Houston Writer's Conference

I had an absolute ball at the Writer's Conference this weekend! Got to attend lots of fun seminars and hang out with other geeky writers... what could be better? (Perhaps a day lounging on the beach of some remote island, but we won't go there...)



Me with Ms. Christie--ignore my disheveled
appearance, my friends failed to warn me
before snapping the pic!



There was one writer in attendance that I particularly enjoyed. Her name is C.C. Hunter (others of you out there might know her as Christie Craig). She mostly writes adult books, but recently made her debut in YA with her novel, Born at Midnight. She was such a fun person to be around! Christie is a self proclaimed story teller. And believe me, its the truth. I attended two of her lectures and she had me falling out of my seat with laughter one minute and breathless with anticipation the next! I adored her! And was particularly inspired by her journey to becoming a writer...

Christie with her very large box of
rejections!



Contrary to popular belief, not all of us have it as easy as Ms. Meyer and her sparkling Edward, who managed to rake in all of 5 rejections, 4 no responses and 1 acceptance for her ms (we curse the ease with which she entered the literary arena!) For most of us, the publishing world is, for lack of a better word, BRUTAL. And until Saturday, I thought I knew a thing or two about the brutal publishing industry. But after hearing Christi's experience, I realize that I'm sadly inexperienced with rejections. Christie grew up in Alabama, dropped out of high school in the 10th grade, is dyslexic and couldn't even spell the word "writer" when she decided she wanted to be a writer. But she was a story teller and she knew what she wanted. Today, with over 10,000+ rejections under her belt, Christie Criag (C.C. Hunter) can now boast over 13ish books and over a thousand articles in print.

Is that persistence, or what? This woman is my new hero!

My friends and I also had the chance to meet the acquaintance of several authors, editors and agents, including Chuck Sambuchino, author of How to Survive a Garden Nome Attack. We sat across from him at dinner during which my friend and Chuck had a battle of the nerdy movies contest. I was, of course, WAY too cool to know what they were talking about, but Lauren, on the other hand.... I kept telling her she should stop while she was... well... not so far behind, but alas! She wouldn't listen! But no worries, Chuck was happy... her lost $5 bet paid for his drinks.  

One exhausting, fun-filled, writing weekend later, I'm back to business as usual: stuck behind my beloved lap top (who has served me well but is sadly starting to die) making some revisions on my book. Also, my meetings with agents went well, and I may or may not have more information on that to come later... (cue suspenseful music!)... stay tuned!