My Conference Experience

Wow! I’m back from St Louis and what an WONDERFUL time I had! It would take volumes to go into detail about all the wonderful moments. Listening to Tracie Peterson's keynote address that had us all laughing and crying, meeting many of my wonderful blog readers, and attending all the various workshops and meals, these were just a few of the many highlights. ACFW 2011 was four days I will never forget.

Here’s a few of the best of the best moments!

*Julie Lessman’s and Ruth Axtell’s workshop “A Kiss is NOT Just A Kiss” What an awesome workshop presented by two of my all time favorite authors! It was a dream come true to listen to Julie and Ruth share the secrets of how to write a heart melting love scene without causing readers to raise eyebrows. A must listen for those who write romance!

*Meeting so many authors who’s books I have loved for years! I attempted to not be too star struck as I chatted with and got books signed by such wonderful people as Julie Klassen, Laura Frantz, Julie Lessman, Jody Hedlund and many more. They were all so kind and encouraging and were a real highlight of my conference experience! That’s me with Keli Gwyn in the photo above. Look for Keli’s debut novel “A Bride Opens Shop in El Dorado, California" - Coming -July 2012!!

*All the other wonderful workshops I attended! From listening to Susan May Warren share techniques on how to write stellar descriptions, to soaking in Cheryl St John’s tips about working the muddle out of your novel’s middle, it was a time of absorbing tons of useful information!! I took notes furiously!

*The devotions and worship team! ACFW has one of the best worship bands! They brought us back to focus and gave us a sense of peace - despite the busy schedule! The same for those who prepared devotions! Always bringing us back to the One we write for!

 *The Gala Banquet! For many of us writers, myself included, our work uniform is sweats or pajamas. So seeing everyone dressed to the nines was AMAZING! Not only did I get to dress up in a cute formal, but I got to see Keli Gwen’s stunning Victorian dress, Chip McGregor’s kilt, and the list goes on. Seeing so many talented people win the Genesis and Carol Awards was truly inspiring! Congratulations to everyone!

*The Bookstore! I don’t know if I have room on my shelves for all the books I brought home, but I LOVED walking around and looking at novels, dreaming of the day when, if the Lord wills, my novel will be among them. I’ve promised myself if I get all the laundry done today, I can start Julie Lessman’s “A Heart Revealed” tonight. Oh the wait….

In a nutshell, what could be better than Christian writer friends, listening to workshops, meeting authors, networking, chatting, laughing, writing, and writing some more? I sure can’t think of anything!

Coming up on the blog is some great interviews with some talented writers such as Laura Frantz, Ruth Logan Herne, and Julie Lessman. Tune in next week for the interview with Laura Frantz and learn about her writing journey, plus some inside tips about writing. Laura is a 2011 Carol award finalist and the novelist of Courting Morrow Little and The Colonel’s Lady.

So stop by to learn more about this great author and for a chance to win her new book "The Colonel's Lady"!

　

And now off to do the laundry so I can get to that book!

　

Happy Writing….
Amanda




If you had some great moments at the conference, please share them. I would love to hear!!