No photo today because I’m too lazy to download them from my camera. I promise to post more when I get home, though. 😀
Today was the opening session / general meeting / keynote luncheon. My day actually started off with the Samhain breakfast, which was great because I was in dire need of breakfast. I arrived and ended up sitting next to Sandy Blair, who has a release with them next month. And the cover is just lovely. I don’t have the link handy, but you should definitely check it out.
Then I headed back to the hotel room and met up with my roommate, who said all the stuff in the goody basket was gone. YAY us! I sort of wondered around the hotel for a bit and then headed over to the ballroom for the keynote (which was Madeline Hunter). And also ordered my conference CDs.
Then I ended up at the goody room to replenish. And guess what? I ran into the very lovely Amy Atwell! She reminded me how she got her agent from the Winter Rose contest. I love to hear these stories so much. It just makes my day. (One of the reasons why it’s hard for me to retire from the contest.) We chatted for a bit and it was actually the first time we’d met in person. It’s funny how that happens. You know the person, see the name online all the time, but don’t actually meet until conference. One of the reasons why I love conference.
I ran into someone else from FF&P who I also knew from the Winter Rose contest. It’s amazing how many people know me from Winter Rose. 🙂
Headed to the luncheon and found my roommate and Judith Kerry. YAY! We’d been following each other on Twitter for a bit and she also judged – guess what? – the Winter Rose contest for me. Small world, eh? I guess in the grand scheme of things the writing world IS small.
So we had lunch together and listend to Madeline Hunter speak. Then it was off to the first workshops of the day. I went to the PAN retreat but left after the first part to head over to the Carina Press Spotlight. I always enjoy Angela James’s presentations.
As I was leaving the Carina spotlight, thinking I’d head off to another workshop, I ran into Lisa Kessler. And Nikki Enlow! Two really awesome folks. I ended up staying for the next spotlight, which was Samhain.
That was the last workshop of the day and then I ended up back at the room where my roomie was getting ready to head out to dinner and the theater. Since I had no dinner plans, I tagged along with her, her friend Liese and Sylvia McDnaiel. We ended up at this awesome Italian place on 8th Avenue. Wow, was it good. I had a great glass of red wine and a cup of coffee for dessert.
Heading back to the hotel, trying to weave through the throng of theater-goers, I stopped into a souvenier shop and picked up a I <3 NY shirt for the kid as well as some postcards. Then got to the hotel and asked the concierge about tickets to the Empire State Building. I bought the last three! We can use them anytime, so hopefully we can squeeze it into our schedule somewhere.
I love meeting and seeing all these people from Twitter and the Yahoo groups. It’s so much fun and I’ve had a blast so far.
My phone has been giving me trouble lately, though. It hasn’t been wanting to download messages and it’s not notifying me
Sounds like you’re having busy fun! 🙂
I’m so glad you’re having fun. Midtown hotels have a lot of interference, so it’s sometimes difficult to get everything on the phone. If you can get in a clear space (not Times square, but closer to the Park), let your phone download, clear, and then it should be fine again.
I had to do that at least every two days when I was working in the city.
Glad ur having fun!