Well, I'm leaving for Atlanta tomorrow morning and the RWA National Convention next week. I'm heading out a few days early to visit with family in the Atlanta area, and I'm very excited about that. Some of you know I've been hedging about the conference though, and that's been steady throughout the last few weeks, even though I'd already booked my trip. Last year's conference (my first) was fun, but stressful. And without Piper there to distract me this time and keep up until all hours of the night, I've been a little worried about how this conference will go. However, I'm feeling a bit better about it now.

Tuesday night I went to my local RWA meeting. I wasn't feeling like going. DH and I had just gotten home from vacation and there was a lot of mother-guilt going on about leaving the kids again for Atlanta and about leaving them one night to go to my meeting. But I went because I'm a good girl, and to my surprise, really enjoyed it. Our guest speaker was Shirley Karr from the Portland area. Shirley write's historicals, and her third book - Confessions of a Viscount - will be released in Dec. of 2006. Shirley's one of those people who's easy to talk to, eager to share her story, and an inspiration to anyone who aspires to be published. One thing she said which totally stuck with me was that she never thought of IF she'd be published. It was always WHEN. It took her three years to write her first book, four years to tweak her second (which was the first she sold) into what she wanted. She never looked at her rejection letters as NOs, simply, NOT YETs. I totally identified with everything Shirley said, and aside from inspiring me again, it reminded me that published authors are real people, just like the rest of us. And most of them are eager to share their story and help unpubs get where they want to be - because not too long ago they were in our shoes.

So now, instead of dreading Nationals, I'm looking forward to it. I'm looking forward to meeting new authors, making connections, and yes - networking. I'm not great at it, but I'm getting better.

I'll blog on Romance Worth Killing For from Atlanta, and I'll try to post an update or two here about the conference next week. Hope everyone has a great week!

I'm home. DH and I went to Ixtapa, Mexico, where we did absolutely nothing. It was heavenly. Of course, now that I'm home, there are a gazillion things to do and I'm avoiding them all by blogging. Go figure. :)

Here are a few choice pics from the trip:

The view from the beach at our resort.

The "infinity" plunge pool. I so gotta get me one of these in my backyard. There was a waterfall off to the left of this picture.

Me - being serenaded by a three-man traveling band.

A view up the beach.

The roaring waves. They were really strong. The undertoe especially was killer. By the way - the resort in the background of this picture was used in the movie When A Man Loves A Woman with Meg Ryan. (You can see it in the picture above as well.)

Me and the DH on our last night.

I'm not big on going to the movies. I have little kids, and going out to see a movie is low on my list. On the rare occasion DH and I get to have a "date" I prefer a nice quiet dinner where we can actually have a conversation without being interrupted every two seconds by "MOM! I need you!"

So we're at-home-movie-watchers. And I'm not even that big on movies, period. Usually I'm writing in the evenings - sometimes half listening/paying attention to the movie DH is watching, but for the most part I'm too busy to watch. Yesterday I rented Eight Below for the kids and put it on while I was running around getting things ready for our neighborhood 4th of July BBQ. It looked like a cute movie - and hey, Paul Walker's in it (droooool), so I figured I might like it.

Boy, was I was right! :)

This is the first movie in a long time I've actually sat down and watched. Not only sat down, I had to have it paused when I got up to run to the kitchen to keep the food from burning, and I was ready to skip the BBQ to watch the end of the movie. The dogs are amazing. The story was captivating, and Paul Walker was as adorable as ever. My daughter cried buckets when one of the dog's died. I jumped clean off the couch when a leopard seal roared out of a dead killer whale, and we all cheered at the end when Paul found his dogs again.

In an era where shoot-em-up movies, car chases and special effects get all the credit, it was nice to watch a simple story and feel a connection to the characters. Definitely a movie worth watching if you haven't seen it yet.

Have a wonderful holiday!!!

Tag, I'm It

Thanks to Lisa

1. A song by the first band you liked: Power Of Love by Huey Lewis and the News. God, that was a loooong time ago!

2. A song that makes you think of your best friend: All I Wanna Do Is Make Love to You by Heart. Yes, my best friend was a girl and no, I'm not a lesbian. You had to be there. We both liked this song. Senior year we went on a choir trip to Victoria BC and were sitting in the front of the charter bus singing this at the top of our lungs while the mormon bishop in our town (who was one of several chaperones on the trip) eyed us like we were demon children.

3. A song by the first band you saw in concert: Manic Monday by the Bengals. I remember watching the drugged-out guitarist and wondering what the heck was wrong with her. (I was in junior high, and very sheltered. LOL)

4. A song that reminds you of college/school: Can't Touch This by MC Hammer. Even though I never liked it.

5. A song that makes you think of a boyfriend/girl (love) past or present: Heaven by Bryan Adams. First boyfriend, junior high. Man, that was a lifetime ago!

Okay, so passing the buck. I tag Linda, Christine and Teri.