Life, the Universe, and Everything and other fun stuff

It's almost time for my favorite event of the year!  

Life, the Universe and Everything, or LTUE as it's more commonly known is a science fiction and fantasy symposium held each year in Provo, UT. This year it is February 14-16 at the Provo Marriott Hotel. I love it! It is so much fun. This year, I will be presenting a class on writing short stories, as well as doing a couple of panels and participating in the mass author book signing on Friday night. If you're in the area, it's only $30 for the full three day conference, if you register by Feb. 10. Check out the website, and come if you can. It is so worth it!

I also have some other fun stuff coming up. I am doing two school visits. One to my kids' elementary for their career club day, and one to Timpview High School in Provo for their career fair. It should be fun to talk to those up and coming authors!

On February 21, I'll be presenting a class on writing speculative fiction at 7pm at the Pleasant Grove Library as part of their Professional Writers Series.

On February 22, I'll be doing a podcast interview for The Goodword Podcast at 5pm, followed by a book 
signing in their store from 6-8pm.

Then on March 9, I'll be at the Write Here in Ephraim conference at Snow College in Ephraim, UT. I'll be teaching two classes. One on finding time to write and balancing life and writing, and one on writing short stories. More details on that to come!

I'll be a busy, happy girl! Hope you can come see me at some of these!

Sick Leave

Well, I've come down with pnuemonia. =( I really need to rest up and take it easy so I can make it to LTUE next week. I don't want to miss that!

Therefore, I'm not going to post on here this week. I'll be back with more Writing Speculative Fiction posts when I'm feeling better.

Good news, though! We are just a few weeks away from the release of Defenders of the Covenant! I'll be holding a big blog celebration for that, with lots of prizes up for grabs. So, stay tuned!

See you soon!

Over the Rainbow...

Where the dreams that you dare to dream really do come true. *cue Judy Garland*

I've been practicing "Over the Rainbow" with my women's choir, and that phrase really jumped out at me. Especially in light of my own dream-come-true moment this past weekend.

LTUE rocked! I had the time of my life. Seriously. What a fantastic conference it is every year.

When I first arrived, I was nervous about being on panels for the first time. Would I know what to say? Would I sound like an idiot? Would the organizers politely ask me to leave and not do any future panels? Two people put me at ease right away, though. Sandra Tayler and Paul Genesse, both of whom I had just met in person for the first time, gave me some great advice and reassurance. Thank you both, Sandra and Paul! You made a big difference for me.

My panels went great (I'll do posts on each one later), and I learned that I LOVE sitting in front of a room full of people and talking about writing. It was seriously fun! So, my dream of sitting up in the front with the big boys was even better than I imagined it would be.

Considering the number of people who were there, I am totally counting this as the fulfillment of the "present at a conference" half of my Big Goal. I hope I get many more opportunities to do so in the future.

Come See Me at LTUE

Life, the Universe, and Everything starts tomorrow! I am so excited. And nervous. I feel like a kid on Christmas Eve. I sure hope I conduct myself well on my panels. I am so nervous I'll end up looking like a dork. I've made a bunch of notes, though, and I think I'm ready. Also, there are some awesome authors on the panels with me, so that'll help. If you're going, please come say hi to me. In case you're interested, here is my schedule:

Thursday, 4pm: The Writing Life

Friday, 10am: How to Write a Good Short Story

Friday, 1pm: Dialog Tags and Speech Patterns

Saturday, 10am: Religion in Science Fiction: How to Make it Work

So, there you have it. Wish me luck!

Reasons to Smile =)

300 followers! Wow. I never dreamed so many people would take an interest in my blog. Thanks so much to all of you. I appreciate your comments and your support and your friendship. I sincerely hope I'll have something to say here at the Writing Chair that will be valuable to you.

Two new hats!

Aren't they cute? I needed something to chase away the January blahs.

I wrote yesterday! Only for half an hour and only one page, but it was one page more than I've written on any other day this week, and I actually felt good about what came out of me. Perhaps the end of writer's block is in sight.

And something that's got me really happy dancing:

Registration is now open for Life, the Universe, and Everything (aka LTUE)! February 17-19, 2011 at the Harman Conference center on the BYU campus.

But the part that really has me all giddy is that if you click on the schedule, you'll see my name there. I am on four panels. Two of them with the amazing Dave Wolverton/Farland. I have been waiting for this day for something like fifteen years! I'm really excited. And nervous.

In case you're going to be there (and all you local folks, I sure hope you are!) and are interested, here are my panels (subject to change):

Thursday, 4pm  The Writing Life (How to set and keep goals, prioritize, etc.)

Friday, 10am  How to Write a Good Short Story

Friday, 1pm  Dialog Tags and Speech Patterns

Saturday 9am  Religion in Science Fiction: How to Make it Work

So, what are you smiling about today?