Deb and Dani in the Blue Ridge Mountains

This week, our own Dani Pettrey and I are both teaching at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference in the gorgeous Blue Ridge Mountains near Black Mountain, NC. It always feels like a family reunion coming to this conference and so fun for a rare chance to hug Dani’s neck.

So wonderful to see dear writer friends and soak in the beauty of this campus. I’ve been teaching at this conference at the Ridgecrest Conference Center since 2005, and it has truly become a place that feels like home. SO much has changed over the 19 years I’ve been coming here, from the second Mountain Laurel hotel being built (where all the faculty, including Ken and I and Dani and her husband are staying) to many new buildings for classrooms and group meetings.

One of the things Ken and I noticed this year is how much the trees and shrubs have grown over the years!

This year, the large cafeteria has been completely updated and remodeled and it is beautiful! Most conferees have arrived and were at dinner last night, and the buzz of excited conversation (and later, the sound of all those people lifting their voices in worship) is truly amazing!

This morning, conference classes begin. As you read this, I’m likely teaching the first hour of a five-hour continuing session on Writing Women’s Fiction, and this afternoon, Dani will be teaching on Molding Story Structure. I know we both feel privileged and honored to encourage new and growing writers. We were once where they are, unsure of how to put two sentences together and wondering where God was leading us on this writing journey. Some days I still feel that way!

This conference has given me so many hours of encouragement and joy. I hope I can give some of that back as I try to impart some of the wisdom others have imparted to me along my writing journey.

Do you enjoy attending conferences? What is a favorite conference or workshop at a conference that you’ve attended?

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Deborah Raney

DEBORAH RANEY's first novel, A Vow to Cherish, inspired the World Wide Pictures film of the same title and launched Deb’s writing career. Forty books later, she's still creating stories that touch hearts and lives. Her novels have won RWA's RITA Award, the ACFW Carol Award, the National Readers Choice Award, and the HOLT Medallion. She is also a three-time Christy Award finalist. Deb is on faculty for several national writers’ conferences and served on the executive board of the 2,500-member American Christian Fiction Writers organization for 18 years before retiring in 2022. She is a recent transplant to Missouri, having moved with her husband, Ken Raney, from their native Kansas to be closer to kids and grandkids. They love road trips, e-biking, Friday garage sale dates, and breakfast on the screened porch overlooking their wooded backyard.

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