I attended the Mountain Laurel Conference, hosted by the Smoky Mountain Romance Writers, in Knoxville last weekend. There were prize giveaways, free goodies, great books, great food, and several workshops (including one on media issues given by yours truly).

And I had a blast.

About 45 people attended the conference, which I thought was a great number. Unlike the mad crush of the annual RWA conference, you could actually talk to everyone you wanted to meet, including folks like Sherrilyn Kenyon, Vicki Lewis Thompson, Sabrina Jeffries, Jade Lee, Elizabeth Hoyt, and Jenna Peterson. All of whom were absolutely funny and charming and witty.

Sabrina’s talk Friday night about rejections was laugh-out-loud funny. Vicki wore bunny ears for a large part of the day on Saturday. I talked to Sherrilyn about hair-care products and found out that Jenna uses kick-ass James Bond titles for her Avon books. Well, you get the idea …

It was also great meeting everyone from the SMRW loop in person and finally putting names with faces. You ladies did a terrific job with the conference. Kudos to you all! I know it was a ton of work, but I hope you’ll have one again next year. I’ll totally be there. 😎

Stupid me forgot to take my camera, so I don’t have any pictures to share. Bummer. It was also a bit of a bummer that I didn’t have any books yet since Karma Girl doesn’t officially come out until May 1, or three weeks from Tuesday. (Not that I’m counting down or anything …)

But a good time was definitely had by all. 🙂

What about you? What conferences have you gone to this year? Or are looking forward to? What’s the best/worst thing about conferences? Inquiring minds want to know …

So, I’m planning on going to the RWA National Conference in Dallas this year. The problem is that I live about 1,000 miles from Dallas. So, I can either spend about 18 hours in a car both ways – or I can fly.

Gulp! 😯

I’ve never flown before. (Well, one time when I was three, but that doesn’t really count.) To say I’m nervous would be a severe understatement. Terrified. Petrified. Racing heart. Sweaty palms. Upset stomach. Three seconds away from a major freak out. That’s me when I think about flying.

In an attempt to overcome or at least lessen my fears, yesterday I went out to the Tri-Cities Regional Airport. Marketing director Melissa Thomas was nice enough to walk me through the whole flying process, from arriving at the airport, to going through security, to actually getting on the plane. I also got to look inside a 30-seater plane, which was cool. A big thanks go out to Melissa and the airport. You guys rock! 😎

I still don’t know if I can suck it up and get on a plane, though. Then again, I don’t want to spend the better part of a week driving either. My significant other wants to fly. He says we’ll have a drink before we get on, and everything will be fine.

Sure it will. Until I start hyperventilating and/or screaming and clawing at the door. He’s threatened to bring along some duct tape to take care of those potential problems, but I think security might have a problem with that. 🙂

What about you? Anybody out there have any flying tips for me? Hate flying? Love it? Is it worth the hassle? Inquiring minds want to know …