Heart of the West Annual Conference

The leaves are changing to the bright, bold beautiful colors of fall in our Utah Mountain.  That means it's conference time.  I just got back from attending our annual RWA Conference in beautiful Park City at the Grand Summit Hotel in the Canyons Resort.  It was a superb conference where I got to meet with other writers, good friends, publishers, editors, speakers, and attend wonderful workshops.  There was so much information provided that it's hard to take it all in, but everyone who attended definitely got their money's worth.  If you didn't attend this year and love writing, learning and networking, put it on your schedule to attend next year.

I had a wonderful surprise the first morning.  We had a brunch with other published writers and to my great surprise, one of our guest speakers was author, Anne Stuart.  I just started reading one of her books and it was great to meet her and talk to her and gain from her wealth of experience.  I also had the opportunity to meet Lisa Mangum, Editor, Shadow Mountain Publishing.  What an interesting young woman who also has several books published and available at Deseret Books.

One of the great perks of this conference is getting loads of free books, many by new authors, some by long-time published authors.  I love reading these books and finding new favorite writers.  

It was two days full to the brim with information, great food, wonderful networking and time spent with good friends and fellow authors.  If you are a writer, or want to be one, definitely plan to attend the Utah RWA Conference next year.

Utah RWA Conference - Out Out Damned Plot

Last weekend was our Utah Romance Writers Conference in beautiful Park City, Utah. The conference was at The Grant Summit Hotel at the Canyons Resort in Park City - beautiful facility and we just happened to be there when the Porsche Club was there so we saw some awesome cars too!

The leaves were in color, the weather was cool and nice. We had a great time. Christine Feehan was our luncheon speaker, along with agents Steven Axelrod, Laurie McLean and Amy Moore-Benson. We had editors Candace Salima from Valor Publishing Group and Heather Osborn of Tor/MacMillan, and Sue Grimshaw, book buyer for Borders. Marketing specials, Shahar and Mashlah Boyayan from Buzz Boosters gave us some great tips on marketing. All fantastic people with so much knowledge about the publishing business.

One of the perks to our conference this year was having Erin Summerill -- a professional photographer from Orem, Utah, take pictures not only of the conference but also head shots for each of the authors there. She is so good at what she does.

What a great way to spend a weekend. Only bummer was when I got home my internet was down and I had to spend three days waiting to get a new modem -- E. E. Cummings said, "The most wasted of all days is one without laughter." Guess the only thing I can say is I got to laugh at my predicament.

But the conference was worth all the headache when I got home.

Keep smiling.