All The Cool Kids are Doing It

This past weekend, I attended the DFW Writers Conference in lovely Feet Worth, TX.  (And yes, I said feet.  My Tom Tom says feet worth and so shall I, dammit.)  As some of you know, I moved to Texas in August of last year.  The transition from Colorado was rocky, but despite all the setbacks, I found a kick ass writing workshop that I attend every Wednesday night.  And from this workshop, I was able to be a part of one of the best writers conferences I've ever attended.  And I mean EVER.  Take that AWP!

The keynote address by Sandra Brown was funny, informative, personable and my goodness for a sixty something year old woman who has written over sixty best selling books, Ms. Brown looked like a Stepford Wife and I mean that in the best way possible.  She was gorgeous!

I attended some wonderful classes, particularly Kristen Lamb's class on social media and agent Dawn Frederick's on the book proposal.  Both women were nice, inspiring and willing to share their knowledge and insight with little old me. (Well, me and a couple hundred other people, but I can't list them all here because my brain has turned all mushy from all the info I learned.)

Okay, so what made this conference different than the rest?  The people.  Hands down this was the nicest conference I've been to.  People were chatty and encouraging and genuinely interested in perfecting their craft.  Okay, okay, the Query gong show was really the highlight and I'm sorry I missed the first one.  George and Russ made it fun whie the agents gave the audience a peak into their thought process.  What stops an agent from reading or responding favorably to your query?

• One word.  Cancer.
• Too many big things going on, such as murder, espionage and maybe a tsunami all before the end of the first paragraph.
• Starting out with a question such as, "What would you do if...?" 
• Comparing your writing skills to a certain woman writer who happens to be richer than the Queen of England
• Vampires
• Teenagers bonding with old people.  Teenagers don't care about old people.  They care about boys or girls or both.
• Lost journals.  Nobody wants to read a book about somebody reading a book. 

Oh, and there's more, but this old gal is tired.  I had a blast.  I spent the whole day writing.  I was that inspired.
What was your favorite part of the conference?  Any good quotes, overheard conversations, or lessons learned?  Tell me now...

I've Been a Bad, Bad Blogger

Without school to hold me accountable for my writing output, as well as a residential move, a new job, new kids schools and all the mundane jazz that has bogged down my daily existence since October, I've been a very lazy blogger.  And a lazy writer too.  I guess part of the problem is I don't know what to do with my manuscript, so I'm just letting it be.  Sometimes my writing needs to collect dust in the proverbial desk drawer before I can actually "see" it.  At least that's what I'm telling myself to rationalize the fact that it remains untouched.

There's other issues with my death book.  I contacted an agent, or rather he contacted me, after a school trip to New York.  This was extremely exciting, but also kind of a pressure cooker for my mental state.  It required me to pinpoint what I intended to say to the world with this manuscript.  In the end, my vision was at odds with the agents.  My book idea is quirky. It's a memoir.  There's no celebrities or experts or big life changing epiphanies.  In the end, I discovered an essential truth that all human beings know, but like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz, I had to take a fantastical journey to learn the most basic of life lessons. Do you want to know what it's about?  Here's the elevator pitch...

An anxious woman on the verge of a mid-life crisis embarks on a quest to figure out why death scares her so much. Her journey involves self reflection, meeting  people who work with death, befriending a couple whose two-year-old son died, and interviewing a death row inmate on the day of his execution.

Why am I the person to write this book?  I'll tell you why--because there's probably not a lot of people out there who are willing, not to mention flush with free time, to embark on a similar trip.

Okay, enough about me.

Even though the pages are written and the thesis has been turned in, the story continues.  I have now befriended Khristian Oliver's girlfriend, Sonya Reed.  (Mr. Oliver was the man who was executed by the state of Texas on November 5, 2009.)

Ms. Reed is incarcerated in Gatesville, TX.  She recieved 99 years due to Khristian's actions.  Although she didn't know me, she sent me a heartfelt letter to thank me for being with Khristian on his last day and making him laugh. This floored me.  Since that day, I correspond with Sonya on a regular basis and I try to visit her when I can.  I'm not really one to gush about people, but I have to say that Sonya Reed is one of the smartest, kindest and most eloquent people I have ever met.  She is part of the story, but she is also now part of my life.  Two days ago, I received a letter from The Sun magazine informing me that a story that Sonya wrote and that I submitted on her behalf was accepted for publication.  I felt so proud of her and I wish that I could have just called her and congratulated her, but I couldn't.  I had to write a letter.

Which brings me to this plea for Ms. Reed.  She is in prison.  She does not have much money placed on her books.  When she was incarcerated, she was pregnant with Khristian's child.  She hasn't seen that child in ten years.  The basic necessities that we all take for granted, like a bottle of shampoo are denied to the women behind bars, unless they purchase it from commissary.  Stamps, same thing.  They get 15 hotel sized bars of soap a month to wash their bodies and their hair.  Can you imagine? 

Do you know how wonderful it feels to help someone who really needs it?  Who is actually appreciative of that help, however small?  It's the best thing you can do.  If you would like to help Sonya with the price of a cup of coffee at Starbucks, please think about making a tiny donation to her books.  Doing so is easy. 

Go to http://www.jpay.com/  You have to set up an account, but it is secure.  Her number is 878111.

Thanks for listening.
Pamela

The Austin Book Festival

So, this weekend I ventured to Austin to attend the Austin Book Festival.  I went with the intention of meeting David Dow, who wrote "Autobiography of an Execution."  The reason? Mr. Dow was Khristian Oliver's last attorney.  I had corresponded with him briefly and wanted to meet him in person.  I also wanted to attend the lecture, which had three writers discussing their various books that happened to deal with execution.
There was Dow, whose book I'd read, Thomas Cahill (A Saint on Death Row) and Robert Elder (The Last Words of the Executed).  The discussion was fascinating, but much too short.  Oddly, I knew the moderator from a writing conference I attended in Ouray, CO.  It is such a small world.  I have posted a link to the lecture and I encourage you to view it.  Capital Punishment in America

I am in the audience and at one point, the camera focuses on my grimaced face.  I of course look at the camera.  So, that alone should compel you to watch!

I bought Cahill's book and just finished it.  It is a short, but very powerful book.  I highly recommend it.  It came out last year and is now available in paperback. 

Well, that's all the news that's fit for print.  I'm busy working on my manuscript and one day maybe my book will be on the shelves of your local bookstore.