Twenty-One!

My youngest child turns 21 today. Which is no excuse for my forgetting that it's my turn to blog (oops). She's working in New York City and I won't get to see her on her special day. Bummer! But I am thinking of her. And not much else since my brain is still in a fog following the annual Romance Writer's of America conference.

Elissa, then.

Elissa, now.

The sweet girl actually called me at her time of birth. "Hooray, I'm really 21!" And I remembered holding her for the first time all those years ago.

And I remembered turning 21. It was the year I graduated from college. And got married. Same year. Which seems kind of crazy looking back, but it worked for me then. I'll celebrate my 25th wedding anniversary next year. For my daughter, it's also the year she will graduate from college-- and she wants to work in publishing! She's currently an editorial intern, a job she loves, and I hope she lands her dream job following her graduation.

But back to RWA! It was in San Antonio, TX, and we all had a great time. At the Sourcebooks Spotlight, you would have learned that Sourcebooks is looking for extraordinary writing. Paranormal, contemporary, historical... it doesn't matter. Trends don't matter. Great writing, that's what matters. Write the story you want to write, the one only you can tell, and the rest will fall into place.

With one of my BFFs, author Julia London. She was up for two RITAs! ( But Jane Porter and Grace O'Keefe won her categories- maybe next time).

At the Readers for Life Literacy Autographing

Wonderful dinner here with the Sourcebooks team.

Sourcebooks treats us like princesses. We went home in horse-drawn carriages.

Do you remember what you were doing at 21? Were you at RWA? What are some highlights from your conference experience?