It's that time of year again! Yes! It's time for Lori Foster's Reader Author Get Together  Conference in West Chester, Ohio! Wooooot!

I was fortunate enough to attend RAGT 2012 last year with my writing buddy and CRW Chapter-mate Denise Leton, her sister Erica and the fabulous Mr. Harris*!  We decided to drive to Ohio and that was it's own special adventure!

For those not familiar, RAGT is a special conference put together by authors , Lori Foster, Duffy Brown, Linda Keller. It's a con focused on bringing authors and readers together for a casual weekend of fun, frolic and socializing. Check out RAGT 2013  for additional information.

This is also my annual time to see my favorite Twitter Buddies and Authors. This year author, Darynda Jones is attending and I promise not to Super Fan Girl her to death...too much. Another fav, Virna DePaul will also be there. I'm attending as a Reader this year and fully expect to Fan Girl the hell outta the two above mentioned authors. I have to. I feel it's my duty. As a Reader. 

I'll take plenty of photos and promise to share all the fun details with my next post. But for now...it's Ohio or Bust!

I've been on this writer's journey "officially" for about three years now. I'm editing my very first novel. I'm a part of several fantastic Romance Writers of America Chapters and I have an abolutely fabulous Critique group at my back.

But even with a powerful arsenal like this, I still doubt myself. In some cases, I'm my own worse enemy. Sound familiar?

But on April 2, during my monthly Carolina Romance Writer's chapter meeting. I experienced the most humbling-jaw-dropping-kick-in-the-pants-you-go-girl moment ever. I'll keep it brief.

The fabulous Martin Biro, Assistant Editor at Kensington Publishing was our guest speaker, and he was taking pitches. I wasn't ready. With my book. With a pitch. Nada so I had zero intention of pitching my book. (It doesn't help that I'm a total spaz during my pitches.) So while everyone ELSE in my chapter was pitching, I participated in Elizabeth's Michel's presentation on Elevator Pitches. She totally rocked it by the way!

Long story short - Beth was a miracle worker and within 15 minutes I had a pitch that felt "right". At that point, two chaptermates urged me to go pitch to Martin. I was surrounded by "Why not?" and "What's the worst that could happen" statements. Jeni and Natilie would not tolerate my excuses. At. All. Then Jeni did something that changed the game. She wrote a little note on the back of her business card and said "Take this with you." She'd written four little words:

"I'm rooting for you!"

I stared at it for a minute before gushing with thanks. I'd only recently connected with Jeni the previous night at the dinner outing with Martin. This meeting was my first real interaction with Natalie as well. Yet within the span of an hour, they became my rock and hard place for kicking my tail and pushing me towards my goal. How incredibly freakin' awesome is THAT?

Okay, I promised to keep this short. So... I pitched. Martin was glad I pitched. He really wanted me to pitch. And...wait for it....wait for it....He liked my story and wants to see the first three chapters. BOOM!

It really does take a village -- of writers to keep you motivated. To keep you encouraged on this incredible journey of written words, characters who really talk to you and rejection. The best part about it...you don't have to be born in the village to get that support. You only have to show up. Show out. Keep writing.

I can't believe it's really over! My whirlwind weekend at Georgia Romance Writers 2012 Moonlight and Magnolias conference was absolutely fantastic! There's no way to describe how it feels to be surrounded by men and women who are just like you! Writers to the core!

This was my second M&M and it was definitely better than the first. I had the honor of attending as a Maggie Finalist for the 2012 Unpublished Maggie Award for Excellence contest and received so much support and words of wisdom from my fellow writers, I was almost numb with joy! 

Huge kudos to the 2012 M&M committee for pulling  together such a wonderful lineup of authors and workshops this year. My brain (and tote bag) are full of new ideas that I can't wait to get started on.

My pitch appointments were a huge success. I received three requests for my full manuscript from two editors and an agent and to top it all off I placed third in the Maggie's for in the Paranormal Category. How cool is THAT?

So I'm doing some final edits before I hit "send" and shift into the "waiting to hear back mode" of a writer's life. Ah... the writer's life. 

Til next time!

Dren

So, what do you think of my new website? I love it! After months of writing and editing and more writing and editing, I decided to go for a new look and feel for my "presence" on the web.

Part of the changes include changing my twitter name from Dren's B-Spot to Drenz Pen. This way I can incorporate my love of reading books with my love of writing as well.

The website is a work in progress and will mainly feature my blog posts and any new stuff I encounter on this fabulous journey. So bookmark me! Sit back and enjoy the ride!