Storymakers & Vegas Recap & More

Here is my long overdue post recapping all my fantastic happenings as of late. I have been BUSY, to say the least! Right on the tail-end of my recovery from surgery, I went to LDStorymakers (which my agent, Josh Adams, also attended this year); the next weekend I performed in Las Vegas at my writing buddy Jessie Humphrie's book debut party/awards ceremony/concert extravaganza; and the next week I went on vacation with my extended family to Capitol Reef. Whew! Now that I'm back, I'm digging into the last stages of research for my epic new fantasy trilogy, which I should be able to begin drafting any day now. I tend to disappear off the planet once I start a new project, so here's catching up with me--through pictures--to tide the webiverse over until I resurface again.

LDSTORYMAKERS 2014

Sara B. Larson and I had such a wonderful time with our agent, Josh Adams, this weekend. We took him on a mini-tour of Salt Lake City and got to have fun going out to eat a few times around the conference.

Here we are on our "Agent-Author Relationship" panel, which I also moderated--both firsts for me.

Me, Sara, and our friend and roomie for the weekend, Jacqui Scott. BTW, my lovely friend, Erin Summerill, was the conference photographer and snapped these first four pics. Isn't she talented?!

All my roomies, including my fabulous CP, Ilima Todd, on the far right.

My first CP, Robin Hall. We were friends for three years before we even started writing in pursuit of publication, and we attended our first writers' conference together years ago. How time flies!

Las Vegas Weekend

Here I am, singing and chatting about writing and music. Believe it or not, this was my first time publicly singing and playing guitar. Thanks for having me,  Jessie!

Hanging with my glamorous friends, Sara B. Larson and Courtney Alameda, who I road-tripped with down to Vegas. Here we are across the street from the Inspire Theater, where Jessie held her event. Gotta love the wind in our hair for the added drama. This may be the last picture you see of me wearing high heels. Ouch!

The one-of-a-kind, Jessie Humphries. She epically thought out of the box for her book debut for KILLING RUBY ROSE, and as a result, she had an amazing weekend and not only became an overnight bestseller, but also greatly benefited the schools of her Las Vegas community.

And we may have had a little too much fun at this particular gas station on the drive back to Utah. I blame Erin Summerill, who drove back with us. ;-) She brings out the crazy in me!

Other Fun Things

A little glimpse into my vacation at Capitol Reef. This is just a smidgen of my extended family. My parents had ten kids, and now we're at 36 people and counting. I <3 them all.

Last of all, I want to announce that my agency, Adams Literary, has a newly revamped website, which also sports a fancy author's page for yours truly. Check it out!

Vegas Performance & Conference Panel

Inspire Theater in Las Vegas

I have some very exciting upcoming events to announce! First of all, my fantastic agent, Josh Adams, is coming to Utah for LDStorymakers (April 24-26), a large annual writers' conference, and I've been asked to be on a panel with him and my agent sister and friend, Sara B. Larson. Our topic is the author-agent relationship. If you're coming to Storymakers, I hope to see you there! (Registration closes April 20th, so hurry!)

The next weekend I will be in Las Vegas for my friend Jessie Humphrie's mega two-day book launch/literacy awareness event. (Her book, Killing Ruby Rose, is debuting.) She's asked me to take part in the Saturday night (May 3rd) ceremony/concert, which will take place at the new Inspire Theater. I'll be one of a handful of musicians/authors who will be performing a couple songs and speaking a little about how music influences our writing. I'm absolutely thrilled to be involved in this event and have had my guitar attached to my hip for the last few weeks in preparation for my little moment in the limelight.

