I had a surprise this morning.

My mentor — the wonderful Judie Aitken — found out yesterday she is a finalist in the Utah RWA chapter’s Heart of the West contest. I wasn’t remotely surprised by that because her work is phenomenal, and I absolutely loved the story she sent them. No, my surprise came later.

I had entered Heart of the West with The Impetuous Amazon – the second book in the Amazon series. But with yesterday being the notification date, and the day passed without a call or an email, I figured… no final for Sandy. I decided I would wait for the judges’ scoresheets and check out their suggestions for improving it. My fantastic critique partner, my (impartial) mother, and my wonderful beta reader (love you, Kylie!) liked The Impetuous Amazon, so I wasn’t sure what would need adjusting. Maybe I wasn’t clear enough in explaining the “world” of the Amazons since it was a sequel.

Then I opened my email this morning. The story DID final in Heart of the West. So I’m going to walk around in a happy fog today.

And I’ll start writing the fourth book — The Brazen Amazon.

Winnie Griggs is my newest favorite person in the whole world!

She just called to tell me The Reluctant Amazon is a finalist in PASIC’S Book of Your Heart Contest in the paranormal category.

I’m so thrilled I can hardly stand it!

Post mortem… Nationals was truly a wonderful experience.

I shared it all with a roommate who was kind, considerate, and a whole lot of fun to be with. And, she won the Golden Heart to boot! Major congratulations, Kay! It was truly a privilege to spend time with you, and I know your future as a writer is going to be platinum!

Judith and Peggy — It was such a joy to see San Francisco with you. We visited so many fantastic things, and thanks to my inability to choose the correct bus, we also saw more of San Francisco than we intended. Being with two such strong and self-assured women rubbed off. I’ll be so much more confident in all I do because of both of you. Thank you!

Nancy and Nancy — You are both such a delight! I don’t think I’ve ever laughed as much as I did spending time with you. Thank you for so many great memories!

My Indiana RWA chapter sisters — Thank you for your support, your friendship, and your guidance! Thank you for sharing workshops, lunches, dinners, drinks, coffee, chocolate, and the awards ceremony. I feel so close to all of you now!

I do have to say that it was nice to sleep in my own bed last night. Having a Schanuzer snuggled up against my front and my beloved Old Man snuggled up against my back was heavenly.

So I’m home now. Loads of laundry to do. The refrigerator is empty. Stacks of mail to answer. Manuscripts to send.

But I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything.

To quote the late John Denver — Ain’t it good to be back home again!

Y’all will have to forgive me for not blogging much today. I’ve been up since 4:30 AM. Judith, Nancy, and I spent a good three hours at the San Francisco airport. It was fun, but I’m exhausted. We didn’t touch down until 6 PM, and the luggage took forever. By the time I walked in the door I wanted to see Dr. Carter, have some supper, and sleep. I just stopped by for a minute to apologize for no long post today.

I’ll be back tomorrow. Promise.

My roomie — Kay Cassidy — won the Golden Heart for Young Adult Romance!!!

Short post because I have to be in the lobby at (groan) five in the morning, but I wanted all our IRWA chapter sisters to know that Kay won.

Peggy, Nancy, Judith, and me right before the awards ceremony.

I’ll write a nice wrap up when I get home.

Pitching is over for me!

I’m someone who is very extroverted, so you’d think pitching wouldn’t bother me. But it does. I don’t have the confidence in my writing I do in my teaching. Don’t get me wrong. The stories are good. In fact, they are really good. I just don’t know how to “sell” myself as a writer. It’s nice to have a friend like Kay. She is so great with advice and on helping me know the right things to say and do. She’s been a blessing, and her advice paid off. The editor already had a full on Murphy’s Law – which she reminded me was the title of a Lori Foster story and am I ever mad she took my title — and she remembered the storyline. But she also asked about the Amazon books. She told me she liked the premise and to send a full on that as well. I normally don’t blog about submissions (mostly because I haven’t made any to publishers and just a handful of agents), but I was tickled with her response. And I don’t think I stuck my size nine foot in my mouth too awfully much.

