Conference Recap

I'm still recovering from a great weekend in Scottsdale. And by recovering, I mean letting my brain recharge. What a gorgeous place! The sunshine and warm temps lifted my mood (especially since I left gray, gloomy weather and returned to gray, gloomy weather).

So, the highlights of the conference...

I presented a workshop with one of my favorite people in the whole world, Amber Scott. We co-authored MUSE FOOD, and our workshop was all about keeping your muse happy and well-fed. We handed out muse "snacks", and one of the participants created the cutest Play-doh bunny while we spoke.

Do you like our aprons?

I also made new writing friends, which is always a treat. No one understands crazy...er...I mean writing, like another writer. And these women all balance their writing careers, motherhood, and a million other things successfully. Chatting with them was inspiring, uplifting, hilarious and fun.

One of my favorite things about conferences is that you can literally bump into your favorite author or dream agent. I had the chance to have breakfast with a funny editor I'd love to work with down the road. *fingers crossed* She also recommended a few books, and hey, anyone who enables my reading habit is a friend for life.

I also got to chat a little with Brenda Novak. Talk about gracious! I met her before at the Emerald City Writer's Conference two years ago, and was struck by her awesome personality then. She takes the time to talk to her fans and is such a sweetheart (not to mention a talented writer). She's on my auto-buy list forever.

Last but not least, I've got a hundred ideas floating around in my brain. It'll take me a while to sort them out and put pen to paper, but it's like a creative rebirth. I'm heading in a new (not different, just new) direction, and I can't wait to see where it leads.

Happy International Children's Book Day!

Thanks to the power of Twitter, I learned today is International Children's Book Day. I'm marking the calendar and plan to make this an annual event in our house. I love children's books. I spent most of my weekend reading a stack I borrowed from the elementary/middle school library I volunteer at, including:

INCARCERON by Catherine Fisher (an upper MG steam punk/fantasy)
LILY'S GHOSTS by Laura Ruby (a MG ghost story with a touch of humor)
DEEP, DARK AND DANGEROUS by Mary Downing Hahn (a well-written, delightfully unnerving ghost story)

The cold I'm fighting was added incentive, but I planned to plow through a stack of books for spring break anyway.

Lifelong readers can all tell you about their most memorable childhood books--mine range from solving mysteries with Nancy Drew to smiling with the lyrical Dr. Seuss to learning life lessons with the beautifully written and illustrated Serendipity Books by Stephen Cosgrove & Robin James. Many of us are still reading children's books today. Maybe it's because we never tire of the adventures. Or maybe we want to always stay in touch with our inner child and ability to play. It's mostly sure because we love a well-told story.

The magic of books is that it can be all of those things and more. I hope you all celebrate your love of reading and this special day. Read a children's book, new or old. Read to a child. Visit a library. Pick up a popular book (Hunger Games anyone?) or try one with a beautiful cover. Grab a picture book, middle grade or young adult. Better yet, ask a child for a recommendation. The kids I work with at the library always have great suggestions (and even better imaginations).

I'm starting MAGYK by Angie Sage today. What are you going to be reading?