My Adventures at the Naples Press Club Writers Conference

I had a grand weekend at the Naples Press Club Writers Conference as a volunteer. So many things happened there that I'm going to have to sum it up with obnoxious bullets.

• I got to know the members of the Naples Press Club. What a generous bunch of people. They made me feel included even though I didn't know anyone well. They even invited me to have dinner with them on Saturday night. I had to wait until my sister's birthday party was over, but I stopped by for fifteen minutes and brought the hubby. I'm going to join the Naples Press Club as an Associate Member as soon as I can steal $50 from my food budget. (With Weston Commercial Cleaning, Inc. still a startup business, $50 is a lot.) For more information on the Naples Press Club, visit www.naplespressclub.org.
• I got to reaquaint myself with Dr. Molly Barrow, Ph.D. Molly is a fellow ArcheBooks author. She's a psycologist, and her first book, Matchlines, is about relationships and finding a good match. I've read the book, and she's right on. If you're in a serious relationship or thinking about getting married, I encourage you to read Matchlines. Now you wouldn't believe it, but almost 7 years ago, I was the manager of a small coffee shop called Java Java, and Molly and her husband used to come in all the time. I can't believe that both of us are now fellow ArcheBooks authors. Find out more about Dr. Molly at www.askdrmolly.com.
• I got to know Robert Dean Bair. Bob is an ArcheBooks author whose book, The Cloisters of Canterbury, was published by ArcheBooks in September. Bob was part of a secret special forces Army unit back in World War II. My husband immediately liked him and wanted to know more about his experiences, so I bought him Bob's book.
• I got to hang out with my friend, Sandy Lender (see the Today the Dragon Wins link), and ArcheBooks authors: Linda Bilodeau
  (www.lindabilodeau.com), Prudy Taylor Board (www.prudytaylorboard.com), and Penny Lauer. We formed an author speaking group called the ArcheBook Divas. (Actually, they formed it. I just chimed in every now and then because I kept getting called away, but they included me anyway because they are a great bunch of women.)
• I got to hang out with Linnea Sinclair, a RITA award winner (think Oscars for the Romance genre) and writer of a bunch of science fiction/romance books. She gave me a lot of practical advice, and even offered to help me become a better writer. I love Linnea's personality. She's honest and intense--my kind of woman. (I love to hang out with intense women. It's one of my requirements.) She's also the secretary of the South Florida Romance Writers of America--more on them later. What I love about Linnea is her desire to help other authors. I watched her give writing advice and even offer to refer other authors to her agent all days. What a generous woman. For more about Linnea Sinclair and her books, visit www.linneasinclair.com.
• I got to watch my publisher, Robert Gelinas, solve a rubics cube in less than three minutes. I'm telling you, the guy is a genious. I'm going to have to catch him at a dull moment and get him to teach me how to do it. (He kind of gave me a start at a strategy, so I might be buying a rubics cube in the near future....)
• I made some valuable contacts, and new things might be on the horizon.... I'll keep you all informed.

If you're a writer, and you want to get published, I really encourage you to go to writers conferences. I probably made three contacts this weekend that might pay big dividends in the future, and that's just at this conference. Last conference, I had (endured might be a better term) a fifteen minute pitch session with a man named Robert Gelinas (which turned into an hour long conversation), and six weeks later, he offered me a contract for a book called A Prophecy Forgotten. Who knows where a writers conference might get you.

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

Naples Press Club Writers Conference Pictures

Okay, from top to bottom:

1. Me, RITA & Linnea Sinclair (RITA is the golden RITA trophy that's heavy enough to use as a dumbell.)
2. Robert Dean Bair & Dr. Molly
3. Me (with my eye make-up basically melted away) & Dr. Molly
4. Sandy Lender & Me

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

I've Been Selected as a Panelist at Necronomicon

I just found out that I've been selected to be a panelist at Necronomicon (http://stonehill.org/necro.htm), Tampa's science fiction, fantasy, and horror fest. I've never been to Necronomicon, but my friend, Tracy Akers, has, and I'm sure she'll show me the ropes when I get there. Tracy is the author of The Fire and the Light, and she will be a panelist there as well. You can find out more about Tracy at www.soulsofaredyrah.com. Stay tuned--I might even dress up like a character from A Prophecy Forgotten. (Then again, I might not. We'll see how much huevos I can muster.)

