Conference Tidbits

I spent the past several days in Colorado Springs, CO at the beautiful Broadmoor Hotel for the Christian Writers Guild's Writing For The Soul conference, so forgive me for being so late in posting.



This year was so different from last year, when I was in panic mode over the Operation First Novel contest. The hours before finding out I won were so stressful, and the ones after I won were a giant blur. So it was sweet relief this year to go knowing that stress was behind me. This year that exciting yet frightening honor went to C.J Darlington, author of Thicker Than Blood.



As you know from my last post, C.J. is responsible for my latest online interview, and has been a great supporter of Fireflies In December since its release. So it was a true thrill to see her receive this years' award. The past winners were called on stage before the winner was announced, and I was so happy to be up there when C.J. took ownership of the giant check with her name on it! Keep an eye out for Thicker Than Blood. I can't wait to read it myself!



The winner of this year's Operation First Book award for non-fiction went to Mal King for Before The Last Leaf Falls. I was able to sit with Mal and his wife at dinner on Friday evening, and they are lovely people. I'm so happy for Mal's win and wish him the best of everything with his writing. Looking forward to reading his book, as well!



The conference continued to be exciting on Friday as I was part of a book signing panel. I had the pleasure of signing many copies of Fireflies In December for conferees who were so generously offered free copies of my book, as well as books by previous winners Tom Pawlik and Jan Watson. It was an amazing experience.



My appreciation goes out to the Christian Writers Guild for another terrific conference and for their continued work with their fiction and non-fiction contests. They, along with contest sponsors Tyndale House and Harvest House, do a great service to the many gifted writers who just need to be given a chance.