DFWcon 2013 Review – and how I thought I was being Punk’d

I just got home from DFWcon in Dallas. This is the third one under my belt and I feel like it was the best one to date. There were so many great moments with great people!

Friday- I actually arrived to Dallas on Thursday with two of my friends so we could go out, but Friday was the start of the conference for me. Since I know what it is like to be at a conference where you might not know anyone, I decided to host a Pre-conference Mixer at the Hyatt. It ended up being a great success. I cannot tell you how exciting it was to see some many people show up and get to know each other. I was also able to see friends I had made at previous conference. Around 10, I had to leave, though, since I had other plans at LaBare – anyone who knows me, knows the humorous stories behind this.

Saturday- Saturday started early, since the official start of the conference was at 7:45. I was begging my friends to go to Starbucks, but had to settle on Diet Coke instead. The opening ceremony was beautiful and started the day on the right note. My first class was called “Is it Soup Yet”, and was about how the Chicken Soup for the Soul books can help an author build their publishing credibility. The next class was Jenny Martin’s “finding your writing voice” class. For the second year in a row, this class was standing room only.

  I had to leave the class early because I had a pitch session with the fabulous Louise Fury. Let me tell you – if you’ve never pitched before, it can be a nerve-wracking situation. But… Louise made me feel right at ease. Okay, I’m going to sound a little fangirl-ish right now. I don’t remember everything that happened because it felt very dream-like. I pitched my book and Louise seemed interested and ended up requesting the full manuscript. Then, we got on the topic of the RT Convention and I mentioned something about the Ellora’s Cave ‘Cavemen’ (The Cavemen are the book cover models… some of them are also performers at LaBare). Then, while I was sitting there talking to Louise, she live tweeted about me. It was everything I could do NOT to squeal! We even talked about maybe going out to LaBare, which I thought would have been awesome.

  The rest of the afternoon was a blur after this. I attended Lindsay Cummings & Louise’s panel, which was so interesting. I loved hearing their story! I also got to see my friend, Birdy Jones, KILL it in her self-publishing class (this is a good thing, by the way. There was some confusion after I tweeted this, ha-ha). After that, I went to Roni Loren’s Romance Class. If you write romance and ever have the chance to hear Roni speak, I would recommend it. She is amazing!

  After relaxing at the hotel it was then time for the Cocktail party and second keynote speech. Let me tell you, the cocktail parties are always fun. I think my blingy jewelry made an impact, as well as my signature drink, which is a Coke and Baileys. It tastes just like a Coke float, if you were wondering. My friend and I then called it a night.

Sunday- It was SO hard to drag myself out of bed, but I did it. This is when I had my “am I being Punk’d” moment. I was walking down the street from the hotel to the conference center when a truck slowed down. I glanced over and saw Louise smiling at me from the passenger’s seat. She asked if I needed a ride and I was thinking ‘OMG!’ It was surreal. I accepted, of course.  

  The day was a blur of classes, friends, and photos. I even won a bracelet from one of the vendors, which was awesome. Roni Loren taught a class on ‘author websites’, which I found helpful. The best part of the day was the Gong Show, where writer’s query letters are ready aloud to 5 agents. The agents are allowed to hit a gong when they would stop reading the letter in real life. Louise always makes the Gong Show extremely funny with her comments, which is why so many people stuck around for it.

It was soon time to head back to Oklahoma and back to the real world. I felt so inspired after the conference, which is why writers go to conferences. I cannot wait to see what the rest of the year brings!

DFWcon 2013 is coming up!

I’m gearing up for DFWcon in Dallas next week. As I mentioned before, this is the 3^rd time that I will be attending and I can’t wait! I’m looking forward to meeting up with old friends and making a ton of new ones!

If you are going, be sure to follow their Twitter page (@DFWCON) or #DFWcon. There is always a LOT of info there during the conference and it is a great way to meet others who are going.

For those of you who are going for the first time, check out the blog post I wrote last year, “5 Things I learned at DFWcon”. LOL learn from my mistakes involving trying new face products during a conference! ;)  http://sarah-okc.blogspot.com/2012/05/5-things-i-learned-at-dfwcon.html

Also, if you are staying at the hotels sponsored by the conference, hang out in the lobby. There is usually some kind of meet-n-greet going on with fellow attendees, like last year there was a Tweet-n-Greet. It’s a really good way to meet other people before the conference starts.

