We just returned from a weekend at the
California Crime Writers Conference. As always, we had a great time, saw old
friends, met new ones, and learned a great deal.
We’ve attended conferences since
shortly after our first book was published, and we’ve been asked why. Here’s my
answer.
I suggested we attend the Maui Writers’
Conference a few months after we published our first book, 31 Months in Japan: The Building
of a Theme Park. We had already planned a trip to the island for the
same time, and one of my favorite authors, Gail Tsukiyama, was a presenter. Larry
said he’d rather surf. That is, until he found out one of his favorites, Terry
Brooks, was a speaker. Oh, and he realized the cost of the conference was
tax-deductible.
He finally agreed to go, but said he’d
drop me off in the morning, go surfing, and pick me up in the afternoon, except
for the time Terry was scheduled. I agreed.
Once we arrived and he saw all the
topics available, he decided maybe he’d go to one or two. It was a good thing
we had another few days in Hawaii following the conference, because he never went
surfing. Alas, the conference is no more, but we still have the memories.
We heard some
awesome people speak, learned a great deal, which we’re still using, met some
wonderful folks with whom we’re still in touch, and had a blast.
One person we
met became the inspiration for our protagonist, Agapè Jones, in our cozy mysteries,
Murder…They
Wrote and Murder in Paradise.
We enjoyed spending time with others
who understand when you complain, “My characters just won’t do what I want them
to do.” They nod sagely, because they’ve been there, too.
Our first book
was named a finalist for the EPPIE award, so we decided to attend the EPIC
conference (EPICon) the following year.
This conference
was smaller than Maui, but some of the attendees have become dear friends.
I met one of my writing partners at the
first one. Together with three other friends, we’ve written the six Aspen Grove
sweet romance anthologies: Snowflake Secrets, Seasons of Love, An Aspen
Grove Christmas, The Art of Love, Directions of Love, which won the
EPIC eBook Award, and our latest, …And a Silver Sixpence in Her Shoe,
soon to be available as an audiobook. She also introduced us to the independent
publisher, who published our romances as well as our mysteries.
We also met the
publishers for whom I have edited and formatted as well as several of my
freelance clients.
For quite a few
years, we presented classes and workshops at EPICon. Those became the
foundation for speaking engagements, which we’ve been doing a lot more of
recently.
Last year, we
attended the Left Coast Crime Conference in Monterey, CA, where we got together
with one of my publishers and several of her authors for dinner. We’d met her
through a previous conference.
While in
Monterey, we spent an evening with a friend who lives there, attended some
great presentations, and participated as presenters on panels, made new friends
and learned more about our craft. We also got to hear Elizabeth George and Sue
Grafton again. We’d met both of them at previous conferences.
Why do we
attend conferences? We have opportunities to network with other writers and
industry professionals. We learn a lot. We keep current on the state of the
publishing industry. We return home inspired and ready to get back to writing
again.
