Category: Random

Hey all,

I’ll finish the San Fran blogs in a bit, but came across this video online and had to share. This is so NOT how the publishing business works, but it’s hilarious to watch!!

Jackson Pierce is hilarious. I checked out a few of her videos, but this one was classic! Enjoy!

And we’re up to Day 5 in San Fran! This was the first “full” day of the conference, meaning continental breakfast started in the ballroom at 7:30 a.m. and the panels didn’t finish until 7:30 p.m. And there was a luncheon in there, so not many breaks!

It was wonderful, though. Heard some wonderful speakers, including but not limited to:

• The writers for Guiding Light and As The World Turns soap operas. To be honest, I haven’t watched any soaps since high school, but their presentation was quite informative. A panel of sassy, smart women who are valued in their field and they offered tips on keeping the reader/viewer interested from day to day.

• Hollywood screenwriter Blake Snyder gave a 2-hour presentation on screenplay structure and how it can be applied to the novel. This was one of the best panels I attended. While Hollywood has strict rules about when certain events need to happen in a screenplay format, I still found his general notes valuable, entertaining, and worth attending. If any of you saw Disney movies in the late 90s, you might remember Blank Check about the kid who gets 1 million dollars. Blake Snyder co-wrote that screenplay.

• Nora Roberts Q&A. I’ve heard her Q&A presentations before, but I always enjoy them. She’s one of the most honest people you’ll ever meet, as well as always being entertaining with an audience.

• The Agent Cartel. This was a panel of literary agents who each gave mini-presentations along with participating in a general Q&A session afterward. This is always a valuable session to attend. Not only is it informative, but it gives writers a chance to see potential agents interact with each other, with an audience, and gives us a hint about general personality.

  As far as cool life experiences, I had dinner at the diner where American Graffiti was filmed. Such an iconic and fascinating experience being there. It was within walking distance of the hotel, and there were photos of the movie and James Dean on every wall.

  On my last night, we ate at Wolfgang Puck. Another one of those “glad I could say I did it” experiences.

  Stay tuned for Day 6 and 7!

Thanks for all the kind words y’all have sent regarding the blogs. Glad everyone is enjoying the updates!

We’re now at Day 4: First day of the conference. Sort of. The conference didn’t officially kick off until that evening, and I arrived at the hotel at 11 a.m. Hubby flew back to the East Coast and the shuttle driver (note: not Vladimir this time!) dropped me off at the downtown Marriott on the way.

To my delight, my hotel room was ready despite check-in not being until 3 p.m. I was so overjoyed that I accidentally bumped my large luggage bag into someone. After apologizing and moving forward in line, I realized the woman I bumped was a literary agent who’d rejected my first book. While conferences are a great networking opportunity, I didn’t think my clumsiness lent itself to being the ideal introductory moment. However, I did meet her in the elevator the next day, and she didn’t harbor any ill will about being a luggage target.

After getting settled, I hopped on the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) to go to Oakland. My best friend from high school lives there, so I spent the afternoon having lunch with her, her hubby and their adorably cute new baby. Friendships which span a lifetime are rare. What surprises me even more is that despite time, life, and 3000 miles between us, visiting with her was like being back in high school, like we hadn’t been apart for more than one school day. There are moments of closeness and busy times when we lose touch, but it’s always the sign of a true connection if you can pick up where you left off, no matter how much time/distance has past both of you by.

The visit was wonderful and at the end of the afternoon, they dropped me back off at BART and I returned to the hotel for the literacy book signing, the official start of the conference with over 500 authors signing books to raise money for literacy. I was able to meet one my favorite authors, Melissa Marr, and chat with her briefly. I attempted to say hello to an ole favorite, Sherrilyn Kenyon, but her table was surrounded by crowds of people, all dressed in black and paranormal attire. The book signing raised over $50,000 for literacy, and a good time was had by all.

The next morning, the conference kicked off with a motivational speaker and world-renowned pianist, Theresa Behenna. She was amazing. Her presentation was part motivational speech, part entertainment on the piano. At one point, she mentioned she’d met Roger Moore when playing piano in Europe, and he always requested her to play, “Georgia on My Mind.”

Confession: Despite living in Georgia, I’ve never liked that song. Until I heard her rendition of it. I didn’t know sounds could be extracted from piano keys like that. She must have had Janis Joplin and every blues musician pumping through her veins, because it was the jazziest, most energetic, most FUN version of the song I’d ever heard. Her motivational speeches were also the ideal start to a conference where we focus on attaining our goals as writers.

Stay tuned for: Best seminars, some famous speakers, and unique experiences.

