Back in Kansas

My week off to see the wizards was very much worth the time and money. But I am SO glad to be back in Kansas! Here are some of the highlights from the week, in no particular order:

See this man?


His name is Tracy Hickman. He is a prolific author that has written nearly 50 books in the past 25 years, and is a pretty darn amazing public speaker. I always learn so much from him, at the same time as being quite entertained. More importantly than that, though, he is an all-around nice person.

See this man? He is Dr. Horrible of the infamous Sing-Along Blog.


What do these two men have in common?

The Freeze Ray song!

Tracy Hickman serenaded ME with this lovely little ditty. Well, okay, he serenaded more than a hundred people in an auditorium with a microphone. But all because I shamelessly begged politely asked him to. He is quite the amazing singer, too! Afterwards, Tracy Hickman said to me, "See? I told you I would sing," and then gave me a hug. Awww. It was a moment I will forever treasure up in my heart. Seriously.

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As an update to my previous post, I can now officially turn in my first three chapters to two editors, and my entire manuscript to a third! [Insert choir of angels singing here.] AND, contrary to my pre-conference info, it didn't rely on my sorry ability to pitch the book. [Insert every choir of angels from every age of time singing here.]

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See this lady?


She is the lovely, extremely knowledgeable, sweet, likeable, hilariously funny, very talented Claudia Mills. (Claudia, if you are reading this, I do realize that I just way overused adjectives and adverbs. But sometimes, the person you are describing is so amazingly awesome that you just gotta break the rules.) She has written 42 books-- picture books, chapter books, and middle grade books. Look her up. She's really good.

She was my author/mentor for the conference. That means that I got to spend the first four hours of all five days with her, in a critique group setting. I learned tons from her. The best part for me, was... well, what she did for me, of course! I knew I had a very specific problem with my first chapter. My writing group had a problem with it, too-- I just didn't know how to fix it. Neither did they. I took it to my conference critique group, and they had a problem with it, too. Claudia suggested how to fix it, and it made perfect sense! I haven't finished the rewrite yet, but what I have done, I am loving. I tell you, the lady is a GENIUS!! I really owe her a lot. Thanks, Claudia Mills! (And, Claudia, if you are reading this, I would be very honored if you left a "Claudia was here" comment.)

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See this lady?

She is Janette Rallison, the author of a whole stack of chick-lit young adult books. She's also a very enjoyable person to be around. I got to go to lunch at the creamery with her and a couple other people, and watch the top secret, unbeknownst to them, setup between Janette's very beautiful and smart 21 year old single daughter and Erin's every-mother's-dream-for-a-son-in-law, 21 year old, single cousin. What a fun group of people to hang out with!

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See this lady?


She is my friend Erin Summerill, and I got to see her at the top of her game all week. If you know Erin, you know what a memorable person she is. If you don't know Erin, hang out on her blog for a bit. (HERE) These are a few of my favorite moments:

There were a few editors present. There were a lot of writers present who want to be published. Some try to get the editor's attention so they can pitch their book. Erin didn't. (She did pitch someone else's book, though. But that's an entirely different story.) The funny part came when she had a conversation with a San Diego born, New York living editor about the beauty of Deseret Industries and how to find the best bargain. The funniest part? The editor sought Erin out specifically for this conversation. Apparently Erin radiates a "bargain hunter" aura.

There was a New York agent there from the second oldest agency in America, the third oldest in the world. He's the kind of guy who wears a handkerchief in the breast pocket of his suit. This agent's first name is Edward. I had to chuckle when Erin asked Edward if people tend to say his name more dreamily since Twilight came out. I think he chuckled a little on the inside, too.

I got to see some moments that anyone (other than Erin) would find incredibly embarrassing. For the sake of my blog rating, I won't repeat any of them here. But Erin: When you hear lots of whispered conversations around you mention the word "Uninhibited," you should know that its definition is "free from traditional social constraints."

At the banquet on Thursday night, I got to watch the shock on the faces of my fellow table-sharing attendees as they saw Erin:

• A. Grab one type of roll out of the basket in the center of the table, take a bite, pull a face, put the roll back in the basket, and then grab a different type.
• B. Pick up a pat of butter, comment on how cold (and thus unspreadable) it was, and then put in her armpit. She instructed us that an armpit is a hot place, and as such, is a great butter warmer.

My favorite, though, was the drawing at the "Closing Extravaganza." Each day throughout the week, the commentators would draw two names out of a bowl to win a book by one of the presenting authors. Each day, Erin would lament (not quietly) the fact that she didn't win. At the closing extravaganza, they drew probably 50 names from the bowl. When someone's name was called, they would stand up, a few people would clap, and they would remain standing as one of the three people holding stacks of books would come to them and hand them the book that was on the top of the stack. Another name would be called three or four seconds later. About ten names into the drawing, they drew Erin's name, much to the happiness of all. She stood, screamed, cheered, and threw both arms into the air. Then she turned around to the rest of the crowd (we were on the second row of the auditorium) and screamed, cheered, and threw her arms into the air. She then ran to the front like she'd just been chosen as a contestant on The Price is Right. She looked through titles of the books the first person held. They weren't quite right, so she went to the stack the second person held. Then to the third. The person doing the drawing stared at Erin with an awed fascination that kept her from moving-- even to blink an eye. She eventually had to be prompted by the person in charge to continue drawing names. And she really tried to, too. But Erin was just too mesmerizing. Finally, the person in charge (an extremely funny lady) asked Janette Rallison to "get her student under control so they could continue." Hehehe. Good times, good times.

But seriously. It was fun to go with Erin.

And I'm really glad I went. I learned so much. And, I'm extra glad that my wonderful family not only kept it all together while I was gone, but kept the house clean, too! I really missed them while I was gone, and I'm so glad to be back, feeling like I'm living life WITH them.