I had a great time at LCC and reconnected with many people I’ve grown fond of. I also met new writers as well as some Facebook and Twitter friends (Holly West, Marlyn Beebe) for the first time too. I know I gained a few readers because they told me so in person. Love that! I got to know Teresa Burrell and Rachel Brady better, both terrific women. And I had dinner with a group that included Meg Gardiner, who is friendly and fun.

I also met Adam Eisenberg, the author of A Different Shade of Blue, a nonfiction book about the first female police officers on the Seattle force. He generously gave me a copy and I can’t wait to read it. Other fun writers I was lucky to spend time with: Sophie Littlefield, Denise Deitz, Irene Fleming, Pat Brown, Jason Pinter, Boyd Morrison, CJ West, Stephen Jay Schwartz, Keith Raffel, and Tim Hallinan. I know I’m missing some, and I’ll keep adding as my memory fills in.

I was on three panels and felt like the odd person out on all of them. On the “Wanna Be a Writer” panel, I was the only one who said self-publishing can be the right move under the right circumstances. On the “Gay Characters” panel, I was the only straight person writing secondary gay characters for cultural accuracy and inclusion. On the “Sex and the Author” panel, I was the only writer who tackled sexual issues without writing the sex scenes on the page. Overall, I think my participation in those panels went well, and I’m grateful for the opportunity to talk about my work.

The LCC auction committee asked me to donate a 50-page edit for the silent auction to raise money for the LA library, which I gladly did. When I got there, I was told my edit would be part of the live auction instead of the silent auction. This terrified me. What if nobody bid? What if it sold for $5? Once the auction got started and character names were selling for $200, I was even more nervous. But people bid on my edit/evaluation and it ended up going for $165. Stunning! It was a highlight of the event for me that someone thinks that much of my feedback.

And I have to mention that two days before the event my roommate canceled, and I extended an offer on two mystery listservs to share a room. It felt a little risky (but necessary).  I got lucky, and a wonderful YA writer named Linda Joy Singleton offered to take me in. Another LJ! How could I go wrong? I shared a room with Linda and her mother Nina, two more terrific women.

Another great note: On the way home, United Express honored my Horizon ticket and saved me a three-hour layover in Portland. It was awesome. There were only five other people on the flight, so I think they needed the extra weight!

I apologize for the scant few pictures. My camera froze up, and I missed many opportunities.

Some of the debut authors who were introduced at breakfast: Jamie Freveletti, Rebecca Cantrell, Sophie Littlefield, Stephen Jay Schwartz, and Rachel Brady.

Teresa Burrell, author of The Advocate and good friend.

The Wanna Be a Writer Panel: M. Howe, Chris Neri, moi, and Jason Pinter

D.P. Lyle, author of The Writer's Forensic Blog, one of my favorite blogs