Got an early start and walked toward Fisherman’s Wharf, about a mile away from our hotel. Walked across a nearby park which overlooked docked boats, the Bay, and Alcatraz. Older Oriental men did Tai Chi throughout the park, their fluid movements barely affecting the morning dew under their feet. People jogged, walked their dogs, and biked along the trails.

Fisherman’s Wharf was quite touristy, as we’d been warned. Still, San Francisco was a gorgeous city with several tourist activities to choose from. Below is my summary and opinion of the ones we did:

* Ghirardelli Square. Cute spot and free chocolate samples. What could be better?

* Taking the Cable Car throughout the city. While a good way to see the city and hop on/hop off where we wanted, it was overcrowded and took almost an hour to buy tickets and get onto one.

* Boat tour under the Golden Gate and Alcatraz. This was one of my favorite tours; I’d recommend this to anyone wanting to get good photos of the Golden Gate. One note: it gets COLD out on the Bay. Mark Twain was reported as saying his coldest winter he ever spent was summer in San Francisco. He’s right.

* Trolley tour through the city and going across the Golden Gate. Another favorite. It’s 2 hours and takes you around Pacific Heights, through the main city highlights, across the Golden Gate (which offers amazing views of the Bay and the skyline), plus little tidbit spots such as where Robin Williams lives and the location of the “Mrs. Doubtfire” house they used for the movie.

* Seeing Chinatown. This situation proved interesting, perhaps because of the one spot we happened to select. Two drinks and a small order of egg rolls cost $20. Right when I was ready to ask for a cost breakdown, the owner got into a shouting match with one of the customers, presumably over pricing. At one point I thought I saw him go get a knife. We hastily paid our check and got the heck out of there.

* Touring some of the local ships/boats docked along Fisherman’s Wharf. While interesting, I must say that this experience will help my writing. One of the ships had a rickety ladder going up to the door. It reminded me of the swaying rope ladders between 2 cliffs in the movies, where the actress typically slips through and the hero saves her. Walking up this set of stairs felt the same way, so now I can use that for any rickety-bridge scenes which may appear.

* One other note about San Fran: The hills are STEEP. At one point, we figured getting off the Cable Car next to the street our hotel was on would be easier than returning to our original departure point. Saying that somewhere is “only 6 blocks” means something different in San Francisco versus Baltimore. Some of those city blocks are at a 45-55 degree angle of STEEP. Found that one out the hard way, and learned that Advil can be a person’s best friend!

Stay tuned for writer’s conference blogs and cool entertainment!

Back from San Fran! The first 3 days were spent sightseeing; the remainder of the trip I attended a writer’s conference in downtown San Fran.

I have no idea what day or time it is, considering my Eastern time zone self has been immersed on the West Coast this week. I have a newfound respect for anyone traveling to Europe, not only in the time difference factor but just that the flight is LOOOONNNNGGGG. Atlanta to San Fran is 5 hours. How people fly 13 hours to go somewhere amazes me now.

I was fine until hour 3, when I began feeling a bit antsy. Two hours remaining in this metal tube going 500 mph at 30,000 feet? Next to the kid whining about how SpongeBob is never on TV when he wants it to be? Ah, the joys of coach airfare. We had a bumpy landing but hey, any landing one walks away from is a good one.

Then came Vladimir, the Russian shuttle driver who would be taking us to our hotel. (Note: his name has been changed to protect his Mario Andretti alter ego.) With a thick accent, he barked orders over the phone about picking up new passengers, stopped and started with the ease of someone driving a stick shift for the first time, and I was personally surprised that he didn’t knock off any taxi doors as he sped and wove his way through crowded San Fran streets. Somehow, an hour later, we arrived at our hotel in one piece.

After taming my hair (it was temporarily stuck straight out in wind blown mode from Vladimir’s shuttle), we went to a local pub/restaurant recommended by the hotel. This is when San Francisco instantly become one of my favorite places…mixing with the locals in their environment, away from tourist traps and crazy drivers. We were in the Marina District (in “Cow Hollow” for those who know the area) and this little place (called “The Brazen Head”) was amazing.

It’s one of those places that doesn’t even have a sign on the door. “Look for the green awning” is what the hotel rep told us. Apparently the owner has 2 other successful restaurants in San Fran, and this was the local hangout he wanted for friends and locals who would only hear about it by word-of-mouth.

The bartender knew most people walking in by name. We sat at the bar and chatted awhile, talking to locals who offered sightseeing advice. The drinks and the company were wonderful, and I was delighted to discover the food was incredible as well. Best steak I’ve had in forever. If you’re ever in San Fran, check it out! The Brazen Head, near the corner of Buchanan/Lombard streets.

Thus began a week of living among the locals and seeing one of the most beautiful cities in the world…more to follow.