writing conference | Cathy C. Hall Writes

pexels-photo-189349 All I can say is “Whew.”

Well, that’s not all I can say or we wouldn’t have much of a blog post here, would we? So I’ll expound a bit on that “Whew.”

Remember a week or so ago when Hurricane Matthew blew through the southeastern seaboard? That was just about the same time I was scheduled to attend an SCBWI conference in Alabama. And not just attend–I was in the program as a presenter. So I pretty much had to show up and present something.

Meanwhile, half of my extended family was fleeing the coast, leaving both Savannah and Tybee Island. Yep, we have a house on Tybee Island–I have a house on Tybee Island–and there wasn’t a lot that we could do except pray for the safety of the people in the hurricane’s path and hope the homes were still standing after the winds and water blew through.

Meanwhile, it kind of felt like a hurricane was whirling around my insides, thinking about that conference session I had to deliver. Not so much the talking part; honestly, I can talk all day about writing (um…that might be a problem when you’re on a very tight schedule) but more that I wanted the people who’d signed up for my session to feel like it was worth their time and money.

So my home made it through Hurricane Matthew with very little damage, and all my family members fared as well. Whew! And I made it through the conference session, too.

Though if I’m being honest, the session was a wee bit more nerve-wracking. Read for yourself over at the Muffin, “Observations From a First-time Presenter (Or What I’ll Do Better Next Time)” and you’ll see what I mean.

Whew.

I love Two Things Tuesday–they always remind me of the Doublemint commercials: A double pleasure’s waiting for you!

So Thing One, the SCBWI Southern Breeze conference, coming March 13th-15th in Decatur, Georgia. It’s our Springmingle event and we always have a great time, with a great slate of kidlit professionals. Take a look at the brochure to see the wonderful folks who’ll be presenting and speaking this year. (There’s still time to register!) And new this year is a portfolio reception, book launch and book signing on Friday evening.

We’ve always had all of these events, actually, but we’re doing things a little differently this time around. We’ve invited industry professionals, like librarians and book sellers, reading teachers and literacy advocates to attend the Friday evening activities. It’ll be a fun opportunity to get to know our Southern Breeze authors, both the new ones who’re launching books, and the…er, ones who’ve been around for a while. If you’re attending Springmingle, you’re invited, too. And if you’re one of those kidlit professionals in my neighborhood, and want an invite, please let me know!

But if you’re not in my neighborhood, then I hope you’ll take a look at Thing Two, our Southern Breeze blog. And not just because yours truly happens to be plastered up there, with a post about schmoozes and how you can orchestrate a great workshop event like that in your region. There’s other interesting stuff on the blog, too.

But yeah. Mostly because of the schmooze thing. (And now I’m sending the Beneficent Mr. Hall out for gum. Dang if I’m not craving Doublemint now!)