I attended a very magical conference this weekend! The New England Chapter Conference for Romance Writers of America was magical for several reasons:
#1 Magical friends
I got to meet the elegantly bloodthirsty
soniag and the convivially psychopathic
kimharrington . We had a great time- chatting about the ups and downs of being debut authors and sharing info from the conference. Ooh and I also met Marissa Doyle- a writer that I've felt like I've known for a long time online (on the blueboards)- but finally got to meet.
#2 Magical place
It took place in beautiful Salem, Massachusetts, a city with a sad history. Many innocent people were killed during the witch trials (mostly by hanging), a fact that is remembered and recounted in museums as well as memorials.
But make no mistake: Hollywood witchcraft and the lighter side of everything macabre are also celebrated. This became clear when I encountered a man dressed in a butcher's coat, splattered with blood and brandishing a cleaver as he strolled down the cobble-stoned street.
"Don't worry," he told me with a friendly grin. "I'm not gonna scare you."
Maybe I should have told him it was a little late.
But I didn't want to upset him.
#3 Magical inspiration
This was my first RWA conference and I must say I was rather disappointed- I thought there would be more sex. Or at least talk of it.
But no, there were discussions of character development and world-building and revisions. Marketing your work, finding the right agent. All that boring writer stuff.
Well, shucks.
I kid- the conference was great- inspiring and informative. And the bits of salty talk from the attendees about their works-in-progress (I refuse to use the acronym in this context) were plenty enough embarrassing for me.
#4 Magically Silly Pictures!!!
( See some very scary witches...Collapse )