Inspired by Life ... and Fiction

Novelists bound by the pen, sisterhood, & more

Heading to ACFW in Nashville!

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Tomorrow I hop on a plane and head for Nashville for the 15th annual American Christian Fiction Conference! Since the very first conference in Kansas City in 2002, I have never missed an ACFW conference. It’s a highlight of my year and has been such a help to my career as a writer. It would take ten thousand photos to do justice to the conference over the years (and I probably have that many on my computer!) but I’ve tried to pare it down to just a few to share with you (in no particular order, since I can’t remember the year of some of these).
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For the past dozen years or so, the conference has always begun, for me, with a full day of board meetings. ACFW has had such great leadership over the years in its early operating boards and advisors, and more recently our conference director Robin Miller and the executive board. I’m honored to call these people friends.

Fellow Kansas author and dear friend Kim Vogel Sawyer and I at the very first conference in Kansas City. (Oh, Kim, we were so purple and poofy-haired—and young!—back then.)

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Speaking of purple, this was the year we looked around our breakfast table and noticed everybody was in purple! (And Kim wasn’t even at our table!)

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We’ve grown steadily from our first conference of barely 100 (and one lone man! Of course, we were called American Christian ROMANCE Writers back then) to a gathering of over 500 in Nashville this year!

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And just a few years after changing our name to reflect all the different genres of Christian fiction we write, just look at all our men!

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And men (and women) in uniform! Our genre night dinners, where attendees are encouraged to dress as characters from their novel or their genre, are so much fun! Left to right: Roni Kendig, Rick Barry, ??, and Peter Leavell.

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And books! Did I mention books! Even since we’ve grown too large to have a bookstore at the conference, we’re still (of course!) all about books. Left to right, I’m bookin’ it with authors Liz Tolsma, Katherine Reay, and Kristy Cambron.

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I met my precious (and invaluable!) critique partner and fellow blogger Tamera Alexander at the very first Kansas City conference before Tammy had even written her first novel. We’ve been friends and crit partners ever since. (Here we are a few years ago with a favorite and frequent ACFW presenter, author James Scott Bell.)

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Tammy and I taught a workshop together at ACFW one year. Such fun, and as always, I learn so much from her!

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And here is more of the Inspired by Life…and Fiction blogging gang hanging out at ACFW: back row, l-r: me, Julie Klassen, Robin Lee Hatcher; front row, Cara Putman, Karen Witemeyer, Jody Hedlund.

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With my agent, Steve Laube, after the Carol Awards in 2008. (I gave three acceptance speeches that night with a hunk of steak lodged in my throat. Ha!)

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Celebrating after the Carol Awards with author Sharon Foster and our editor, Dave Lambert.

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Best of all, this guy will be with me again this year.

Will I see you at the ACFW conference? I hope so! Next time I’ll share a few photos from our week in Nashville.

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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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Comments

  1. Oh my word, Deb, you reminded me that at one time I did indeed have hair on my head! And always that love of purple… Thanks for your kindness at that first conference. I appreciated it more than you can possibly know. I will miss seeing everyone this year. Would you kindly hug any purple-wearers and tell them, “That’s from Kim”? Thank you! Enjoy yourself!

  2. Meeting you through ACFW, Deb, has been one of the great joys of my so-called writing life. Thank you for your gift of friendship, so genuine and enthusiastic. You are a treasure, indeed. Have a GREAT time at conference this year!

  6. I’m not a writer but a reader who loves to read Christian Fiction. Oh, how, I would love to be a fly on the wall. Meeting all the authors who fill my life with so much joy and getting free books!
    I volunteer in the Church Library and have for 37 years. Tomorrow is our library workday.
    Have fun, get renewed, and re-energized.

    • Thank you, Janet. And I hope you know how MUCH we authors appreciate and admire librarians, bookstore employees, and all the others who make it possible to get our books out to our readers. Have a fun workday at your church library. And please give everyone a hug from all the authors of Inspired by Life…and Fiction!

  9. So excited to see you! And that Tammy! It’s finally in Nashville and she has a family wedding. She hasn’t been since I started coming. Hmmm…..

    Can’t wait to give you a hug! Even though my suitcase won’t be as impeccably packed as yours.

  10. Looks like fun. I enjoyed seeing all my writer friends in on place. I was envious of all those books you guys were holding. Your TBR piles just got bigger! Have fun. Share new pictures with us.

  11. I’ll be there!I’m signed up for the course you’re teaching with Cara & look forward to meeting you! This will be my first conference & I’m so excited!!

  13. It appear you all had a great time. Awards abound & many photos. Thanks for sharing! Be thankful in all things!

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