I’m (hopeful) that I’ll be able to attend the RWA national conference this summer. Again, hopeful, because you never know what can come up between now and July (and I don’t want to put anything out that can come back and bite me in the you know where).

Last year’s conference was wonderful. A truly encouraging, engaging, eye-opening experience (love that alliteration!). I’m forever grateful that I had the opportunity and if I get the chance to go again, I’ll definitely do everything to get there.

I came home with a journal full of craft notes, ideas for new series/stories, and a ton of books. I’ll hang my head here and admit that when I’m writing, I focus on my own words and don’t make time to read. Also, anyone who reads here knows I’m a huge tv binge watcher.

But now that I’ve submitted a series (cross your fingers, send good vibes, whatever you do that’s positive–I’ll take it please!) and have the outline for two short novellas (again, a departure from my traditional small-town books) and the rough idea for another two books I’d like to try to sell, I’m getting back to reading. I actually read a ton for a contest in January. And essentially I read ridiculously fast, like a thirsty woman back from the desert.

My goal is to read through all the books I received back at RWA16 and the Harlequin Heartwarming books I’ve downloaded onto my Kindle before this upcoming conference. If you want to follow along with my progress, I’m on Goodreads, click here.