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

My Day at Carrollwood Day School

Yesterday, I spoke at Carrollwood Day School. What an amazing facility! They bought the building from Idlewild Baptist Church, and the building is perfect for a school. The kids were well behaved, and I loved all the teachers. I got to speak in Ms. Dosher’s classroom. She is a huge fantasy lover and Harry Potter fan. She divided her class into Hogwarts houses, and each house competes for points. I would have loved to have her as a teacher.

I spoke to three groups of 15 young adults about the concept of “Show, Don’t Tell.” I also got to hang out with some fellow writer friends: Eugene Orlando and Tracy Akers. Carrollwood provided a great lunch, including this really good croissant pudding (like bread pudding only more decadent), and they gave me a Starbucks gift card. It was a really fun day.

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

My Editor's Mother Needs Prayers

My editor's name is Vicki Dubios, and her mother was just diagnosed with kidney cancer and had the kidney taken out yesterday. Please say a prayer for Vicki's mother.

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

Update on My Father--Good News!

Good news! My dad is going to be okay. The blood was old blood, not new blood, which means that his colon is working well. Yeah!

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

Yet Another Update on My Father

My mom just called and Dad is bleeding rectally, which means that something in the surgery went wrong. (I don't know, maybe he was clenching his entire body because HE DIDN'T HAVE ANY PAINKILLERS AFTER SURGERY and the tense muscles ripped something.) If it doesn’t stop, they're going to have to go back in and hopefully give him morphine this time. I have an author event that I have to speak at in Carrollwood Day School in Tampa tomorrow, so I'm gauging the situation carefully.

Oh, and happy Valentine's Day.

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

My Hard Drive Will be Saved!

Good news! The operating system in my computer is fine. The hard drive is failing. That sounds like bad news, but the good news is that the computer guys at the Byte Shop can recover all the information on the hard drive. That means I get my pictures and my e-mail back! Yeah! (Of course, we have to buy a new hard drive....)

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

Update on My Father

The surgery went well, but they had to take out 18 inches of colon instead of 15. My dad has a tube in his nose that goes into his stomach. (This is so the gas that they pumped into him to check for leaks can come out.) He’s also got a catheter.

The surgery was not without adventure, however. They gave him an epidural instead of morphine to ease his pain, but the epidural didn't work, and no one would believe him for five hours. So basically, my dad now knows what it's like to wake up in the middle of surgery ('cause that's what it feels like when you wake up right after surgery with no morphine). IDIOTS! Just because a guy isn't yelling and moaning doesn't mean he's not in excruciating pain! Sometimes I wish doctors and nurses would listen to their patients. We know our own bodies better than anyone, and we know if something’s wrong.

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

My Father is Having Surgery Today

My father is having surgery today on his colon--they're going to take out 15 inches of it. Please pray that the surgery goes well.

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

Greatest Songs of the Seventies--Meme me, baby

You can thank Sandy Lender of http://todaythedragonwins.com for sending me this meme.

Okay, I’m not much of a seventies fan—considering I don’t remember the seventies. However, I do listen to oldies and attend occasional wedding receptions, so here’s my list of great songs from the seventies—in no particular order.

I Will Survive (‘cause I like to sing it)
Respect (I hope it’s seventies)
Mrs. Robinson
Joy to the World
Sweet Home Alabama (7o’s? I never listen to the dates on the oldies channel)
Sweet Home, Chicago (Hopin’ the Blues Brothers were 70’s & not 80’s)
Heard it Through the Grapevine (Creedence version, without the ultra long bridge)
Proud Mary
Fly Like an Eagle
Seven Bridges Road (never recorded ‘till the best of Eagles, but it counts)
Piano Man
The Entertainer (I like other Billy Joel songs, but these I know are 70’s)
YMCA (Come on! Admit it! All of you dance to it!)

