENTS: THE HEYMAN LEGACY.

IMG_1740The bunkhouse sleeps 8 — here’s one half

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And there’s shelves and closet space too!

Tip #1: If Liz happens to extend such an invitation to you, do not pass it up! You’ll get clean air, quiet, a beautiful setting, homemade whole wheat blueberry pancakes with sausage or bacon each morning, and an ATV outing or two to work the kinks out. If everything were just right at this moment in our family’s life, I’d move down there in a second.

IMG_1878The ATV I rode up to the top of Antennae Mountain

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Liz pointing to her neighborhood in Kanab

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I’m following Christine into Peekaboo Canyon–Gorgeous!

Tip #2: Liz is putting on the Kanab Writer’s Conference at the end of October (evening of Oct. 25th and all day the 26th), so I’ll be returning to make a couple of presentations. And one of the keynote speakers is Janette Rallison. It only costs $40 (including lunch) for 20 breakout classes in fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. (I foresee another great time in the bunkhouse.)

Mark your calendars now and go ahead and register.

In the meantime, I’ve got some writing to get back to. I’m all reoriented and raring to go.

Originally posted 2013-05-20 21:37:41.

I’m BACK!

Okay, so I’m about 2 weeks later than expected. That’s because I hadn’t known at the time that my father would pass away at the beginning of January (it was a blessing that he lived to 90 and the memorial service was really wonderful)…and that I would need to stay on with my mother in Southern California for two and a half weeks to help see her through cataract surgery and the change in her circumstances.

In any case, we’re all moved in here in Saint George, and I finally took a walk today on one of the trails among the pink cliffs behind our house in Paradise Canyon. The skies were clear (as you can see in the photos) and the temperature hovered around 55, though now it’s 67. Jealous all you northerners? Well, come on down!

Near the trail head

 Near the start of the trail

Looking back at our neighborhood

Looking back on our neighborhood

Coming up on a nice ravine

Coming up on a cool ravine

I spotted a rabbit!

I spied a rabbit at the opening to the cave!

End of the trail looking back

At the end of the trail, looking back

I’m gearing up now for the annual ANWA Writer’s Conference next week in Mesa, AZ. I’ll be pitching “The Heyman Legacy” (the first in a middle grade fantasy series) there, so wish me luck!

I’m also scheduled to attend the LDStorymakers Conference at the Davis Conference Center in Layton, UT in April, and then present a class on dialogue at the first annual Indie Author Hub Writing & Publishing Conference on Saturday, June 7th, at the Courtyard Marriott in Provo, UT. (More on that next week!)

Busy times! I’d better get writing.

In the meantime, I’m looking to continue my “Wednesday Writer” and “Thursday Thriller” series beginning in March, so if you’re an author I haven’t yet interviewed, or you have a new suspense novel recently out (or coming out soon), please contact me.

Originally posted 2014-02-13 15:52:12.