Pictured above:

• The Realm Makers event booklet with all the info
• The dog working the expo with it’s owners (if you know me, it’s not a surprise I got a picture with the dog 😏)
• My roommate and fellow virtual writer friend who I finally got to meet in person, the amazing Jennifer Frankovic 😊
• Agent Donald Maass, who I had a virtual one-on-one with last year
• Thriller Author Steven James
• Writer friends I originally connected with through hope*writers and finally met in person! Daniel Lewczuk, Kevin King, and Jennifer 😊

This year was crazy – I went through all the emotions!

Agent Donald Maass

I was able to get an unscheduled one-on-one with Donald Maass (He had asked for my full manuscript the previous year). He took a look at my first pages and said he wanted to see more Deep POV, an immersive point of view. He also said some wonderfully nice things 😊

• I can write!
• Prose is not the problem
• I’m writing what he likes (thriller, death, harsh)
• Wants me to resubmit
• He really wants to see where the story goes!

I was fortunate to talk with him multiple times. The last time, when I said I had one more question, he said he would be surprised if I didn’t 😏 (Hopefully I didn’t come across as too much of a stalker!)

In that conversation, I ran my next story idea by him, we brainstormed and ended up talking about real-life foster care and adoption.

Author Tricia Goyer

My scheduled one-on-one mentor appointment was with Tricia Goyer. She gave me some great tips on pitching, query letters, and Deep POV.

Author Steven James

I was also able to talk with Steven James a couple times. He told me to email him regarding connecting with International Thriller Writers and what books he’d recommend, thriller authors and craft. I have and he’s already responded 😊

One of the biggest highlights was having friends there. A few writers I originally met through hope*writers decided to give the conference a try. And I’m so glad they did! There’s nothing quite like having people you can share the experience with, support and receive support from, and celebrate with. It was wonderful to see all the good that came out of this conference for each of us!

You might have noticed my very red costume in the pictures 😏 They have an awards banquet where attendees dress in costume. There were three of us from hope*writers that were supposed to come as earth, wind, and fire. (Can you guess which one I was? 😏) But unfortunately, wind couldn’t make it due to a family emergency. We just told people you can’t see or contain the wind…

My writing may be on the fringes of speculative, but there is SO much to learn that applies to every writer. A few of the sessions I attended were:

• The Five Elements of Story
• The Secrets of Series Characters
• Characterization

I missed some sessions I signed up for, due to unscheduled conversations. But, I can watch the recordings and get what I need out of them. Meeting people in person is not something I could easily do outside of a conference. It was a great opportunity!!

Have you had any great opportunities this year?

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