Have you heard the one about new writers not being able to break in?

Total bunk.   My friend and Monday morning writing pal, Liz Talley has proven that rumor untrue.  She sold her first book this year, and–before it even hit the shelves–sold two more on a vague outline.

Now, it’s true that not just anybody can sell a book.  That privilege is reserved for only the best writers.  Liz has been writing seriously for a couple of years, ever since she joined my local writing chapter, NOLA STARS and she was a Golden Heart finalist last year.  She’s got real talent, and she’s got the moxie to go to conferences and schmooze with industry professionals.  That’s were she met her editor.  The rest of the story comes from a little bit of luck and a whole lot of persistence coupled with talent.

The result–her debut book, Vegas Two-Step, is on sale now.  Since I happen to have inside knowledge, I can tell you that this is a fun and sassy story set in Las Vegas and in the very small Texas town of Oak Stand.  For anything more, you’ll have to read the book.

So, for all you writers out there who say the market’s just not buying, you have been misinformed.  Want to see the book Liz’s  editor snapped up?  Use this link to Amazon:   Vegas Two-Step from Harlequin Superromance or ask for from your favorite bookseller.  Don’t wait too late to buy it.  This is part of the Harlequin Supperromance series and is usually available for only a month or so.

I ate too much, talked too much, flitted from place to place too much and had the most creatively inspiring and awesomely fun weekend.
I loved meeting new friends and catching up with old ones (not that they’re old, but you know what I mean.)

You know how they say that writers are different? Well, I think they may be right this time. At least, we usually feel different in a crowd. Most of us embrace that difference but every now and then, it’s good to be surrounded by people who are just as different as you are–making you the same!

The synchonicity at a writer’s conference feels SO GOOD! Like the world is on the right path and all our wave lengths are in accord. (Now’s the time to give me a 1960′s “Groovy”.) But really. Remember the precious times in your life where you feel like you are exactly where you are meant to be at that particular second, and you are totally surrounded by good intentions? That’s how it felt this weekend.

Absolutely awesome!

Then a church friend invited me to a writer’s retreat.  She said the idea just popped into her head to ask me to go with her.  Divine Intervention?  Definitely.

So off we went to southern Arkansas to a great bed and breakfast called Mountain Thyme owned my Rhonda and Mike Hicks. (Rhonda, I didn’t get a snow photo. Send me one and I’ll post it.) Annette Smith led this retreat that I will never forget.

There were about a half-dozen of us, in all stages of our writing exploration. Anette led us through some quick timed writing exercises, gently guiding us into digging deeper into our work.

And the block was broken!

Here’s one of the timed pieces I wrote

I LOVE writing conferences.  They renew and validate and inspire me.  I’m especially excited about my local chapter’s writing conference.

I’m co-coordinator this year.  Yes, that means I’m the big kahuna (translation: the one responsible if anything goes wrong).  But everything is going write–make that right–so far. We’ve got seven agents and editors, a big-time publicist and a CRM for Barns & Noble.  Check out this list:

• AGENTS
  Laura Bradford, Agent, Bradford Literary Agency
  Terry Burns, Agent, Hartline Literary Agency
  Melissa Jeglinski, Agent, The Knight Agency
  Beth Miller, Agent Assistant, Writers House
• EDITORS
  Wanda Ottewell, Senior Editor, Harlequin SuperRomance
  Laurie Rauch, Executive Editor, Samhain Publishing
  Jessica Sebor, Editor, Random House/Bantam Dell
• BOOKSELLER
  Elizabeth Hadwin, CRM, Barnes & Noble
• PUBLICIST
• Sarah Reyes, Fresh Fiction

Plus we’ve got three tracks of workshops for everyone from beginners to uber-published and 2 networking parties for playing and schmoozing.

I’m so proud of our efforts this year. (I was in charge of agent invitations.  I did well, huh?)

It’s almost too late to come, but you can still  register for the conference  here.

Drop me a comment for inside scoop or questions.

So I make a Pandora channel or two according to what my characters like–which is NOT necessarily the music I like.

For instance, with Taking Flight, I made a Shania Twain channel and a Garth Brooks channel.  Shania even inspired a whole scene in that book. If I were picking for me, it’s not the music I would have picked.

Now I have nothing against Shania or Garth. I’m just not their biggest fan. My husband likes country music–a lot. Me, I choose the classic rock station, or the alternative rock station or the 80′s rock station or…you get the idea.

For my last book, set in contemporary New Orleans, I made a Harry Connick, Jr. channel. Great stuff! Harry, Michael Buble’, Ole’ Blue Eyes himself and an occasional Ella Fitzgerald kept my fingers in rhythm.

My current WIP, set in small town Louisiana, is being written to John Mayer, CCR and Lynyrd Skynyrd. It just so happens that for this book my story people like the same kind of music I do.

Write on!