Hi friends and Happy Wednesday!
I just returned from a fabulous conference. The C3 CON—Creatures, Crime and Creativity. It’s such a fun mix of authors from any and every genre. However, I noticed the majority were predominately crime fiction authors spread across various sub-genres including romantic suspense. I was part of the media relations team this year, which gave me a chance to get to know the staff, volunteers, and many authors before the conference kicked off. It was great going in with knowing so many people and getting to chat with them on a personal level.
I had the privilege to moderate a super fun panel on Tag Lines—those one or two sentences that hook your reader. Just enough to fill them with curiosity. I learned so much from the panelists. Next, I spoke on a romantic suspense panel, which was lots of fun as everyone who sat on the panel wrote a little differently—some were heavy on romance, while others were more mystery-focused. It was great to see all the variations of crime fiction out there—everything from hardboiled procedurals to cozy mysteries. We even harkened back to some of the queens of the genre.
As always, I volunteered. I timed workshops so I got to hold up a red STOP sign when it was over. I liked the control. LOL! I was also a “floater,” so I helped wherever it was needed. Volunteering is such a wonderful way to get to know the conference staff as well as the venue hosts and attendees. I love getting to know new people. And, of course, seeing old friends. I even got to meet one of the writers I mentor in person there. It was wonderful getting to sit down and enjoy a meal with him.
It was a special year for the conference, which meets here in Maryland. It was the 10th anniversary and this gorgeous cake was as delicious as it was beautiful.
To celebrate its 10th year and the newly formed media relations team, C3 CON went through a branding overhaul. My daughter may or may not have handled the rebranding 😀 I might be biased, but I think she did a fabulous job!
Before
After
Being on the smaller size of writing conferences allows you to not feel lost in a crowd. You have many opportunities for genuine, in-depth conversations with one another. Not to mention fabulous panels! My favorite was on Realism. It featured a doctor, a retired homicide detective from here in Baltimore, and a retired police officer. It was such an interesting panel and I learned so much. I even got to feel the armored chest vest they wear. It was heavy, not to mention the rest of their other gear. I was impressed with all the three experts shared.
My highlight of the conference was meeting Jefferey Deaver. I’ve been a longtime fan and he was such a wonderful man to get to know a little bit better.
And, shockingly, I brought home a good number of books. Here are just a few:
Reader Question:
What was the last writing conference or reader retreat you attended?
Blessings,
Dani
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Looks like a great conference, Dani. I recently attended ACFW for the first time in many years. Like you, I enjoy volunteering at conferences so that I can get to know people better rather than just hanging out with the general group of attendees.
Hi D’Ann,
Hope you had a wonderful time at ACFW!
Best,
Dani
I attended Mississippi River Readers Retreat in Little Falls, Mn the end of July. I loved meeting the authors that attended.