At the end of April, I spent the weekend at the lovely
Chaparral Suites in Scottsdale,
Arizona, attending the Desert
Dreams conference….and my brain is still full. What a lovely weekend! The
weather was perfect and I was able to connect with some friends I hadn’t seen
in a while.
I also had
the opportunity to attend some fabulous workshops given by some of my favorite
authors (which is why my brain is full). Such marvelous writers, so willing to
impart their knowledge, so generous in their time and I can’t tell you how much
I appreciate them!
Elizabeth Hoyt is a hoot! Funny, sweet and charming. Brenda
Novak is not only fabulous and wise, but
lovely as well. I met Terri Brisbin (a New Jersey girl like myself) and I’m
happy to report, she is kindness itself.
I had
promised myself that I wouldn’t go crazy during the author book signing, but
truthfully, I wasn’t able to help myself. Meeting these authors after having
read their novels was such a treat. I couldn’t help purchasing more of their
books and having them signed (and yes, I will be hiding the credit card
statement when it comes in)!
As I said,
my brain is full and I am slowly disseminating all the information, however,
that hasn’t stopped me from reading and I’m happy to say, my TBR pile is shrinking.
Whooo-hoooo!
As always, happy
reading,
Marie
For photos and more on the 2012 Desert Dreams Conference check out these links :-)
Other than mixing with all the fabulous authors(!), what what was your main intent for the workshops?
ReplyDeleteHey Dawn!
ReplyDeleteWith each workshop I take, I hope I'll learn something, which, hopefully, will help me write better stories (I love it when the lightbulb goes off and I have one of those "Aha!" moments). For instance, one of the workshops was all about emotion--and not only the characters' emotions--the emotion of the scene you're trying to set. Through proper word choice, your scene can reflect anger or happiness or bitterness or comfort. I found it fascinating. I strive to write the best stories possible. If I can make you laugh out loud or get misty-eyed or envision a scene like I see it, then I think I've done my job as a writer so....I'll continue to take workshops whenever offered. The more I can learn, the better off I'll be.
Marie
Ah! As I always say, I'll never know everything, so I'll keep learning from the best! Must be a writer thing?!
ReplyDeleteAnd that sounds like a great workshop on emotions you described:)
It was Dawn. I went to it too and it was done by Brenda Novak. Now there is someone who knows her stuff!
ReplyDeleteI'm going to think about what you both said when I read her next book, which I believe is somewhere at the top of my TBR.
ReplyDelete