Rachel's Adventures at ACFW

with Kaye Dacus on prom night

On the weekend I went to the ACFW conference in Indianapolis. It was my absolute first and I think, honest to pete, I will be tired for the rest of my life.

It’s not just the travel and the lack of sleep because you are up chatting with Jess Barnes ( although Anthony Howell wasn’t mentioned once), it is the energy of the place ( I have never been in such a large hotel with 600 other authors before) , the anxiety before the meetings, the “being on” and turning your brain on and being able to smartly ( or so you hope) assess the merits of your book while across an editor in a meeting room, and being able to remember names and, in my case, being able to apologize because “I know I’ve read your book I just cannot remember the title; but did it have a red cover?  That girl. On the front. Yah, her.”

My favourite part of the conference was randomly and unexpectedly bumping into authors I love.  You turn around: there’s SARAH SUNDIN, or GEOFFREY WOOD (he bought me a beer! it was amazing) or MAUREENLANG! I accosted Jenny B. Jones and Nancy Herriman who, poor lady, was trying to get an elevator.

I had lovely conversations with the stunning SarahLadd.  I giggled with Katie Ganshert and realized: wow! She’s a peach!  I hugged Kathleen Y’Barbo Turner a billion times.  It was authors---authors everywhere.

And, I, dear readers, am a total gushy fangirl.

Another highlight was meeting people I have long connected with online in person. Elizabeth Byler Younts (ARGH! LOVE SO MUCH) Sarah LoudinThomas( whose work I was a fan of before she had work to be a fan of ) and Melissa Tagg, Carla Laureano (girl crush!) and Joanne Bischof were highlights. My heart lifted when I saw them walk in a room. 

Joanne Bischof and I (totally stole this pic from fb)

All of the blogs I follow? The books and such ladies, Steve Laube, Chip MacGregor, the Litfuse Girls…. The list goes on…. They were all there! CELEBRITIES! And Frank Peretti was there too---but he scares the heck outta me….well, his books do.

AND REL MOLLETT who is sweet and sunshiney and whose genuine love of books radiates. I had such fun with her

---And Liz Johnson! Kaye Dacus! it was amazing

---the lovely Amy Haddock of Novel Crossing and WaterBrook who made me the best cookies I have ever had in my life 

I didn’t make it to one workshop. My appointments criss-crossed and I ended up having some last minute meetings; but I realized that this conference, for me, was not about taking in  in a school-like setting, it was about immersing myself in the culture.  The online world stretched out and social media ( which is a wonderful thing ) incarnated into this buzzed and elated atmosphere.

I came back with a very very very very long and arduous to do list as well as instant communication with my lovely agency on where to go next.  

In short, I have to write. A lot. There will be writing. A lot of it

Oh …and I went shoe-shopping with Allison Pittman ( who am I kidding. I think I paid the conference fare just to hang out with Allison Pittman. She’s my mentor, critique-r, encourager, drinking buddy, philosopher, sage, muse, wise, funny, half-of-my-undending-vaudeville-act, Texan counterpart. 

*All pictures I stole from other people’s facebook feeds because I have been too lazy to upload my camera pics.

at payless! with Le Pittman

Book Love: Lori Benton

Good book day!

you can FINALLY pre-order the gorgeous Burning Sky from new Waterbrook author Lori Benton

Learn more here


PRE-ORDER:

When People I Know and Like Write Books....

...when people I know and like write books I must, must promote them.

You can be order Allison Pittman's All for A Song RIGHT NOW.

We like Allison.

( I am looping you, unsuspecting reader, into this like. trust me. WE LIKE ALLISON)

anyways,

GO FORTH AND ORDER THIS BOOK.

That way, when you hear me talk about it in a little while at further detail you'll be, all, OOOOO! I knows what's going on......

twitter me this batman

I love books! I like spending the majority of my life talking about books. I do so at my job ( I work with books ) with my friends ( who all love books---if they don't, I either find new friends or make them love books) at home, through my other job ( which also involves books).


I am an effusive reader with an extrovert, effervescent personality.....


RESULT:


BOOK PROMO WORD OF MOUTH ENTHUSIASM FOR AUTHORS WHO DESERVE IT!


Right now my favourite author on the planet ( I have not felt this way about any one since LM Montgomery, it is THAT serious) is Lynn Austin.

You can read more about Lynn at my other blog which is all Christian fiction. You see, chickadees, that is what Lynn Austin writes: Christian Fiction.

now, I know you are all squirming in your computer chairs and I don't blame you: Christian fiction can be a scary thing. I, however, seem stuck with it. It is part of my make-up, my heritage, and I spend the better part of my life attempting to find the jewels; the diamonds in the rough.

Lynn Austin is a demm'd good writer: whether you are Christian, atheist, druid, etc., etc.,

Reading her I sometimes feel as if I am staring in a mirror and everything I believe is imposed eloquently back upon me.

if THAT doesn't give the reader in the midst of such experience chills then I don't know what will.

To show my ARDENT AUSTIN LOVE! I am tweeting the heck out of L'Austin until the release date of Though Waters Roar next Tuesday.


So, if you are on twitter and want to see me make a gushin and completely idiotic, slack-jawed, wide-eyed FOOL of myself, c'mon down.


[I even made a hashtag ---erm----well ---Court made the hashtag]


p.s. APPARENTLY the new Austin has ....get this....suffragettes! Triple.Word.Score.