Charlie Sheen Has Left the Building

To get a tiger blood transplant.  Okay, I admit it.  That was mean.  Despite the name of this here blog, I don't wish anything tragic to happen to Mr. Sheen.  I just don't think he deserves all this attention for being a prostitute loving, drug addicted, nutcase.  I guess we can blame his handlers, who obviously understand the power of social media. Charlie is bigger than, dare I say it, Elvis.  And we all know how that ended.  On the commode.  Not a good way to go.

Move over Charlie. Go to rehab.  Or take a nap for a few hours.  Leave a little room on major news outlets for the real news of the world.

Speaking of which, I have some exciting news to share.  I will be guest blogging about the Alternative Spring Break going on in Austin next week for the Dallas Morning News on their death penalty blog.
You know what would be really cool?  If you turned out Charlie and turned on to changing the world. I don't care which side of the fence you're on. I want an intelligent, public discourse on this issue.

Did I mention I think you're really cool for stopping by my blog? And since I'm already attempting to butter you up so you'll follow me elsewhere, have I mentioned that you are...
  • A rare person.  Last time I checked, like say 5 minutes ago, there were 25 of you.
  • Thoughtful.  You'd have to be because death is a pretty serious issue.
  • Smart.  If you can correctly spell my last name, you've already proven to me that you're a card carrying member of MENSA or that you've lived in Norway at some time in your life.
  • Friendly.  Remember that old Faberge commercial about telling two friends, and so on, and so on?  Go on now.  Be fruitful.  Multiply.  Tell your friends about me.  Good things will happen.  I promise.

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...