ACFW Conference --- Amazing!

I have been back from Minneapolis for two days and am just coming out of my brain fog that I've been in ever since I walked into my condo Sunday night at about seven p.m.

I flew up to the Twin Cities a week ago today and was met by a couple crazy ladies, better known as two of my fellow Penwrights, a crit group I belong to. They stood there in the baggage claim area holding an ACFW sign upside down. I should have taken a picture, but I didn't.

Wednesday was spent in board meetings most of the day and evening, then the next morning the conference began revving up with early bird sessions. Being on the ACFW Board I only made it to one workshop, but will be getting recordings of all the sessions which I look forward to getting because the workshops covered a gamut of different topics.

It was good to catch up with friends I haven't seen for a while like Winter Peck who is with me here. And Deb Raney and Rachel Hauck who are in the pic below.

My appointments with editors resulted in requests for proposals for my romance and my mystery both! I'm working on honing my mystery manuscript and getting ready to send it to an interested editor and, at the same time, will be working to finish the romance manuscript which is about half done. I have my work cut out for me! But it's fun work. God is good.

Saturday we held a massive book-signing at Mall of America. We had over 100 authors signing books. I joked I needed to contract a book so I could sit down! Almost three hours after I arrived to help, I finally sat down on the shuttle bus, hot and tired. Those several hours were frenzied and loud, but at the same time so satisfying to see Christian fiction being spotlighted. While the authors were signing, interviews of other authors like Angie Hunt (our keynote speaker), Brandilyn Collins, Terri Blackstock, etc. were taking place on the rotunda stage.

Then it was back to the hotel for more workshops before we cleaned up for the awards banquet. We all cleaned up good too! The Genesis writing contest winners and the Book of the Year winners were all announced in addition to the Mentor of the Year which I had the pleasure of announcing. This year's award was especially gratifying. Janice Thompson, the 2008 winner, had just come through Hurricane Ike, and for a while it didn't look like she and the other Houstonian members would make it to the conference. Here's a pic of me with Dineen Miller, the graphic artist who designed all our banners and the conference book cover.

I'm sure by tomorrow my brain will be a bit more alive than it is right now, but the memories will be as clear as ever. Next year it's Denver and I can't wait!