Shelli Stevens

Friday
So the first day of the conference is coming to an end. Or will be after Shawn and Lacy stop watching Constantine and we go eat so we can go to bed. But while they finish the movie, I thought I’d write down some thoughts about my day. I started the day by taking Shawn, Michelle, and Carrie around Seattle. We did breakfast, the Space Needle, and the Pike Place Market. Too much fun. Then, onto the conference.

First… I did my workshop and I survived! And you know, it went remarkably well considering I expected to faint or stutter my way through it. I had a surprising amount of confidence I didn’t realize I had, and I think I may even be a decent speaker. But I don’t know. I could be totally wrong. And I praised the benefits of epubs up and down.

I got to meet Diva Jenna and Diva Lisa P. They are both sweet. And I’ve been hanging with Michelle Schwiebe and her friend Carrie. And of course Lacy and Shawn. I attended Nephele Tempest’s workshop about agents. It was pretty good, she seems very nice. When I asked her opinion on the market, she says romantic suspense is big. Paranormal, but not so much vampires and werewolves. And she said historicals are still in a slump, save for historical erotica romance and paranormal. Though she did foresee the erotic romance fad slowing down.

There’s also a waiter here, that is too cute for his own good and probably 5-7 years younger than me. But gets my all giggly. He made eye contact, but I’m a pansy and would never do anything about it.

Ok! The movies over, freaky devil things and bloody gross scenes are done. We’re going to grab food. I was too nervous for my workshop too eat dinner.

Saturday
Today was a little bit more of an emotional roller coaster ride. I was running non-stop all day, selling tickets, arranging karaoke, giving away baskets, announcing our new Pro’s for the year. Just doing stuff. I got so caught up I was late–yes, late and if you know me I am NEVER late–for my editor appointment with Kate Seaver. So I was upset at myself, but I pitched and she was super nice and asked for a query letter (I got the impression she just asked for queries, not partials from everyone.)

Then there was kind of an ‘explosion’ at lunch. I’m not a crier, I’m one of those people who don’t cry, and the every seven months something happens that sets off my timer. And today happened to be that day. Something happened that wasn’t handled very well and I was shocked, hurt, and angry at the same time. I pretty much had a melt down. It probably wasn’t THAT big of a deal. But I was so stressed with everything going on, it sent me over the edge. And so basically I was crying for two hours, trying to hide it because I had to do all my speaking in front of everyone. But I moved past it finally and went on with the day. I was so exhausted–I couldn’t even eat lunch–I went to my room and put my feet up and ordered room service. Hanging with Shawn and Lacy (Who also got part of the brunt of the incident, though they handled it better) I didn’t go to single workshop today, which I’m bummed about. And I kinda blame myself, I could have, but chose to rest instead.

Then dinner was freaking awesome! We went to a really nice italian restaurant. I had dinner with all the board members, and Vicki Lewis Thomson and her daughter, Stella Cameron, Nephele Tempest, and Sha-Shana Crichton. Everyone was so sweet and nice. I sat across from Sha Shawna. And Lacy and I both think she’s absolutely fabulous and sweet. She has great life stories. Nephele is down to earth and also very nice. She knows her wine and music, so she gets a thumbs up from me. I would love to query both these agents at some point. But I’m thinking I need some new material first. The night ended on an upside with karaoke in the bar. Not much more to say, karaoke is always a good time. The dj was fabulous and was a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, so we talked a little. And now I’m exhausted and plan on passing out.

Sunday

is getting its own entry because it’s going to be a long one.