I arrived home last night after 3 flights from St. Louis and am so glad to be on solid ground! These are just a few of the pictures from our time there. I'm sure you see some friends and authors you know or love:) I'll provide more commentary when you comment. For now I've some unpacking to do and more!Bless you all. You were missed!
You got to meet Liz!!! I'm so excited for you. Had you met her before? I can't recall....
ReplyDeleteHope it was a wonderful conference, not toooo stressful, and a blessed time of fellowship. I was watching the awards dinner via live stream (which didn't work too well for me but at least I got to see little blips of it. A couple of folk were also doing a live blog update so I could follow along and see everyone's dresses, even Chip's (kidding...)).
Wow! Looks likes fun.
ReplyDeleteOh what joy!!! It looks like you had a blast. I so wish that I had booked off the time and had been able to go ;'( maybe next year.
ReplyDeleteGlad you had a good time Laura!!
What wonderful pics! It looks like you had a fantastic time - so happy for you.
ReplyDeleteOMGoodness! You got to meet Liz Curtis Higgs! How thrilling! But then again, all those people got to meet *you* and that was pretty thrilling for them too.
ReplyDeleteLooks like you had so much fun. And you look gorgeous in both dresses. Can't wait to hear more details once you get unpacked and get your house in order and get some REST!
I'm missing you already.
ReplyDeleteHi Laura~ I am so glad you are back and from the looks of your pictures it look like you had a wonderful time! I like the 2nd picture you posted with the book table, I definately recognized some of those books! :)
ReplyDeleteIt's so much fun looking at yours & other attendee's pics. Everyone had so much fun & learned oodles.
ReplyDeleteYou've all motivated me. I have to make it to Dallas next year. It's way too hard being stuck at home.
Lori, YES!! Lizzy!! I'd never met her before! Would you believe the bookstore manager there told me she had been in asking about my books! I couldn't believe it;) So I was thrilled when I found her in the crowd. She's just as lovely in person as on paper. Now I'd love to go to Mt. Hermon as she's the keynote next spring. But doubt I'll get there.
ReplyDeleteI am chuckling at your Chip comments! I didn't even notice he was in a kilt so great was my cold-induced haze! I loved your comment on the live feed - someone sent me the link after telling me my brother had chimed in. I tend to not get the live feed well either here and blame it on the woods.
I am getting around to answering emails and yours is next:)
Adrienne, It was so fun, frantic, and a bit crazy! I had to laugh as people kept forgetting who'd they met and talked to or taken pics with, etc. It was that busy! But I really felt the Lord's presence. The worship team was amazing and I always learn so much. Not to tackle my housework and get my men in order here at home and dive back into work!
ReplyDeleteThanks so much for your email. Happy you rec'd the winning book! Don't worry a second about reading. I always tell people to tuck it away till winter or some other time when they have free moments. Some people were reading TCL going to and from St. Lou:) I would do that but get terribly carsick! Bless you, Adrienne, for the welcome back:) So glad to see you here.
Hannah, If you come to Dallas next year, my day will be made:) I think you'd love it. I always learn so much and love seeing how the Lord works in bringing book people together. Never a dull moment and lasting friendships are made!
ReplyDeleteWe'll countdown to Dallas together;) Only 360 or so more days!
Carla, I leaned over to Carrie (she can verify it!) one day at lunch and said, "I wish Carla was here." You'd have enjoyed all the excitement, the great food, the book talk, and the great bookstore. No doubt your own book will be there next September! I look so forward to that!
ReplyDeletePraying this is a quiet, productive writing week for you. I really missed writing when I was away. Didn't even bring my laptop. Oh my! I do regret that now...
Mary,
ReplyDeleteI hope a conference comes to your neck of the woods. Charleston would be the perfect venue as far as a big city to hold it in, don't you think;) And YES, meeting Liz was so amazing. You're so thoughtful to turn that around! I am still trying to get over Mine is the Night and told her so. But then I also told her I wasn't quite over Somerled, either!
I'll try to talk more about it on Friday when I do another post. I wish I could post all 140 pics but you all would be snoozing long before then. Bless you for your sweet words here! They sure bless me.
