The Samhellion Newsletter

How did you spend your weekend? I went to the Oneida Casino in Green Bay, WI for the Wisconsin RWA Writer’s Conference. We’re the 13th oldest RWA chapter in the country and are celebrating our 25th Anniversary. Started out with 6 members originally and are up to 171, with such bestselling authors as Lori Devoti and Lori Handeland.

For anyone not familiar with a writer’s conference, let me share what goes on there. First, we had it in a casino. No one went…into the casino, that is. Writing’s enough of a gamble. Where else do you hopefully get paid AFTER you do the work? If your day job boss said, “Now you just work your tail off for the next year. and then I’ll look it over and we’ll see what I think it’s worth” you’d be like “Yeah right.” But writers do it all the time! There’s such a sense of solidarity, hanging out with a bunch of other people who GET that gambler’s mentality.

Our guest speaker was Sherrilyn Kenyon, one of my favorite authors in life. Her mantra was: “Now repeat after me:” (and she made us do it out loud) “I am the best writer in the room and I deserve my dream.” Halfway through her talk it became “I am the best writer in the WORLD and I deserve my dream.” Very inspiring speaker. She can redefine both the definition of “lean times” and wins the dubious award for the the worst rejection letter ever – of the “never darken our doors again” variety. Somewhere out there an editor is kicking themselves if their publisher hasn’t beaten them to it already. Sherrilyn Kenyon’s all about “Never Give Up/Never Say Die” because it could be the NEXT query that turns everything around for you. If you quit one letter too soon…

Friday night there was a dessert reception with drawings for gift baskets and a silent auction for 1st chapter critiques by well-known agents and editors. There were people with Fab Five contest finalist ribbons, “First Sale” ribbons, we had one Golden Heart finalist and one Rita finalist. There was a great presentation by Raelene Gorlinsky from Ellora’s Cave about “When Bad Covers Happen to Good Authors.” Which I can’t relate to – Anne Cain ROCKS! My LYCAN TIDES cover got a lot of positive reactions, except my friend Stacey Netzel asked, “Where’s the horse?” (See DUALITY for reference.)

Writer’s conferences have lots of food. And coffee. And chocolate. Here’s the big dark secret: Writers will work for chocolate. It’s the #1 reward for volunteering. If you hold a door open for someone carrying a box of books, you can probably wrangle a piece of Dove out of it. The other mysterious phenomenon is how the non-drinkers always win the baskets with wine in them. If you drink wine, sit with the non-drinkers – they’ll break open the cellophane, give you the bottle and keep the rest of the loot.

I got to meet two of my Fab Five finalists. I coordinated the Young Adult category. (Last year it was the Erotic category. I’m nothing if not versatile…) I had breakfast with Barabara Vey from Publishers Weekly. I got a marvelous cookbook with recipes from a gazillion different authors – published by Samhain a couple of years ago. Anyone got this one? Brown, with the big “Lori Foster” on the front? I’m a cookbook junkie. I was in HEAVEN!

The highlight of Saturday’s classes is our traditional first page critiques by agent Laurie McLean and editor Hilary Sares. Hilary did it last year, and people lined up this year for a repeat. She’s honest, up front and doesn’t sugar coat it. One of my fellow Samhain authors was there at the table – and had Hilary in LOL stitches by the third line. We were in awe – Hilary found the one person in the room she couldn’t fault. It was beautiful. That author? Mary Hughes. If you haven’t read “Biting Nixie” yet – go get it. Now. And the sequel that comes out this fall. Because Book Three is gonna be a humdinger, and you want to be prepared!

Saturday night was a cocktail party in the Hospitality Suite – cake and brandy slushes. Which my writer friends from Hawaii and Pennsylvania insist is a Wisconsin thing – they apparently can’t get them back home. (Weird.) Everyone kicks back and just catches up. Decompresses. Had a nice chat with Mary Hughes. Did some more LYCAN TIDES promo with the cover. Only one month to go – July 14th.

Sunday morning was the clas that for me paid for the whole conference: Ann Voss Peterson’s “A Word Nerd’s Guide to Pacing.” PAVING, as in no more up-and-down-slow-spots books. Evereywhere, one hundred authors’ worth of editors are gleefully doing the Snoopy Happy Dance because now we GET IT. The Big Secret. At least now I know I have a clue. Much less work for our editors next time! And Lori Devoti did career development, planning and goal-setting.

Advice for anyone going to a writer’s conference:

Wear comfie shoes

Bring extra bags – or a box (a BIG one) – for the extra books you’re going to bring home

Sit with different people each time – you’ll make new friends.

If you run out of book things to talk about – kids, pets and recipes are good Plan Bs.

Sit with that editor or agent or NYT bestselling author – they probably don’t know anyone in the room and will be glad for the company. No one likes to eat alone.

VOLUNTEER – remember the chocolate!