Many other exciting things are happening that weekend in Vegas in conjunction with Jessie's book launch, so be sure to stay up on reading her blog for all the latest details. And here's her blog post mentioning me and my upcoming performance. *cues giddy freakout*

Pics & Advice from LDStorymakers

I'm still recovering from the awesomeness that was LDStorymakers a few days ago. Does one need to recover from awesomeness? Why yes they do. Storymakers is a three-day (if you do the bootcamp on Thursday) writers' conference that is packed from morning till evening with workshops, classes, a keynote speaker, and designated times for mingling (meals, signings, etc.). It's a concentrated splurge of education and networking with other writers. There were about 450 in attendance this year, including top-notch agents and editors from around the country. This conference was important in catapulting my writing career to the next level last year, and it continues to be worthwhile to me. Plus, I got to hang out with so many writer friends! Below are some highlights (writing advice and photos) from the conference.

With my CPs--Robin Hall, Ilima Todd and Emily Prusso

Writing advice from agent Hannah Bowman: Look for the relationship between the internal and external conflict in every scene. If there is no relationship, can you create one?

Adams Lit Agency sisters:
Me, Kimberley Griffiths Little and Sara B. Larson

Writing advice from editor Victoria Curran: What does your character risk in loving someone else? The secret to building romantic tension is why two characters shouldn't be together.

Sara B. Larson, Jacqui Scott, Erin Summerill,
me and Renee Collins

 Writing advice from author Traci Abramson: Make sure the middle book in a trilogy is necessary. Some resolution is critical for a satisfying read and for readers to want more.

Lending our freakish support to Jenn Johannson (top R)
for her soon-to-be released novel, INSOMNIA

Writing advice from author Janette Rallison: A character's goal becomes the story problem (Can Harry defeat Voldemort?). If you don't have a defined goal, it's very hard to have a great climactic moment.

With one of my lovely CPs, Emily R. King

Writing advice from author Anne Perry: A person usually spends two weeks reading a book. Do you want to spend your own time with a character who whines and mopes? A main character needs to have redeeming qualities. They need to show compassion to other people. A little bit of humor also helps a lot. We want to root for characters to overcome and to have hope at the end of a story because we want hope in our own lives.

Me with the phenomenal
and inspirational Anne Perry

More thoughts from author Anne Perry: A book is your letter to mankind. What is the most beautiful image to you? Share those things with people. Share your love, your faith, your doubt. Put your heart on the page, what gives you hope, what hurts you. What lies in your heart is precious. What is priceless to you?

Me with my super cute and fun friend, Jessie Humphries

Writing advice from agent Hannah Bowman: The point of a first chapter is to draw you into a premise. It's like a short story. At the end the conflict is worked out, but a complication is introduced to propel the rest of the story.

Love my friend, Kate Coursey.
We've decided this is our year!

Writing advice from editor Victoria Curran: In 99% of submissions she sees, authors motivate their characters, but don't let them act. Her advice is to let them make mistakes, and then fight to redeem themselves. Your reader will enjoy your story more if the motivations and actions are true--even if your character makes mistakes.

After-conference dinner with a ton of writer friends (L to R):
Nichole Giles, Elana Johnson, Jenn Johannson, Renee Collins,
Sara Raasch, Kate Coursey, Ilima Todd, Jenilyn Collins,
Shalee McArthur, Jennifer Jenkins, Jacqui Scott, David West,
and (not-pictured) Sara B. Larson, who had to leave early.

Writing advice from author Janette Rallison: Conflict is not the same as arguing or random bad things happening. The problem needs to be larger than that. Any conflict that can be cleared up with a two-minute frank conversation between two characters is not real conflict.

This is the face of pure joy.
My CP Emily Prusso joked that she
would quit writing if she didn't win
a door prize. Luckily on the last day
of the conference, she did. A sign! ;-)

Last bit of writing advice from author Anne Perry: We are seeking truth. We want to know who we are. We want to understand. This is why we have always told stories. Good writing is communication. Great writing is relatively simple. We are here [in this life] to learn to empathize with as many people as possible. Reading allows us more of this. Make sure your stories carry the power and passion you want them to. Simplify, cut, expound your stories until they do.