Sorry

Sorry for not posting for awhile. I have been very busy. Just to let you know what I've been doing. I was a finalist in the Wishing Shelf Awards and got a certificate. I was very happy with that. And I have been to the SCBWI conference here in Ottawa, ON. The conference was great, there was an agent, an illustrator and three publishers. Each gave a talk and were very entertaining. Oh, did I mention that there were two authors, yes, Ruth Ohi and another lady gave quite enthusiastic talks. I was so ramped up during the conference that I wanted to grab the publishers and yell, "Listen to my ideas!" But I didn't. The first morning was a Saturday. There was a steampunk party on Friday but I didn't go. I was up at three in the morning because I was so excited. I was there early, about seven o'clock. It began at eight-thirty but we needed to be there at eight. So I was early and watched the television in the lobby of the hotel, Albert at Bay. By the way, everyone reported that their rooms, about $130.00 per night were superb. So if you're thinking of coming to Ottawa, ON you might want to take a look at that hotel. Anyway, I watched Dr. Seuss cartoons with the Cat In The Hat. Before that day, I had not known there were such cartoons. The front desk clerk then turned on the news. We all got our nametags and folders and coffee. Then we went in and listened to the speakers until noon. Then a catered lunch. Not bad. Fortunately our big room could be partitioned so we each, Picture Book, Novel and Illustrators had their own space. I did not hear the novel and illustrator talks, just the picture books. It was money worth spent. I had a one on one critique with Ruth Ohi, who totally put her finger on what was wrong with it. I have re-written it completely. On the second day it was warmer. But still, I wore a sweatshirt because it had been so cold the first day. It was a lot warmer and I felt so out of place with everyone else in nice clothes. If I could have hid, I would have. Anyway, I was there at seven o'clock again, only to find that on Sunday the conference didn't start until nine. Oh my. Around eight a couple of other people walked out to get breakfast. I decided to get some toast so I went out the back door to the same restaurant where they asked me to join them. They were from North Bay, ON and were so nice. I bought a book from Heather Stemp called Amelia and Me, about her grandfather's sister who met Amelia Earhart. Great book. If you're looking for YA or Tween, try it. They were so nice that Mr. Stemp paid for my toast and coffee. Inside, when we got back, the room was full. We listened again, the whole room, to an agent, then we had pitch crits, where authors had sent in pitches for stories and the panel, all the publishers and the agent, gave us clues on how to improve our sales pitch and stories. I forgot to mention that Karen Krossing got a Crystal Kite Award for Bog, her YA/Tween novel about trolls. At noon, lunch. The food was not that good but it was adequate. After, I listened to the closing remarks, then because I was not signed up for a critique group, I went home. Great weekend. Anyway, I hope you'll forgive me for not posting there were other things going on, too and maybe next time I post, I'll tell you about them. Cheers