Write Writing Written

One more writing conference this year...I went to UVU's Book Academy last Thursday. Many, many, excellent classes and talks were given. This writers/readers conference is worth your day. One class I really enjoyed was Josi Kilpack's on critique groups. I'll post my notes later.
To all you writers out there: KEEP MOVING! Don't stop writing!
To all you readers: READ! We can all support our local authors; Buy and read their books.

Yes.

I met Richard Paul Evans.

Amazing speaker and motivator.




And Yes.
I met James Dashner.
Funny and all around good guy.
But I can't get his picture to load so you'll just have to trust me.

Plus, I met many other great people like: Clint, Eric, Leslee, another James, Luann, and more this weekend.
Thanks to all the presenters and LUW for a fantastic writing conference.

See you next year when I win an award and not a stapler...

I am excited to have Joyce visiting my blog today! Leave a comment and your name will be thrown in the jester hat to win Joyce's book!

Let's jump right in:

Joyce, did you want to be a knight or a princess when you were growing up?

A princess. Or at least a "noble lady". I used to imagine myself in this beautiful, flowing "old fashioned" dress. I'm not sure what time period that dress was from, since I really didn't understand what the Middle Ages were at that point. It's possible I was dreaming more of a Renaissance-style dress than a Medieval one at that point. But the gown was always a deep crimson velvet covered with beautiful embroidery. Which is odd as I think about it, because my favorite colors are more in the blue/blue-green family, so I don't know why I chose those colors for my "dream gown". Maybe at that early age, I subconsciously knew that crimson was a "royal color"?
As for the knight. I've never wanted to b…

"Clothilde." He spoke the name on a breath like a prayer. Then he lowered his head and kissed her.

Her heart is lost in that first embrace, her world is shaken to its foundations. There is just one problem; her name is not Clothilde. It is Siriol de Calendri. Trained in the art of illumination in the far-off city of Venice, Siri is directed by her late brother's will to the county of Poitou in France, where she enters the guardianship of her brother's friend Sir Triston de Brielle. Once in Poitou, Siri hopes to find employment in an illuminator's shop - until Triston unexpectedly snatches her heart away with a kiss.

Triston is a man of quiet honor and courage, but the guild he carries for the death of his late wife, Clothilde, has left him numb and hesitant to love again. Worse yet, Siri bears an uncanny resemblance to his lost love. Or does she? Her merry laughter and twinkling eyes are very different from his late wife's shy smiles and quiet ways. Yet when he…

WOW!
Stephanie Black, you scare me, in a good author way.

It's been three years sincethe terrible night Emily Ramsey suffered a double tragedy-the death of her sister and the disappearance of her fiance. She deserves another chance at happiness, and gentle, adorable Zach Sullivan is the perfect man to mend her shattered heart. But from the moment Emily opens the hand-carved box holding a glittering diamond solitaire, she's seized by an unshakable fear: she's going to lose Zach.

That's exactly what Monica, Zach's es-girlfriend, is banking on. Bitter with envy, Monica will stop at nothing to sabotage Zach and Emily's romance. a troubling note shows up in Emily's mailbox, fanning the flames of suspicion. a bloody photograph sends her reeling. But when someone is brutally murdered, will Emily be able to escape suspicion and the possibility that she might be next?

I have been humbled in my claims to pick out the bad guy(s) in books. I sorta guessed in Stephanie'…

Thanks for your time and thought on these questions, Rachel! Does anyone else have questions for Rachel? Leave them in the comments and I bet she will answer them...
Q: I remember the story of the child swallowing drugs. I have to admit, it made me look closer at the homes my children might go to. I think mothers are blessed with 'gut feelings'. What do you think? A: Absolutely. There have been far too many times in my life where my children have been protected because I followed my gut feeling. I always look closely at any home where my children play, and quite frankly, I do everything I can to encourage them to invite the children to my house. I want to know what they are doing. The trick is to have food. Have food and they'll come. Q: Can we do more to protect children? A: There's always more we can do. We can look for problems in our neighborhoods, get to know the children who live near us. Ultimately, the responsibility lies with parents, where it should be, but when y…