ANWACON15

                           Veni Vidi Vici.

Sorry, it had to be done. Christina Hibbert, 
me, Brandon Mull, and Dave Eaton.

Lisa Mangum of Shadow Mountain, 
Jenevieve, Donna Gonzalez (my roomie)

ANWA Con15 was wonderful! I had a blast being plowed under by the avalanche of information. Perhaps after I run through several other items on my Cinderella list, I'll be able to dig out a little and ingest a little information snow.


I got helpful information on my pitch for LETTERS FOR STEPS from Lisa Mangum of Shadow Mountain.

Makenna as Captain Hooker(?) 
Always a buccaneer.

I ran up a pitch for THE DAY IT RAINED GLASS and used some of it to pitch it to Makenna Gardner of Netherfield Publishing. She wants a full manuscript! I'm so electrified! I hope it's an in for my Sci Fi books.

I also gleaned all kinds of info about marketing and improving my craft. These people are so talented and wacky and brilliant. I came home and immediately upon waking up, thought of two more books. One of them is a sequel to GLASS. Before I couldn't really see a sequel. This one looks promising.

Steph Abney, Joyce DiPastena, (?), Lisa Mangum, 
Regina Sirois with Janette Rallison in the background.

The other one is a suspense one. Unfortunately the phone rang and I woke up before I could find out who the nasty little chubby boy was and why he was trying to kill me. That'll have to spring from somewhere inside. Maybe another dream?

What if...?

Mrs. Elton, Captain Hooker, me, the Indian 
in the Cupboard, and (?)

Me and Peggy Forman of Xchyler Publishing

The Con was about taking my garden plot. People of all sorts planted amazing seeds and now I must water and nurture them and hope something fabulous will grow (not like my less-than-stellar abilities with houseplants). I'm hoping I'll need to re-pot them shortly.

I love Regina's ON LITTLE WINGS.

I got to meet up with friends, make new ones, and forge new relationships with some authors I'd idolized before. Regina Sirois gave a keynote speech that had us all quiet enough to hear the snow melting. "Climb your own mountain," she said. "Revel in the feeling, and then climb back down, because you can't live up there in that rarefied air."

Brandon and his newest fan

Brandon Mull gave us the heart to go for it. He talked about writing for years and not getting anywhere with it. I'm so glad he "made it" and that people supported him even though he was a 40-year-old guy writing about fairies. He told us loads about making his Fablehaven, Beyonders, and other series'.

Donna as the White Witch, Me as Regan, and 
Deb Eaton as (I'm sorry I forget).

The food was fab, the chocolate chip cookies rocked, and the Antagonist party was a blast. I went as Regan from Shakespeare's tragedy, King Lear. Nobody guessed it. In fact, most people had never read or heard of that play! I was floored. It's one of The Bard's most famous tragedies, after all.

Raejean's a bud I always look for there.

What if...?

I always come home bursting with possibilities. For that, I'm grateful. Can't wait for next year. And next year, maybe I'll sell more than 3 books...;o) It's my goal. That and winning the Beginning Of Book contest. I also hope to be selling THE DAY IT RAINED GLASS, SUMMERHOUSE, and SUNRISE OVER SCIPIO books and having a hard time keeping them stocked.

The Red Queen and Cindi Williams, one of 
the scariest clowns ever!

Back of the Line

I'm getting a jump on April's poetry run with a song I wrote. So here goes:

Back of the Line

Ah you run around in circles
Chasing the Great White Dream
Of love and glory and honor
But you live your life in the stream.

It's little deeds and littler thoughts
Clogging the hole in your head
Yeah where is your next excitement
Your drink or your toy or your bed?

Chorus:
Pay attention to life's little mysteries
Give thanks for the things that you've got
Remember the ones on whose shoulders you stand
There's a price for what you have bought.

And then at the end of your lifetime
When the fires are burning down low
You find you have squandered your time away
And you've got nothing left to show.

But there in the back is the one who cares.
She's been watching you all along
She's waiting to carry your heart away
For the price of a tender love song.

Chorus:

She's the one who has always been there
Always at the back of the queue
She's not stunning or sexy or loaded
But her eyes say she's been there for you.

Why is it you never have noticed
How loyal she is, and how kind?
She's talented, funny, resourceful
And she has a magnificent mind.

Chorus:

But you've always chased after flashy
The lights and the shimmering way
When really you had it forever
If only you'd bothered to stay.

Suddenly all of it comes clear
The running, the life, and the race.
All of it ends with this person
She's the one with the love in her face.

Chorus:
© 2015 by H. Linn Murphy