Reprinted from my Facebook page by permission of… well… myself! (I am such a nice guy to me!)
Photo by Lauren Lang (taken at the Garden of the God, in Colorado Springs, the day before the Superstars Writing Seminar.)
Oh my goodness. Just got back from the Superstars Writing Seminars, and once again… words fail the the wordsmith.
But lemme try anyway.
Walking through the hotel lobby after the seminar is over is like discovering the house you lived in when you were a kid is up for sale and getting a tour. It looks kind of right, but … the family, the heart of the place is gone, and your lonely footsteps echo in your soul as you walk through alone.
Thank goodness I know there will be a next year!
“Wait!” you say. “That just means you miss it! What was it really like?”
Hmmm… tough question. Okay. So I sat in a chair and listened to lectures about the business side of publishing/being a writer.
“Oh. Sounds great. Have fun next year,” you say as your eyes glaze over.
“Thanks! I will!” says I. And as I walk away, I wonder to myself… How many people will James A. Owen make cry during his talk next year? Will Kevin Ikenberry make me cry again? Will he make Kevin J. Anderson cry on stage again? Will Tracy Hickman be back next year to make my cry like he did last year? Crap! I will need to bring a box of tissues!
Thank goodness for Eric Flint’s Doom and Gloom speech to cheer me up! Also, his birthday cake was really good! That was fun.
And comparing notes with Allyson Longueira from WMG Publishing, Inc.? Priceless!! (Okay. Wasn’t really comparing notes. Was getting SCHOOLED!)
Hanging out at the bar with Kristine Kathryn Rusch until massive amounts of men in dress uniform and women in ball gown drove her away with gallons of perfume/cologne.
Having everyone’s eyes at the dinner table start watering and itching at the Jamaican restaurant shortly before we found out it was Bob Marley’s birthday…
Talking deeply personal opinions with Todd McCaffrey on a subject I wouldn’t usually discuss with anyone but friends or family?
Getting to tease the Publisher of Baen Books, Toni Weisskopf about stalking her to pitch a book and then admitting I really just wanted to meet her.
Seeing Lisa Mangum from Shadow Mountain Publishing, who I teased the same way last year and realizing we are actually friends now (even though I don’t have anything to pitch to her.)
Reminiscing with Jody Lynn Nye about a shared experience we will never forget.
Seeing Dave Wolverton (David Farland) again and realizing how grateful I am for his better health this year.
I could go on and on. And I haven’t even gotten past all of the names I could “Name Drop” (Which is exactly what I was doing, and you know it!). There were over a hundred other people there, some I didn’t get the chance to meet, others with whom I have started friendships, and still others I met before who have become good friends.
ooo…. I wonder if anyone one else will fall in love and shyly let us know next year? Oh the soap opera of family!
Family.
Yup. At Superstars, they call it Tribe. Kind of feels like family though…
Oh. Yeah. I did actually learn some stuff, too.