Moonlight & Magnolias Conference: Teresa Medeiros

At the Moonlight & Magnolias Conference, I was excited to hear Teresa Medeiros speak at the luncheon on Saturday. She reminded all the writers in attendance that we participate in a business and should remember that when we approach our careers. For the unpublished writers, she urged them to take pleasure in creating and to remember that without a contract and its attendant responsibility, you can be fearless in what you write. For the published folks, she gave upbeat advice on dealing with critics; I especially liked her quotation from one of VH-1's One Hit wonders: "That's one more hit than you had." Most importantly, Medeiros emphasized to write for yourself, and not for your audience. I had never heard Medeiros speak before, and since she's one of my favorite authors, I'm happy I finally had the chance.

For more photos of Teresa Medeiros and her fellow authors at the conference, please visit her blog here.

Moonlight & Magnolias Conference

Recently, I attended the Moonlight & Magnolias Conference and was impressed by the lineup of authors and workshops. This is the second time I've attended the conference, and I highly recommend it to my fellow writers. Also, readers have an opportunity to meet their favorite authors in person, and I enjoyed hearing the speeches of authors such as Theresa Medeiros and Stephanie Bond. In fact, for writers who are looking for inspiration and/or motivation, I highly recommend visiting Bond's Writers' Pages, which feature articles available at Amazon Shorts (I especially like "Mind Your Own Writing Business, article series 2," which covers how to create a business plan for your writing career). Over the next few weeks, I'll post highlights from the conference.

Release Date for A Seaside Enchantment: September 26

My editor emailed me today with the release date for "A Seaside Enchantment": September 26th. This is only my second published story, so I'm very excited about having another publication out. As the date approaches, I'll be posting excerpts and a blurb; for now, you can see the cover art for the story.

Also at the end of September, I'll be attending the Moonlight & Magnolias Conference, which is sponsored by the Georgia Romance Writers. The conference will feature special guest Sue Grimshaw, the national romance buyer for Borders Group Inc., and I look forward to hearing her speak about trends in the industry. Roland Haas will also be presenting a CIA workshop, which sounds intriguing, as well as the Maggie Award presentations. In October, therefore, I'll be postings details from the conference; I anticipate there will be much to share.