Thursday morning class didn’t understand what this conference was all about. I thought it was another writers conference where there are session on the craft and a chance to meet other authors.
I was wrong. This conference was mainly about the readers of our genre. There were hundreds of avid fans there and the presentations were mainly a way for the readers to get to see their favorite authors.
I was invited to give a presentation at the event. In my ignorance, I scheduled a talk on emarketing. Do you know how interested this topic is to the average fan? Yeah right. I had one person there, another author.
We sat and talked one on one about marketing, the process of writing and the state of the world. It was fun, but I sure didn’t reach many readers. Lesson learned for next year. By the way, next year’s conference is in Hawaii. Wanna go?
I got to meet a bunch of neat people, both fans and authors. Among them L.J. Sellers, Lala Corriere and Pam Beason. L.J. writes a detective series based in Eugene, Oregon, my home town, and is a loyal Duck fan. Lala is a totally outrageous lady who writes romantic suspense.
Pamela Beason is a private investigator. You can bet I’ll cultivate that relationship to add more authenticity to Cartrina’s stories.
There was a wonderful class on social media on Thursday morning. It was the only class offered during the conference, but it was good.
I was wrong. This conference was mainly about the readers of our genre. There were hundreds of avid fans there and the presentations were mainly a way for the readers to get to see their favorite authors.
I was invited to give a presentation at the event. In my ignorance, I scheduled a talk on emarketing. Do you know how interested this topic is to the average fan? Yeah right. I had one person there, another author.
We sat and talked one on one about marketing, the process of writing and the state of the world. It was fun, but I sure didn’t reach many readers. Lesson learned for next year. By the way, next year’s conference is in Hawaii. Wanna go?
I got to meet a bunch of neat people, both fans and authors. Among them L.J. Sellers, Lala Corriere and Pam Beason. L.J. writes a detective series based in Eugene, Oregon, my home town, and is a loyal Duck fan. Lala is a totally outrageous lady who writes romantic suspense.
Pamela Beason is a private investigator. You can bet I’ll cultivate that relationship to add more authenticity to Cartrina’s stories.
There was a wonderful class on social media on Thursday morning. It was the only class offered during the conference, but it was good.
My new bestie, L.J. Sellers There was a wonderful class on social media on Thursday morning. It was the only class offered during the conference, but it was good.
It was our first trip to Phoenix. We stayed at a perfectly lovely B&B on Wednesday night, because I didn’t make hotel reservations for the day we got in. It turned out to be fun and was $120 a night cheaper than the hotel.
But the hotel was lovely. We had a room on the fifteenth floor. At night, we slept with the windows open, watching the lights of the city, the airport and the stars. I usually awake around dawn, then try to go back to sleep. The sunrises were spectacular.
Pink light crept over the horizon, growing deeper and deeper in color until it was a fiery orange, then old sol poked his head over the horizon. It’s eerie how fast the sun seems to be moving when it is on the horizon. You can actually see it climbing in the sky. (For you super-scientific types, yes, I know that the earth rotates around the sun, but it looks the other way around from ground zero.)
I wasn’t particularly impressed with the food, but we got a limited sample and all within walking distance of the hotel. However, I was impressed by the prices. I paid $3.99 for a Margarita that would have cost me $8.99 in San Diego. For happy hour it was $2.99, but we missed the window.
Gasoline was $1.35 a gallon. I filled the tank as we limped into San Diego on the return trip for $2.79, a dollar forty-four difference. C’mon guys, what’s going on here? As a matter of fact, the California State Legislature has set up a committee to investigate why the prices are so high for gasoline here.
Dawn had a great time. While I was in the conference, she spent her days roaming Phoenix and relaxing at the hotel. It was a great de-stresser for her.
I got to touch base with Robert Dugoni, a best-selling writer friend from Seattle. Just think, I knew him when. I also ran into a couple of San Diego writers I know and some that I haven’t met yet.
This was an expensive conference, with the cost of the hotel and the cost of gas driving the seven hundred miles to Phoenix and back. Was it worth it? I’m not really sure.
