Last weekend, I attended the NJRWA Put your Heart in a Book conference. I've been to it before, many years back. For the last several years, it usually coincided with day job travel, so I haven't attended in quite some time. This year worked out perfectly, and since 2012 was fairly successful on the writing front, the opportunity to participate in everything I could was impossible to resist. I registered, reserved a room for the entire weekend, and signed up for the bookfair.
Case in point – Jennifer Probst. (Jen, get ready! lol) I have known Jennifer Probst for close to twenty years now. Back in the day, she was a regular in our critique group. We were sorry when life, as it will do, kept her from coming anymore. But the best part about Jen is not only is she lots of fun, she is one of the biggest cheerleaders in our chapter! Seriously – I suspect she has a stash of pom-poms in her house somewhere. Her excitement for her fellow writers and friends is that genuine, enthusiastic and infectious. :D Anyway, as some of you might have heard, Jen's book, The Marriage Bargain, topped all the bestseller lists and got her an awesome deal with Simon & Schuster. Her name and Entangled Publishing are on the map. One of the roundtables I attended at the PAN retreat was moderated by Bob Mayer. He mentioned Jen's story in his presentation, about 10 minutes before she came in. Once he knew she was there, he asked her to tell her story. When she finished, he admitted he'd heard at least 14 different versions of the story from 14 different people, and none of them said anything like what she did.
That whole point brought home how important spreading the word about Noble, face to face, with the facts, had become. So in that respect, the conference was a great success. People heard it – and I bet they'll share it as well. Writers like to talk as much as they like to write and read. Besides, truth trumps the BS every time!
Anyway, one of the things I like best about this conference is that the content – workshops, special events, social gatherings – are on a caliber of National's conference, but on a much more intimate level. There aren't 3,000 women running around a hotel/resort, there're 300. Or thereabouts, could be more, but anyway… There's time to talk to people, to truly meet them and spend some time relaxing over a drink, or a snack, or just catching our breath in the lobby. The workshops are top-notch and I learned a lot in every single one I attended. Since I've gone back to more regularly writing historical, I was very interested in the workshop hosted by Eliza Knight and Kimberly Killion, "Corsets, Codpieces and Kilts… Oh My!" It was very informative - some of it I knew, a lot of it I didn't. It was probably also one of the most fun workshops I'd attended - quite hysterical at moments - and I will be using a bunch of the info I picked up.
Of course the booksigning was lots of fun too – I sat behind Jen! And Mary Jo Putney! (fangirl moment #3) And then realized Eliza Knight was right across from Jen! (fangirl moment #4 – and not a pretty one, I'm afraid. lol).
On Saturday night, a bunch of us grabbed dinner in the hotel bar, and Heather Graham joined us (fangirl moment #5). That was the most fun I'd had in a long time – I surprised myself by being fairly calm and somewhat civilized! lol Seriously, Heather has an awesome sense of humor and she and her husband were genuinely regular – like the crew I hang with in my neighborhood - and fun. And Heather seriously rocked it during the party Saturday night – she's got an amazing singing voice too!
Bottom line – one of the best cons I've attended, for many reasons. Some of them fun – like hanging with my friends and making new ones, and the opportunities available to me as a published author - and they will be remembered for years with lots of fondness. Some reasons not-so-fun, but important, and I got to be a part of that as well. There's still a ways to go, and NJRWA's conference was the perfect place to continue that progression, on several and very different levels.
Here's hoping the stars line up so I can go again next year!
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