The American Christian Fiction Writers conference took place the weekend before last, and for the first time since 2005, I was not there. Well, not technically. I love this conference. I wouldn’t be published today without the connections I’ve made there. But this year, it just wasn’t feasible for me to go. At least not to the official event.
The conference was in Dallas, which is only a 3-hour drive from my home, and I couldn’t bear to be so close to my editors, agents, and author friends without trying to see some of them, so I pulled a sneaky. I drove up Friday night in time to attend the Bethany House author dinner, then stayed the night in a cheap little hotel close to the airport and had official meetings with editorial and marketing staff Saturday morning along with a meeting with my agent on the fly. Bet you didn’t know you could have an agent meeting in the deli section of a Kroger supermarket, did you? Well, we made it work. Fastest meeting ever continued in the car as I took her back to the conference hotel, but well worth the effort since I’m up for contract renewal this fall.
Down the left side of the table are Dave Long (one of my editors), Becky Wade, Raela Schoenherr (editor), Connilyn Cossette, Noelle Chew (marketing), Jennifer Delamere, and Regina Jennings. Then down the right side from the front we have Jen Turano, Mary Connealy, Deanna Dodson (she writes as Juliana Deerling), Amy Green (marketing), Rachel Dylan, Jessica Barnes (another of my editors), and me.
The Bethany House dinner is always a highlight for me. The chance to kick back and relax with author friends and my publishing team in a non-business atmosphere is a joy. We had scrumptious Italian food (I had a chicken and eggplant dish that was delish!) and even had a waiter who entertained us with extremely impressive slight-of-hand and card tricks. Ask me about the lemon sometime. 😉
The following morning, I met my publishing team at a cute little diner called The Snooty Pig. Don’t you just love that? And yes, the place was filled with unique pig decor. In honor of the pig, I had an egg and ham breakfast with hash browns and a biscuit. We talked marketing strategies, editorial feedback (I’m midway through rewrites of the next novel), and touched a bit on what might be in store for the future.
After that I headed back to the hotel to work on said rewrites until lunch time. Then I snuck out again to meet a new friend. An author whom I met through my Facebook group, The Posse, told me she was going to be at the conference and would love to meet up. She grew up in the town where I live and attended the same college. We had so much in common! We found a barbecue joint (can’t go to Texas without some BBQ) and sat and talked for about an hour. It was wonderful. A new connection made and hopefully a friendship started.
Then it was back to the hotel for more rewrites.
The weekend finished up on Sunday when I met my youngest son at the soccer fields in Arlington for the first of two soccer games he was slated to play that day. I’m happy to say his team won 4-0 for the first and tied a very hard team 1-1 in the second. It was an excellent weekend.
Peter is one with the ball making the strange duck-shaped hand signal that I’m sure is code to his teammates for, “Get this guy off of me. He’s about to ram me with that shoulder!”
- When was the last time you got away with some friends. Even just a night out with the girls.
I’d love to hear about it.
Especially since I’m still working on rewrites and don’t have much of a life right now.
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Thanks for this post. I enjoy the look behind the scenes on what a writer does. I know you are just like other folks and have to juggle many things. I really like your novels. They make me laugh!
Thanks, Paula! One of my favorite Proverbs is 17:22 – A cheerful heart is good medicine. Laughter is a gift, and I hope you continue to laugh with my books and others for years to come. 🙂
Funny that you should ask about friend time. This weekend I am looking forward to a day and a half with friends scrapbooking. All meals catered and the drive is only about 20 minutes. Glad you had time to slip out for time with colleagues and good food.
A crafty weekend with catered meals??? That sounds heavenly, Jen! Have a wonderful time!
I spend a week at a cabin with the same three friends each year. And we do lunch every few months also. This year marked 27 years of doing this!!! We’ve been a support for each other through unplanned pregnancies, cancer, marriage difficulty, wayward kids and now sharing stories of our super intelligent and charming grandkids!
What a tremendous testimony to friendship, Grace! Twenty-seven years is an amazing tradition of love and support. What a blessing those ladies must be to you.
I haven’t had a vacation in 4 years let alone a night out with friends.
Too much on my plate right now.
That’s tough, Janet. Those hard life paths are grueling, aren’t they? Maybe you can squeeze in an hour or two for a long soak in the tub with a good book. Saying a prayer for you.
Dear Karen,
Thanks for your encouraging words. A soak in the tub with a good book sounds wonderful.
Just this morning I met with two of my friends for coffee. We try to do this once a month.
I love that, Gail. I wish I did that more.
I loved the cafe title! There’s a cafe we visit when we go to the beach called The Flying Pig! They have a great breakfast and also have pigs everywhere!
I wonder if they’re related. LOL.
Such a fun post about the American Christian Fiction Writers Conference…, Lord Willing I’m hoping to go in 2018 (Saving my pennies 😉)
I’m not a published author, it’s a pipe dream… You’ve inspired me, Karen with the fact that you have a full time job & are still able publish 1 book a year…amazing! Keep up the incredible writing! 😊
Thanks, Emilee! I’d love to see you in Nashville. I’m planning to attend ACFW next year as long as no crazy monkey wrenches get thrown into the mix. I’d love to get to meet you in person!
Glad you got to attend the dinner. I missed that this year. But hope to go next year in Nashville again.
Sue
Me, too. Hope to see you in Nashville, Sue! 🙂
Having lunch with you and getting to know you in person was the highlight of my first ACFW conference. Thank you so much for agreeing to meet!
Sounds like so much fun! You, Mary, and Becky are my favorites. 🙂
LOL… That made me chuckle, you eating ham “in honor of the pig.” 😛
I just snuck away this week to hear Lisa Wingate speak at FSU in Panama City, FL. My friend Marilyn Turk rode over with me. It was a whole day of speakers and meeting other writers and readers. We had a great time. Lisa’s latest book Before We Were Yours is getting a lot of buzz. That’s because it’s so good.
I sure needed that day since I didn’t get to go to ACFW or NINC this year. Sounds like you had a good time, Karen!