I got to meet a lot of great fans. I’m sure that some of them will read my books. However, the conference was geared more towards traditionally published books. I think we need to start a conference for those of us that publish ebooks.
It was our first trip to Phoenix. We stayed at a perfectly lovely B&B on Wednesday night, because I didn’t make hotel reservations for the day we got in. It turned out to be fun and was $120 a night cheaper than the hotel.
But the hotel was lovely. We had a room on the fifteenth floor. At night, we slept with the windows open, watching the lights of the city, the airport and the stars. I usually awake around dawn, then try to go back to sleep. The sunrises were spectacular.
Pink light crept over the horizon, growing deeper and deeper in color until it was a fiery orange, then old sol poked his head over the horizon. It’s eerie how fast the sun seems to be moving when it is on the horizon. You can actually see it climbing in the sky. (For you super-scientific types, yes, I know that the earth rotates around the sun, but it looks the other way around from ground zero.)
I wasn’t particularly impressed with the food, but we got a limited sample and all within walking distance of the hotel. However, I was impressed by the prices. I paid $3.99 for a Margarita that would have cost me $8.99 in San Diego. For happy hour it was $2.99, but we missed the window.
Gasoline was $1.35 a gallon. I filled the tank as we limped into San Diego on the return trip for $2.79, a dollar forty-four difference. C’mon guys, what’s going on here? As a matter of fact, the California State Legislature has set up a committee to investigate why the prices are so high for gasoline here.
Dawn had a great time. While I was in the conference, she spent her days roaming Phoenix and relaxing at the hotel. It was a great de-stresser for her.
I got to touch base with Robert Dugoni, a best-selling writer friend from Seattle. Just think, I knew him when. I also ran into a couple of San Diego writers I know and some that I haven’t met yet.
This was an expensive conference, with the cost of the hotel and the cost of gas driving the seven hundred miles to Phoenix and back. Was it worth it? I’m not really sure.
I got to meet a lot of great fans. I’m sure that some of them will read my books. However, the conference was geared more towards traditionally published books. I think we need to start a conference for those of us that publish ebooks.
Okay, here’s the commercial part:
I’ve gotten back the beta copies of The Cartel Strikes Back and I’m impressed with some of their ideas. Today I start the first re-write. (As Hemmingway once said, there are no great writers, only great re-writers.)
I think this is going to be a bigger job than I had anticipated, there are so many good ideas. I may have to push publication back to May to have time to do a thorough re-write. Then I still have to go through the editing and proof reading process.
In the meantime, if you haven’t read The Mexican Connection, you need to get a copy today. You can order it at http://tinyurl.com/na75hk8. The Mexican Connection is the third book in the Ted Higuera series, but the events in that book directly cause the results in The Cartel Strikes Back. I don’t want to give too much away, but one of Ted’s old enemies escapes from prison and (SPOILER ALERT) Ted proposes to Maria. I can’t tell you her answer, but you’re going to be surprised.
I hope you all have a good week. I’m going to spend mine either heads down editing or working on the boat.
I’ve gotten back the beta copies of The Cartel Strikes Back and I’m impressed with some of their ideas. Today I start the first re-write. (As Hemmingway once said, there are no great writers, only great re-writers.)
I think this is going to be a bigger job than I had anticipated, there are so many good ideas. I may have to push publication back to May to have time to do a thorough re-write. Then I still have to go through the editing and proof reading process.
In the meantime, if you haven’t read The Mexican Connection, you need to get a copy today. You can order it at http://tinyurl.com/na75hk8. The Mexican Connection is the third book in the Ted Higuera series, but the events in that book directly cause the results in The Cartel Strikes Back. I don’t want to give too much away, but one of Ted’s old enemies escapes from prison and (SPOILER ALERT) Ted proposes to Maria. I can’t tell you her answer, but you’re going to be surprised.
I hope you all have a good week. I’m going to spend mine either heads down editing or working on the boat.
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