Welcome Home Miss Laura!! You look beautiful in you evening gowns! I am so glad you got to meet Liz. Did you have a conversation? What did you say? I discovered a new author while you were gone. Jody Hedlund. Does she ring a bell? I believe she was a finalist for the Genesis project in 2009. I reeeeallllyyy like her! She is also from Midland, Michigan! Isn't that fun! She asked on a blog what would be an ideal road trip. I said I would like to drive Highway 1 on the West Coast. I would drive all the way up to visit my friend who lives in Washington State! Now, I wonder who that is ;) Did you buy lots of books while you were there? Did you receive any awards? What was one of the most memorable moments for you? I think it would be very fun to go to one of those. I might consider joining just for the fun of seeing all those writers in one place!!
ReplyDeleteGlad you are safely home and back to your men!!
Love,
Stacie
Winter, I miss you, too! Doesn't it already seem like years ago already? It doesn't help that I combed through all my pics and can't find one of me with you. I think we must have taken them all on your camera - LOVE the ones you posted on Facebook! Thanks so much for that. I remember wanting a pic of us both at the banquet and then my camera wouldn't operate in the low light. Sigh.
ReplyDeleteHope your drive home was very restful and that latte kept you awake:) Can't wait to hear all that transpires for you. Good things coming, I'm sure!!
Cassie,
ReplyDeleteYou would love the bookstore! I kept going in numerous times a day as it was fun meeting people and signing books, etc:) Janna, the bookstore manager, does an amazing job with her mom and daughter and even brings her little ones! She won the volunteer award this year during the awards banquet and it was well deserved. They had some great sales and free books, too. It was a wonderful time.
Thanks so much for the warm welcome today:) If I can't meet you in person at least I can see you here!!
Brenda, Your name kept coming up in St. Lou! It seemed to echo there w/o you, truly. The Inkspers were missing you and so was I. I needed to update our pic after the ones last year:) We'll pray about Dallas. I hope to attend but it's never a sure thing this far out. So much can happen between now and then...
ReplyDeleteOODLES is certainly the right word:) My head is still ringing. The Lord always meets us right where we are. Some of the workshops really spoke to me in just the right areas, the places of struggle, etc.
Lorna had me in stitches the whole time;) Am sure you're not surprised!
Hi Stacie, So happy you're here!! If you'll look in the far right corner of one of these pics you'll see Karen Witemeyer and Jody Hedlund:)
ReplyDeleteLove your idea of a road trip!! You're welcome to come cruising out here any time you like - just bring your umbrella!! A big one! It was pouring when I flew in and the pilot of the 8 seater plane I was on last night told us to put on our shoulder harnesses, no kidding. We did. A bit of chop on the 35 minute ride to my house but nothing like the lightning storm I flew through last time. Try that in a tiny plane dodging 9,000 foot mountain peeks of our Olympics here! It's always a labor of love to get out of here.
Hope you're having a wonderful week! And YES, Liz is just as wonderful in person as her amazing books:)
welcome home!!! so glad you're back safe and sound! Looks like you met a lot of great folks, hope you had an amazing trip!~
ReplyDeleteHeather, You would love the history in St. Lou! Underneath the Arch or gateway to the west in the top pic is an amazing museum with lifesize wax figures that talk and tell all sorts of amazing historical info. Then there's a mercantile full of old-fashioned things like bonnets and candy and books and china, etc. I just lost all self-control in there and came out hauling way too many books for research and treats for my boys! It was beneath the arch itself though one can go UP in the arch and view St. Lou. It's right along the Mississippi River which is another event in itself. Sigh. Never enough time there or anywhere historical. Bless you for being here!!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back! Looks like you had a great time in St. Louis! So great that you were able to meet Liz Curtis Higgs, I grinned when I saw that picture. Also that you were able to meet everyone else. :)
ReplyDeleteI have a bit of news to share. (No, not about THAT, lol). I found out on Friday that I am getting a promotion at work. :D We are getting a new division, and I'm being asked to step up and take over the job of someone who will be moving to that division. The only draw back is I will not be able to work from home anymore. But I think maybe that's a small price to pay. I'll start in about four weeks, I think.
laura...thanks for sharing your beautiful pictures...can't wait to hear more about your conference :)
ReplyDeletekarenk
kmkuka at yahoo dot com
Looks like you had a great time.
