Thursday, 8 am. My volunteer assignment had me counting proxies for RWA’s AGM (Annual General Meeting). The actual meeting started at 10:30 am. RWA’s Board has met over the past few days and worked late to resolve several issues. 
Members are urged to log on to the member section of the RWA website to review the Hot Sheet for changes in contest rules.
NY Times bestselling author Janet Evanovich started the Conference with a rousing opening session at 9 am. Keynote Speaker Linda Howard had the whole room in stitches as she described her position in her family as the Keeper of the Nuts. And then came the first workshops.
Two Thursday Workshops of Note:
Brenda Hiatt gave her annual talk “Show Me the Money.” Throughout the year she surveys authors confidentially obtaining their advance figures then averages the numbers and presents the results at RWA National, and on her website. In her workshop, she also summarizes what happens financially after a writer gets the CALL.
In “Got High Concept?” Lori Wilde pulled us through the steps needed to create a high-concept story. Another Wow! presentation that included 25-word High Concept pitch examples. fyi – Lori’s workbook is available for sale on her website.
Thursday, 8 pm. The Kiss of Death/Mystery & Romantic Suspense Chapter held their annual DEATH BY CHOCOLATE Party & Awards Ceremony. Members were treated to tables of delicious chocolate and other desserts. The awards ceremony for the Daphne DuMaurier Awards ceremony followed, coordinated by Donnell Ann Bell.
2009 Unpublished 1st Place Winners in the KOD Daphne Awards
Category/Series – SEE JANE RUN – Angela Platt
Historical – THE DECEIT of DESIRE – Pamela Bolton-Holifield
Inspirational – ESCAPE to TERROR – Sandra van den Bogerd
Mainstream – MOONLIGHTING in VERMONT – Kate George
Paranormal, Time Travel, Fantasy – UNDERBELLY – Tammy Hoganson
Single Title – GUARDIAN’S GIFT – Sharon Wray
The overall winner was Sandra van den Bogerd for ESCAPE TO TERROR. Congratulations, Sandra, and to all the winners and finalists!
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2009 Published Winners in the Daphne Awards
Category/Series – TERMS OF SURRENDER- Kylie Brant – Silhouette Romantic Suspense
Historical – SEDUCED BY A SPY – Andrea Pickens – Grand Central
Inspirational – SUSPICIOUS MINDS – Christy Barritt – Kregel Publications
Mainstream – THE TENTH CASE – Joseph Teller – MIRA
Paranormal, Time Travel, Fantasy – APHRODIASIC – Allyson Roy-Berkley – Penguin
Single Title – VICTIM – Gayle Wilson – MIRA
The Overall Winner was Kylie Brant for TERMS OF SURRENDER – Silhouette Romantic Suspense. Congratulations, Kylie, and to all other winners and finalists!
Kylie Brant shows her gold award for Best Overall.
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Kiss of Death's Skull.
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Death by Chocolate.
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KOD (& NJRW) Member Carolyn J. Coles won one of 12 Raffle Bags.
More on Friday! ∞
Restaurant in the Marriott, my husband and I left for the Metro and more touring. Out the back service door, down the hill, then across 24th Street and we were at the entrance. We bought our fare cards and were carried down the escalators. The last time I rode the subway (aka/underground or tube) was in London a few years ago. While Washington’s system is just as efficient, I sorta missed the sultry British voice reminding me to “Mind the Gap” as I stepped aboard.
our first destination. My goal was some genealogy research and learning how the system works. Before accessing books, I had to register for a Reader Card in the Madison Building of the Library, then walk back through the tunnel to the Jefferson Building. Interesting. The Jefferson Building is gorgeous, inside and out. The intricate paintings and carvings on the ceilings are awe-inspiring.
the National Cathedral is stunning at sunset! We hope to visit it sometime before returning home.
The next three hours we learned about diplomats, foreign service, and counter-terroism. Director of the Foreign Press Center, Gordon Duguid, gave a great Overview of the Department Mission and Function. Michelle Bernier-Toth, Director of Overseas Citizen Services and Crisis Management presented a lively discussion about Overseas Citizen Servies. The Deputy Coordinator for Programs and Policy, Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, concluded with a terrific talk on U.S. Counterterroism Efforts. They all highlighted the morning with lively anecdotes while answering many of KOD’s authors’ questions.
We were met at the door and ushered in like honored guests. A team of at least twelve Postal Inspectors greeted us with agendas, personalized name tags, and cold drinks. An enthusiastic introduction was followed by a dynamic presentation by the Team Leader on the Anthrax Investigation. After catching our breath, our large group was broken up into groups of 12 or so and rotated through five breakout sessions on topics that included Mail Fraud, Mail Theft, and Child Exploitation, among others. I was awed not only by the Inspectors’ excitement in their jobs, but also the breadth of their knowledge. They seemed genuinely excited to share their passion with us. Lots of heroes in that group! 
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It’s changed some since I first looked. Hotter, more rain than originally called for. Bring your umbrella! Tuesday should be warm and pleasant – 87°F and mostly sunny. Tuesday is the all-day 
Our most recent trip was a long weekend in 2007, just after Cherry Blossom time. Along with a sensational day trip to 
the street from the Marriott-Wardman conference hotel. I expect a fair number of conference attendees will wander over there. I plan to. Other places on our list to visit this year are the 
I want my stories to be bound into books, to be read and enjoyed. I believe I have it in me to succeed. Yet, like an actor who fears the stage, just when I’m close I step away. Is it fear? Fear of the bogeymen that hide in the forest of publishing? Am I afraid of the doorway I must enter?
as agents and editors revealed market trends and what they, as publishing professionals, were looking for from authors. The workshop was part of the grand celebration of 
A special rose was given to WisRWA’s Golden Heart finalist 
I remember a well-tended lawn with shrubs in front, all neatly trimmed. An affordable residence for two young women on their own.
My siblings and their families all live there and there my mother rests eternally on a hillside overlooking the town. I’ll visit her, of course, to whisper a prayer, and to place blue flowers on her grave. More than anything, to remember.
made there, and on the Yahoo! loops. At the annual conference, we listen to speakers, and pitch our books to agents and editors. And, as with family, we grow hoarse with late night talks about our writing, our stories, our lives.
This picture is a precious gift from one of them. She is the mother of my father’s father’s father – my great-great grandmother.
My three sons kept me busy. I know little of her social status, save what I can discern from the photo, and from what I know of our overall family. Regardless, her life was far different than ours is today.
I attended a fascinating workshop given by 
It was clean, classy, and included my personal home address – a no-no, I soon learned. My email address was outdated a year so later when we changed internet providers. Yeah, what was I thinking? I ordered 500. There are still about 459 aging nicely in my desk drawer.
not quite so far back as when this photo was taken, I signed up for a typing course. Not because I wanted to go into business but because, even then, I aspired to become a writer. Naive though I was, I knew writers had progressed beyond the quills of Jane Austen’s time. If I wanted to write, I knew I must learn to type. My typing teacher, Mr. P., taught me the needed skills to produce neat term papers, skills that would later help pay my bills.
well beyond a science-fiction writer’s imaginings. In less than a generation, we traveled from dial-up modems to WiFi. Now, in seconds, we fling our thoughts around the world.
English and history were always my passion. In Algebra, I wrote pages of poetry (still amazed I passed). Yet, somehow, I’ve set up and maintain three blogs. I buy and sell on e-Bay, am Linked-In, and visit YouTube. I have friends who use FaceBook and MySpace, and others who Twitter (though not me…not yet…tweet).