That’s about all I can think of. If I screwed up the date of a song, let me know!

And for the record, I’m tagging David Eardley’s blog with this one: http://purecataclysm.blogs
pot.com/

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

Vote for Brian Carnell as the Biggest Narnia Fan!

Hey everyone! I want to tell you about my good friend and kindred spirit, Brian Carnell. Brian is one of my advance readers—a select group of people whom I trust to give me honest, educated feed back about my writing. He wants to be a film director, and watching him pursue his dream, from making home videos to beginning to write scripts, is such an inspiration to me as I pursue my own writing dreams.

Brian is also one of the biggest Narnia fans I know. He really helped promote The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe here in Naples, and his love for The Chronicles of Narnia is such an inspiration to me as I write the Elysian Chronicles. Brian happens to be a finalist in a contest put on by Narniaweb.com (I think it’s Narniaweb.), and the winner gets to go to the set of Prince Caspian. Please log onto the below web page and vote for him. (He’s the only finalist normal enough to not appear in costume—another reason he deserves it.) This is a big favor for a friend with big dreams, and I want Brian to be able to visit a real Hollywood film set and rub serious shoulders with serious directors and actors. You can cast one vote every day up until February 26th. Thanks for your help!

http://disney.go.com/disneypictures/narnia/fanclub/fanclub_winners.html

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

A Prophecy Forgotten Officially in Editing!

Archebooks has posted a production schedule. It doesn’t have any projected dates of release, but it does show what’s going on with each contracted book. As you can see, A Prophecy Forgotten is red, meaning that it’s “in editing,” meaning that it really is going to debut soon! Click below for the link so you can keep track of A Prophecy Forgotten’s progress!

www.archebooks.com/SuptDocs/ABSchedule.htm

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

My Adventures at the Bell Tower Craft Fair

I just spent Wednesday and Thursday sitting at a craft fair with two fellow Archebooks authors, Sara Williams and Linda Billodeau. Sara is a mystery author who wrote The Don Juan Con and The Serenoa Scandal. The Don Juan Con, a story about a man who gets women to fall in love with him and cons them out of their money, has been optioned by Paramount by Robert Evans—a really big Hollywood producer. You can learn more about Sara Williams at www.archebooks.com/Authors/Williams/Williams.htm. Linda Billodeau has written two books: The Olive Branch (a tale of three young women during the French Resistance) and Stepping Through Seagrass (the story of the adventures of a female physician who winds up working with the locals in Immokalee, Florida). You can visit Linda’s website at http://www.lindabilodeau.com/.

It was so much fun passing out brochures for my future book as they sold their books. I even helped sell their books when they had to leave the booths for a few minutes. I sold four books for Linda and two for Sara. I’m just a little sales force, aren’t I? (Can’t wait to get a chance to sell my own book….)

I think the best part of the experience—aside from learning that I really do have the ability to sell—was talking with Linda and Sara about the ups and downs of being an author after the book is published. They both had good advice, and both of them are real go-getters. In fact, Linda had to leave for a while to go speak at the Sanibel Library. I think what I respect the most about these two fantastic ladies is their perseverance. Authors encounter tons of obstacles while they try to sell their books, and these ladies just keep going despite the obstacles. Sara Williams said to me a few times, “Oh, you’ll encounter this-and-so and that-and-so, but you just have to keep on going and not let it bug you. Don’t give up.” What great advice.

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.

My Computer Crashed! ARGH!

Well everyone, my computer has officially crashed. Everything stored on it—from finances to pictures to Outlook (my address/calendar program)--is officially gone. (You’ll notice that my writing is not gone. That’s because I work off my thumb drive and store my back ups on my hard drive.)

Anyway, I won’t be able to update the website until I get my computer up and running again, so this blog is my only link to the outside world. And now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go cry because I’ve lost all my e-mail addresses.

For more information on my debut novel, A Prophecy Forgotten, check out my website at http://www.elysianchronicles.com.