There's Writing,There's a River

The event I've anticipated since January has finally come and gone - the Write on the River conference in Wenatchee.

So, who goes to this kind of thing, you might ask?  Well, here's a synopsis:

50% - old women.  I mean, really OLD women.
30% - people who wear socks with Birkenstocks and don't shave any body parts
20%-tortured artists

And me.  I regret to say I can't find my sub-category.  Your opinion is welcome.

The keynote speaker was Chelsea Cain.  If you read thriller fiction, you've probably heard of her, and you know she's the real deal.  I'll save the details for later, but you would all be proud to know that I impressed her with my swagger.

Between sessions, I had 10 minutes with a regional publisher to pitch my book idea for last year's blog.  Yes, that's right, a whopping 10 minutes; then they bring in the shepherd's crook and yank you out by your neck.  Believe it or not, Mr. Publisher is very interested in the project.  We spent 9 1/2 minutes tossing ideas back and forth.  He finished up by saying that when I had a manuscript, he'd love to see it; and by asking me, 'So, what's the title?"

I spent the remaining 30 seconds saying, "Uhhhhh...." like Patrick Starfish.  The name???  Are you freakin' kidding me????  I haven't written a word, other than the underlying blog posts, so the book's name wasn't first and foremost in my mind.  Mr. Publisher said that, since it's a memoir, I should plan on thinking of a title and a sub-title, which he will most certainly toss out and use one of his own liking.   Great.  Perfect.

I also spent some time talking to best-selling author and newspaper reporter Craig Welch, who even though he has published more words than I even know, took the time to encourage me about the book.  I guess I should regress a little and let you all know, dearest reader, that I, as a lowly blogger, am not held in such high esteem in the literary world as I am in your eyes.  In fact, amongst journalists and literary types, bloggers are considered the phlegm in the hankie of proper society.  There was one session when we went around the room and stated what we were working on - when I announced that I was a blogger, there was so much simultaneous sucking of air from the room that the National Weather Service registered it as a meteorologic event.  My point, now that we've run around the mulberry bush, is that Craig was totally down to earth, completely awesome and gave me some great tips.

So.....here we go.  It's time to write a book, because I know for a fact that Mr. Publisher won't sleep a wink until he sees that manuscript from whats-her-face.

Step 1 - I have a list of 17 non-fiction books to read which were recommended by Craig, to learn about non-fiction writing styles.  Don't panic, I read fast.

Step 2 - write book.

Step 3 - name book.

Deadline - May 1, 2012.  My goal is to go to the conference next year with something to hand that publisher in person.

There it is.

On another note, LB came down to Wenatchee and we spent the evening out on the town.  I went to my first sushi bar.  I ate sashimi.  That's RAW FISH for those of you who aren't fluent in Japanese.  It was very, very nice.  We never get to actually go OUT anywhere, so sitting side-by-side on a wooden restaurant bench, drinking wine and eating things that I normally wouldn't touch in a million years was pretty heady stuff.

So, what did YOU do this weekend?