Hi, there pink fuzzy ladies and guests! Scarlet is coming to you from the Hilton Hotel in northeast Atlanta where Georgia Romance Writers Moonlight & Magnolias Conference is in full swing. What a blast it is, you should be here.

MM and Scarlet arrived about 8pm last night and immediately began to renew friendships with attendees of the conference. Sitting in the hotel lobby we were joined the fabulous Jennifer St. Giles.

Getting an early start this morning, we were up and at it by eight. The first session was a cold read panel with Raylene Gorlinski, Becca Stumpf, and Monique Patterson. Brave souls had emailed the first pages of their novels to the coordinator ahead of time and sat breathless while their work was read aloud, then given the treatment by these editors and agents. It was interesting to hear how far into the first page they would have read before making a decision to pass or to request more.

Next was the editor/agent panel which focused on what they were looking for and how they required submissions to be made. I’ll report more later on what they were looking for and where they thought the market is headed.

There was a pitch workshop to sharpen a writer's skills in putting their best effort forth for their editor or agent interviews. I skipped this session, but having participated in it in the past know how valuable it can be.

We had a working lunch, which was a great idea! There were two sessions and both were great.

After lunch came an intense workshop on archetypical character types as the basis for characters in our novels. This was another great workshop and I took a ton of notes, which I’ll try to add to the blog at a later date.

We wined and dined at the welcome reception tonight, shared great fellowship, renewed old friendships and made new ones. The food was good, the conversation was inspiring, and the total atmosphere has been great.

Tomorrow there will be more great workshops, editor/agent appointments, and more great networking opportunities. Will keep you posted on how it goes. Scarlet is working diligently to keep MM out of trouble!

11 comments

  1. Patrice Wilton // October 3, 2009 at 1:03 PM  

    Scarlet,
    Great post. Wish I could be there. It's always been a conference that I would like to attend, but I'll be at NJWR later this month, and was in New Orleans for Heather Grahmam's workshop a few weeks ago. Enjoy your weekend, and can't wait to hear the biz news!
    Patrice

  2. Judith Keim // October 3, 2009 at 2:57 PM  

    Scarlett, Thanks for the update. I miss M&M...It's a wonderful conference and everyone at GRW is so nice. Take lots of notes!

  3. Scarlet Pumpernickel // October 3, 2009 at 4:14 PM  

    Patrice,
    Heather is one of my favorites! Saw her in DC this summer at national. The weekend has been wonderful,hectic, tiring, exciting and fast paced, but a wonderful experience.

  4. Scarlet Pumpernickel // October 3, 2009 at 4:16 PM  

    Judy,
    The workshops have been awesome! I'm taking lots of notes! More than anything, I am enjoying refreshing old friendships. It has been a real charge to my enthasium being here this weekend. I can hardly wait to get home and start back writing. The conference has been a great inspiration.

  5. Mary Ricksen // October 3, 2009 at 5:41 PM  

    I am so jealous!!
    Tell us all about everything!
    What a great time to meet and renew friendships.

  6. Mary Marvella // October 3, 2009 at 6:05 PM  

    Patrice, I would love to do the conference with Heather! You must share with us!

  7. Mary Marvella // October 3, 2009 at 6:29 PM  

    Hey, Judy, wish you were here!

  8. Mary Marvella // October 3, 2009 at 6:30 PM  

    Mary R, if you were here, we'd party!

  9. Autumn Jordon // October 4, 2009 at 9:42 AM  

    The session sound awesome. When you get back, maybe you could tell us more.

    I'd really like to attend this conference one year. Have a great time and safe trip home.

    AJ

  10. Mona Risk // October 4, 2009 at 9:17 PM  

    Hi Scarlet, I am so so glad you guys had a great time. How about posting some of the notes you took about CHARACTERS during the workshops?

  11. Josie // October 6, 2009 at 6:28 PM  

    Scarlet,
    OK, I admit it. I am sooo jealous! I love GRW and this conference. Sounds like you gals had a great time.