WisRWA Conference

I spent Friday, Saturday and Sunday at the Wisconsin RWA conference, Love is Brewing in Milwaukee. Three days of agents, editors, workshops and inspirational speakers. And men in kilts. I’ve been a member of Wisconsin RWA for three years. Although I seldom get to meetings – sigh – this is my second conference (I missed last year). Once again I got shut out of every basket I bid on. But, I got a wonderful door prize, a free class. And, as a Golden Heart finalist and having made my first sale (just weeks before the conference), I found myself an honored guest. For this raving introvert, being called to the front was draining. But it’s also necessary practice for future rounds of promotions and activities I’ll need to do as a published author.

I brought along a friend, Clara. My daughter was going to come, but changed her mind. So I brought a young writer, the daughter of a friend from church. She’s thirteen, and already knows how to turn a plot on its ear. She’s an outstanding artist too. The men and women of WisRWA made her feel at home and encouraged her budding career. She even sat with me on my pitch to Tessa Dare (just so she could see what was really in her future if she became novelist). She returned to tell her parents it was all awesome, and an armload of signed books, including two she purchased from J. A. Konrath, because, like him, she likes to kill people in her writing.

She also set a goal, after hearing the wonderful inspirational talks from, Lori Handelman, Cathy Maxwell, Mary Jo Putney and Barbara Vey. In spite of dealing with graduation in a few weeks, and then her first year of high school, her goal is to have a first draft of a novel complete by this time next year. After that – to use a well-worn cliché – the sky’s the limit.