SJ and I booked our airline tickets/hotel/conference reservations for the national RWA conference the other day. We are so terribly excited about going it is not even funny. Hellllooooooo Atlanta! WOOHOO!!!

I am curious as to how many folks belong to writing organizations and do they, if not RWA, have a similar conference. I have been to two national RWA's before (Denver and Dallas) and I know I will go next year (in Dallas again). I can't speak for SJ - though I am pretty sure she is the same as me - but I get so totally pumped after meeting with so many folks that share the same passion and don't look at you sideways because of your fervent admiration for an author or publishing house. (I wrote Her Passion after Denver)

Yellow Rose also has our annual Awards luncheon coming up, where we have great speakers and get a chance to pitch to an editor. I am always so jazzed after it as well. I think, even if you participate in a critique group or have wonderful online writing buddies, you need to have moments like these writing conferences to get you pumped up. There are times when it is so beneficial to have fellow writers that you can commiserate with and maybe even bounce ideas off of.

...and lets not for get the free books - Hi my name is Dennie and I am a book ho! (I got 114 at the Dallas conference - FREE - since we drove, that was manageable. I tried to talk SJ into driving to Atlanta but cost and time won out over my need to increase my booklist!)

SO .... who else belongs to RWA or any other groups - and if your are going to Atlanta look SJ and me up - party in Dennie's room!