ACFW Conference Next Week

Wow! Already it's conference time again. Having it in Denver this year is so exciting for me. *smile* If you've been thinking about attending this year, it's not too late to register! I'm looking forward to meeting a lot of new friends this year. Will I see you there?

"The Premier Christian Fiction Conference"

STANDING FIRM...MOVING FORWARD

"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye steadfast, unmovable,
always abounding in the work of the Lord,
forasmuch as ye know that your labor is not in vain in the Lord."
1 Corinthians 15:58 (KJV)

DENVER, COLORADO
SEPTEMBER 17 - 20, 2009

Bestselling authors, publishing industry representatives, and newcomers to Christian fiction writing will gather in Denver at the American Christian Fiction Writer’s annual conference September 17-20 to compare notes, learn from each other, and encourage one another in the pursuit of publishing goals.

This year’s conference theme , Standing Firm…Moving Forward, will especially inspire the full range of talent and dreams in the ever-changing publishing world today.

This amazing conference will feature representatives from major publishing houses like B & H, Guideposts, Zondervan, Harvest House, Barbour, Steeple Hill, Summerside Press, Bethany House, Waterbrook Multnomah, Marcher Lord Press, Tyndale House, and Thomas Nelson, and top literary agents who will meet with writers and identify promising proposals from both new and veteran novelists. Conferees will have access to publishing panels, professional critiques, and customized workshops based on skills and interests.

The keynote speaker is New York Times bestselling author, Debbie Macomber, who has more than 100 million copies of her books in print worldwide.

Learn more about the American Christian Fiction Writer’s Conference by visiting www.acfw.com . Click on the left sidebar on Annual Conference.

ACFW Conference

Yesterday my Internet was down most of the day while Qwest did some requested upgrading on our speed. So . . .

The conference was held in Minneapolis this year. The weather was perfect fall weather with the leaves just starting to change. I went early to attend the early bird session with Margie Lawson. It was excellent as usual. All the workshops I attended were great. And I bought the entire conference on MP3 downloads. So I have access to all the workshops I wished I could attend and couldn't. This year I volunteered in the prayer room, since the ministry that goes on in there affected me directly last year. What a blessing to pray for others.

And of course, the highlight of these conferences for me is being with so many friends, old and new. As is my usual modus operandi, I forgot to take my camera. But others have been wonderful to share their pics with me. Extra special to me this year was being able to share the conference with my sister, Kathy. (At least she remembered her camera! LOL Most of the pictures below are from her camera.)

A first for ACFW this year was the multi-author booksigning at the Mall of America, hosted by Barnes & Noble. In the first picture, Angie Hunt, Karen Ball, James Scott Bell, and Brandilyn Collins are on the hotseat panel.









Here's one of Megan DiMaria signing in the main rotunda.










The line of authors stretched down one of the malls hallways all the way down to Bloomingdale's where my very good friend and critique partner Kim signed next to Rachel Hauck.









Here's Kim on the hotseat with Tammy Alexander and Nancy Moser.









Kathy and I hung out with Eileen Key, another very dear friend and critique partner (go Crit14!).







And Eileen with Terri Blackstock and Brandt Dodson.










Here are a couple more of the line stretching down the side hall. The last one features Kathy Kovach—good friend, critique partner (JOY Writers!), and ACFW Rocky Mountain Zone director.



Finally, after the booksigning was the annual ACFW awards banquet. I'll list the winners of this year's awards in another post. But for now, here are pictures of Kathy and me all dressed up and one with Kim that she took holding her camera out and snapping. (Not bad!!)



Now, I'm off to do some fall planting before getting back to work.

ACFW Conference This Week

The annual American Christian Fiction Writers conference is this week in Dallas. I leave Wednesday in order to take the Thursday early bird session on strengthening characters emotions. Margie Lawson is our teacher, and I'm really looking forward to taking another class under her. My first experience with her teaching was in January 2006.

So because I still have at least one proofreading deadline to meet (I actually have several, but . . .) and I need to finish revising a couple of chapters on my wip (work in progress), I'll not be posting anymore this week. See you next week with a report on the conference and a blog tour date with MaryLu Tyndall and her latest Christian pirate book.

Have a good week! If you're attending the conference this week, please be sure to introduce yourself to me.

American Christian Fiction Writers September Conference

I’ve been a member of the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) three years. And the benefits and encouragement I’ve received during those three years are priceless. Shortly after I joined, I became a member of Crit14, and I was amazed at how quickly we all became friends, sharing our lives not just our writing. Over these last few years, we have shared the struggles of health problems, death of family members, and spiritual struggles for us as well as our families. I am the one who is truly blessed by these ladies: Kim Sawyer, Eileen Key, Darlene Wells, Beverly Olojan, Crystal Ratcliff, and Donna Schlachter.

But one of the main reasons I joined ACFW when I did was so I could attend the 2004 conference held in my backyard—Denver. What a blessing to meet my crit group face-to-face, to listen to Francine Rivers talk about her writing journey and how her relationship with the Lord defines her writing, to meet writers whose books I have enjoyed, and to sit under their teaching.

Since that first ACFW conference, I haven’t missed any: 2005 in Nashville, 2006 in Dallas, and I’m already signed up for the 2007 conference, also in Dallas. And each conference has furthered my writing, and now editing, experience. I can’t explain what it’s like to attend a conference that is totally geared toward fiction writing. And I’ve attended other very good conference since the mid-90s. Each conference has its unique qualities.

At each conference I meet more people whose names I see on the ACFW member’s loop. And now it’s like going to a huge class reunion, all bonded together as brothers and sisters in Christ and our love of writing fiction. I not only learn more about the craft of writing and build my network of writers, editors and agents, I also am blessed spiritually. And each year I add something to my experience. This year I’ve added the early bird session with Margie Lawson. And I’m looking forward to learning more, not only for my own writing, but also for my clients, many of whom are also ACFW members.

It was through the ACFW conferences that I auditioned for and earned a place as a writer for Brandilyn Collins’ promotional blog, Scenes and Beans. And it’s been through this conference that I have met many others who encourage me, pray for me, and love me—just as I am—showing me God’s love. And ACFW has given me the opportunity to give back to the Christian writing community in ways that I could only dream of in the past. And in fact, the confidence to step out by faith, quit teaching, and go full-time into editing is a dream I’ve long had, but God used ACFW to realize, much more than I could have asked or imagined (Ephesians 3:20).

So I’m taking this opportunity to encourage you to attend the ACFW conference September 20–23 in Dallas. I look forward to seeing you there!