Desert Dreams 2014

I spent this past weekend at the Desert Dreams Conference held here in beautiful Tempe, Arizona….and, as in years past, it was a wonderful weekend. The workshops were fantastic, the hotel was great, and the people…well, they were all so wonderful. There is such a sense of community and camaraderie within the writing world. No one is a stranger…just someone you haven’t met yet. The advice and the help flows freely from those who have had more experience in the writing world to those who are just starting out and everyone inbetween. The book signing was awesome as well!

The keynote speaker, Christie Craig, brought us to tears with her story then left us feeling like we could do anything. And I mean anything!

Best of all, I was able to spend time with friends, talking all things writing and laughing. Oh my, did we laugh! The fabulous Alexis Walker and her equally fabulous hubby flew in from their island paradise to attend, too!

Leaving you with a picture taken the first night. Don’t we look happy? And anxious to learn?

 

As always, happy reading!

Marie

April Already

Oh my gosh! It’s April already! How did that happen? Seems like yesterday it was just January, doesn’t it? Time sure seems to fly when there’s so much to do. Indeed, this past week feels like a blur. So what happened to make my time just whirl by?

Well, the usual stuff….book signings and writer’s meetings and work and writing (or trying to). Well, just life in general, I suppose, but some things really stand out. Like….

Very dear friends of mine got married! Yup! Married! And I can’t think of a couple who love each other more. Lovely ceremony too which got me to thinking (as a writer, I’m always thinking about new stories, new characters, new scenes), but I digress.

The other thing that made this week go by so quickly? My DH received the nicest surprise for his birthday. Our son flew in from Dallas to spend the weekend with him (yes, I was in on this surprise. We’ve actually been planning it since January. I’m very good at keeping secrets!).

And the busy-ness doesn’t end there. The Desert Dreams conference is this Friday (I know! This Friday!) and I’m so looking forward to it (actually, I’ve been looking forward to it since the last conference!). I’ve written about this particular conference before. It’s one of my favorites. This will be my seventh time attending and I can’t wait to see everyone…I will try to behave myself this time and not go all Fan Girl on anyone. Luckily for me, authors are a unique (and forgiving) group of individuals.

I still need to pack, I still need to finish cleaning my house and get my guest room ready for company after the conference so I should be vacuuming or dusting...or something. Leaving you all with this lovely picture of a beautiful sunset…..maybe if I look at it long enough, I might be able to draw a breath…at least until Friday when I meet all those wonderful authors at the conference.

What about you all? What’s been keeping you busy? Have you found any time to read?

As always, happy reading!

Marie