ReplyDeleteSo happy for you.
Laura, I saw Chris was there watching too, as we all got to comment in the feed as time allowed, so I was able to say hello.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you had a cold though. That would make things extra challenging.
Michelle, HUGE congrats!! That's BIG news:) And I love your attitude about it all - not lamenting the fact you have to go to the office. I've always thought it great that you work from home but maybe it will be even more interesting when you go on - and will make coming home even more remarkable:) I'm so happy for you! Can't wait to make the transition with you...
ReplyDeleteYES, I had a feeling you'd like that last photo;) We talked about MITN quite a bit. I forgot to ask what she is working on now - I'd heard it was nonfiction but then someone else said it was fiction. I hope for the latter!! And it has to be Scottish, of course;) Thanks so much for welcoming me back. It's wonderful to be home, mountains of laundry and all...
Karen,
ReplyDeleteThanks for looking at the pics and absorbing the joy of it all:) I should have added some notes beneath the pics but will try to post more later as my household settles down again. Hope things are going very well for you! And autumn is in full glory there:)
Loree,
ReplyDeleteSo good to see you here. I loved your blog post for Monday. It's just the kind of post - with quotes - I love. Words are so powerful and how we arrange them is quite magical:)
As much as I love book trips, they wear me out (in a good way). I don't know how Liz and others do it. Liz, in particular, is getting ready to take about 40 women on a tour of the Holy Land. I'd say that even trumps St. Lou;)
Bless you for your comments!
Lori,
ReplyDeleteI was so happy when I saw you and Chris connect online - bless you for that. Spain is about 8 hours ahead, I think, so he was keeping some strange hours. Yes, colds are no fun when traveling. I was struck by how many writers have chronic, physical problems - I met one author who suffers from migraines that never go away so she must take round the clock meds every day. It made my cold seem very small. Another friend was just healed of Lyme Disease. How they write with such persistent illness amazes me, but God is truly at work in them and through them and their work. It was an encouragement to me.
Hi Laura! So wonderful to hear that you had a great trip (despite the cold and the trip on the 8 seater plane!!). The pictures are WONDERFUL, and I can feel the excitement of it all!
ReplyDeleteAnd by the looks of those steaks, you certainly got to eat well, lol. ;-)
Thank you for sharing your trip with us, Laura. I look forward to seeing more photos and hearing more about it!
Hugs,
Michelle
Michelle, Bless you! Yes, it's very exciting and nonstop every minute, except when sleeping, and there's precious little of that. I enjoy dressing up as I don't get to do that here - and yes, all that wonderful food! I didn't get many foodie pics this year for some reason. But I ate everything they served;) And then there's the worship music and fellowship, the fully stocked bookstore, the workshops/classes, etc. And the prayer room which is quite busy. I do have more pics I'll try to post tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteHope your past week was wonderful and school and home are going well. And you're having some baking time!
Laura, I enjoyed your pictures very much. It looks like you had a wonderful time. I've never been to a writer's conference because I'm not a writer. I am wondering though, do people other than published/unpublished writers attend the conference? I see pictures of bookstores there and things of that nature. Do people from the outside ever come in or just writing people? By the way if anyone on here writes contemporary novels they should have a writer as a heroine and have a book or two set at a writer's conference. I would love to read about their experiences there as they are living it. Robin Jones Gunn's book, Waterfalls has a couple of chapters that take place at a writer's conference, but that's the only one I have read like that.
ReplyDeleteSylvia, So glad you're here. And you ask such a good question, one I've been thinking of, too, in regards to who makes up these conferences.
ReplyDeleteI've never met a non-writer at one of these conferences. Most are there because they not only read voraciously but want to be published and are actively writing. The conference shedule is set so that several days are given to agent/editor/mentor appointments. Attendees can meet with the above and "pitch" or tell about their book, hoping to gain interest and a contract or agent, etc. Classes are also given. My favorites were by Jim Rubart (author of Rooms and Book of Days) and Tamera Alexander (historicals) who taught about fiction and the perils of publishing or something like that. Classes are geared toward certain levels - beginning writers up to mulit-published authors.