And, last, but not least… if anyone is going to be in Dallas on Thursday or Friday night, there will be a girl’s night to LaBare Dallas, ha-ha. This is a great place to visit if you write romance of any kind. Trust me- these guys are definitely inspiring!! Hit me up on my twitter page @Sarah_OKC if you are interested! ;)

Getting Raw (and for once I don’t mean wrestling!)

As a writer, I am expected to express things in such a way that you, the reader, can visualize exactly what is going on without having to stop and figure it out on your own.

For example, if I said something like: The hotel room I stayed in was nice; you might wonder what my definition of ‘nice’ might be. Was it a big room or small? Was there a window? See? So many questions.

But if I were to say: The hotel room screamed luxury. From the French doors that led out to the balcony, to the king size bed, and all the way down to the hand-stitched pillows on the bed, I knew that I had finally made it to the big time.

See, that was a little better. You know that the character is in awe of the room. You also know there is a balcony with a view. A nice, big bed. And hand sewn pillows. And that they are famous or whatnot.

Anyway, my point is that it is my job to make you see without knowing you are being made to look… if that makes sense.

But I discovered that when it comes to writing emotional things down… I am…not so good.

I decided to sit down a write a ‘letter’ to a friend that I don’t get to see very much. I am able to use this person as an outlet, even though said person will never see the letters.

Want to know what I discovered? I CAN write things that are emotional or have feeling behind them! I also discovered just how raw those emotions could be.

I let my friend, Yousef, read the very first letter. He called it ‘very Kelly Clarkson’, which meant he was able to notice the emotional aspects as well.
　

Since writing the first ‘letter’, I have wrote a few more. I find that sometimes I just need to sit down and hash everything out. And then I can go on with my normal writing with an open heart.

~ Sometimes, you just have to get raw and be honest with yourself ~

　

"Sir, we DON’T play pranks at this Hotel!”

  In a previous post I talked about how I have met some of my best friends through wrestling events. The really great thing is when I am able to travel with my friends and, of course, go to an event. To me, that is where the true memories happen.

  In 2007 my two friends and I decided to go to a PPV event in St. Louis, Missouri. We flew in the day before the PPV so that we could go to a House Show, which we love going to.

  Yousef and I both flew in from Oklahoma and Terrica flew in from Arkansas. Since Yousef and I arrived first, we went to our hotel to check in. The hotel was amazing and was located in an old train station. And our room was on the club level, so it was extra fancy.

  The hotel room was large with a bathroom to die for. We had a window that overlooked the mall that connected to the hotel. Everything in the room was meant for luxury. Yousef pointed out that there was a phone by the bed. There was a phone on the desk. And there was a phone in the bathroom.

  After Yousef and I checked in, we went back to the airport to meet Terrica. We got our rental car and drove to Rolla, MO for the House Show. After the event, we drove back to St. Louis and then called it a night.

  The next day Terrica and I were lying on the bed watching TV while Yousef was getting ready for the PPV.

***I have talked to him about the moment several times, so I am going to go into his point of view for the next part ***

I was in the bathroom getting ready while the girls watched TV. I looked over at the phone and the urge to play a joke took over. I picked it up and dialed #422. Nothing happened, so I hung up and tried again.

This time the phone began to ring and a man answered the phone.

“Front Desk. How may I help you?”

I licked my lips, “Um… can you connect me to my friend’s room?”

“What is the name of the guest you are trying to reach?”

I tell them Sarah’s name and I can hear the man typing.

“Sir, do you know the room number of your friend?”

I reply, “Yes, 422.”

There was a long pause and the man finally says in a dry tone, “Sir, you are IN room 422. We cannot connect you if you are IN the room.”

I feel my face flushing red and I stammer out, “Uh, I wanted to play a joke on her. Sorry.”

I hang up and begin laughing.

His tone clearly implied one thing:

“Sir, we do NOT play jokes at this hotel!”

****

When Yousef came out of the bathroom he was laughing. He told us about the joke he tried to play and Terrica and I begin laughing, too.

To this day, whenever there is a phone in the bathroom at a hotel we all giggle a little. It is moments like this that always shine through and give us all something to remember and smile about. J