I will admit to a small mental meltdown yesterday. It’s hard to even explain why. There was nothing overt, just an overall accumulation of stress and lack of sleep. I got to lunch and suddenly just needed to cry. I made it through the meal portion, but I simply had to get away before the speeches. My friends were so wonderful and supportive, and by the time I pitched the editor, I was back to myself, which I hope is a good thing.

I’ll be cheering for Kay tonight at the Golden Hearts. Fingers and toes crossed she takes the YA category.

Women who are thirty-fourteen should not get homesick.

Ah, but I am. I think the excitement has worn down, and now I’m focused on the business end of the business which is much more draining. It also allows my rampant angst to come out for some fun and games.

I will compliment this hotel. Lunch yesterday was wonderful, and the continental breakfast was great. Melinda and I ate with Lois Winston and Robin Haseltine. I knew both through their posts on the Elements loop. We had a ball, but I can’t even describe the conversation a table of romance writers had. A big thanks to Robin for getting all of the Elements members together for breakfast. It was nice to put faces with names.

I’m heading to some workshops and I have an editor appointment this afternoon. But I must confess my energy is waning.

I miss my husband and my Schnauzer.

I got my first sale ribbon yesterday.

I had no idea how much it would mean to me until I was holding it in my hand. Peggy was the first one to see it, and now it’s her mission to have me show it to everyone. She has been so wonderful to be with this trip, and I’m very blessed to have gotten to know her better.

The literacy signing last night was just as grand as I remembered from last year. This hotel has more space, so it wasn’t as crowded, and I think there were more authors this year. I got to see Hannah Howell again. She’s always been one of my favorites, so I always have her latest book before conference. I just buy it again to get her autograph. The people waiting for Sherilyn Kenyon and Nora Roberts competed for “longest line.”

While I waited in line with Peggy, I met the nicest ladies. They were there when I showed Peggy the first sale ribbon, and they seemed as excited for me as Peggy. Peggy took our picture, so I thought you’d like to “meet” them too. Manuelita (right) is from Orange County and Isabel (left) is from San Francisco. Isabel said she’d planned to go to this for over a year.

Most of my Indiana chapter sisters met for a drink in The View Lounge on the top floor of our hotel. If you’re at conference and haven’t been there, make the effort one night before you head for home. The view is breathtaking.

We made the trek to the Golden Gate Bridge.

There was quite a bit of fog rolling in off the bay, so we couldn’t see the top of the two towers, but we still had a great time. The picture below gives me proof positive I walked on the bridge. And not just the first couple of feet to say I did. Judith and Peggy marched me out far enough I was past the first of the enormous cables. Despite what my husband will tell you, I didn’t PhotoShop the picture. If I was going to go to that much effort, I would have cut the size of my behind.

Judith and Peggy below the bridge. See how thick the fog was? I tried to take pictures of Alcatraz. We really had a marvelous view of it, but the fog made it too thick for the pictures to come out well.

Someone forgot to tell Judith and Peggy that I should never navigate. I did a great job getting us there. Unfortunately, I wasn’t so clever getting us to Fisherman’s Wharf. We ended up on the east side of town and had to backtrack. Peggy and Judith were very gracious, and we actually ended up having a nice conversation with a young artist from San Francisco. We (finally) made it to the wharf and had a great lunch. Bay shrimp sandwiches on sourdough bread.

I was absolutely blown away by the food stands. We ate at Nick’s Lighthouse — inside the actual restaurant — but there were several of his food stands lining the sidewalk. I’ve never seen so much crab in my whole life.

The conference actually begins today with the literacy signing tonight. I’m really looking forward to seeing all these women whom I so admire.

Oh… the name of the bistro we went to last night was Annabelle’s.

Conference officially begins today.

Nancy and I sat in the lobby just people-watching yesterday before dinner. I was amazed how many faces seemed familiar. Not that I could recall the names, but so many women I met last year were back. Six of us decided to go across the street to have dinner. If any conference attendees have a chance, hit that bistro. (I forgot the name, so I’ll check on that today and add it to tonight’s post.) The food was great. Very Gordon Ramsey-ish. And the waiter was a shameless flirt.

We’ve got plans to hit Fisherman’s Wharf today for lunch. And we still need to see the Golden Gate Bridge. I’ll post some pictures later tonight.

I’m looking forward to the literacy signing tonight. I’ll make sure I take my camera!