There are industry professionals there also. For example, at lunch one day I sat with Carol Johnson who basically pioneered the Christian fiction market by publishing Janette Oke's prairie romances back in the 70's. I also sat with one of the fiction editors from Publishers Weekly who had just reviewed TCL. There are even editor/agent tables so attendees can have lunch with the editor/agent of their choice.
I don't do any of the above as I'm already contracted. I go mainly for the fellowship, to attend the author dinner Revell had, the Books&Such dessert function my agent hosted, and the classes.
A book caught my eye while there - it's Jane Kirkpatrick's newest about a writer and it looks very good. But the title escapes me at the moment. Savvy as you are, I'm sure it doesn't escape you! It would be interesting to read more books about writers and the writing life.
I did spend some time with Kaye Dacus who is always a JOY! She just dropped in for a bit one day. Thanks for the great comments!
Such a good time! Great to finally meet you. I pray you're getting back to "real" life and are refreshed and inspired in your writing:)
ReplyDeleteLove your pictures Laura. It was so good seeing you again. Glad your trip home went well. Hoping to see you next year in Dallas...I'm already starting to save : )
ReplyDeleteI plan to join you all next year. I was there in spirit cheering you on and so happy for all my friends who were enjoying such a fantastic time! Thanks for thinking of me. :)
ReplyDeleteKristen, Oh, it's so good to be back home - am sure you and your little one will agree:) After two days of cleaning and grocery shopping and laundry, I can finally settle back in to write. Am hoping this sunshine holds and I can chase the rest of my cold away and sit on the deck and work on my next book:) Praying this is a great week for you, too. It was a JOY meeting you and hope we can reconnect soon!!
ReplyDeleteColleen - roomie extraordinaire! Not sure I spelled that right;) It was wonderful being with you, too. I'm glad your sights are on Dallas. Mine, too. A lot can happen in 360 or so more days but Dallas is one city I love - even love the Dallas airport (all that bling and boots and cowboy hats, etc.)! It's just fun to walk around there and window shop. Texans seem to do everything BIG.
ReplyDeleteI can't remember if I told you that I heard the farthest west the conference would likely go is Denver. For those of us way out west that's hard. But then dear Casey ended up driving from Oregon! Guess if there's a will there's a way.
Anyway, praying this is a quiet, creative week for you. I keep hoping things will settle down here, too. Bless you so much!
Carla, Maine to Dallas is about as far as Washington to Dallas;) But Lord willing, we'll both be there. I hate to plan this far out as anything can happen but I'd so love to see you. Feel like we've already met but good friendships are like that. You'd sure enjoy seeing Chip in his kilt and all the rest of your agency mates, your editor, etc. Thanks so much for being here!
ReplyDeleteOoo you wore both dresses and looked gorgeous! I'm so happy that you had a great time, I wish I could have been there to meet you and all the other wonderful authors.
ReplyDeleteXOXO~ RENEE
Renee, I was so hoping you'd come by. I was over at your place and had read a stellar post you'd written but didn't leave a comment. I so wish you could have been in St. Lou, too! BTW, Julie Lessman and I had an empty place at our table during dinner and that would have been perfect for you! No doubt we would have talked your poor ears off and you couldn't get a word in edgewise!! Glad to be back and to see you here! Hope your week went well and the weekend will be even better:)
ReplyDeleteOh I loved you in that dress!! So glad you took and wore both. ;-) I love the one of you and Julie...what a thrill to meet you BOTH at this conference. It can't get much better than that and I'm already missing you both!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing our pic. I'm printing copies and putting them about my writing rooms to inspire me. :)
Casey, Such a great idea to put pictures up to inspire and remind us of what a treasure ST. Lou was for us! I hope, dear friend, that you're already whispering to your dad about driving to Dallas;) He looks like he'd be right at home in Texas!! Praying we both get there.
ReplyDeleteI probably would have been starstruck anyways and wouldn't have been able to think of anything to say LOL but I definitely would have liked to have been there.
ReplyDeleteXOXO~ Renee
I really wish you could have been there too, Renee - all those books! Julie and I would have snagged you away and taken you to lunch or somthing! I did meet Maggie Brendan, at last, and what a sweetheart! A lovely southern lady, for sure. I'm looking forward to reading her first Blue Willow Brides book soon, thanks in part to you:) I was a little star struck myself!
ReplyDelete