>Home from the conference

It’s hard to believe the 2008 ACFW conference has come and gone. It was all I hoped for, and most of the things that I fretted about, simply turned out to be pre-conference jitters and negative self-talk, which writers are very good at it.

I’ll be writing more later about my reflections of the conference, but for now, I want to congratulate my friend, Erica Vetsch, for receiving her first contract at the conference – in front of 500 people at that. She also placed in two Genesis categories:

FIRST in the “lit” category and THIRD in historical romance.

My Genesis category was the last item of the last award of the evening . . . you know, the one where people have started looking at their watches and hiding yawns behind their napkins. Luckily, I won the category (Young Adult) and still have a surreal feeling about the win. Blessed. Amazed. Humbled. And honored.

Having Denice with me made the night so much more fun!

Two of my local WIN buddies also placed in the Book of the Year Award. Vickie McDonough got a second and a third. Margaret Daley took home a second place win, and Linda Goodnight won a first in her category. It was thrilling to see other ACFW friends from far and wide and be able to cheer for them when they won or placed in their categories. Special congrats to Susan Meissner, Deb Raney (3 first place wins), Kim Sawyer, Camy Tang, and Mary Connealy. These gals have impacted my life and my writing so much. I want to be like them when I grow up.

The 2008 ACFW Genesis Winners:

Chick lit, mom lit, lady lit Category:
1st: Erica Vetsch, Pam On Rye
2nd: Lynda Schab, Mind Over Madi
3rd: Tiffany Kinerson, Stand On My Own Two Hands

Contemporary Fiction Category:
1st: Dan Case, The Voice
2nd: Christina Berry, Undiscovered
3rd: Jim Rubart, Book of Days

Contemporary Romance Category:
1st: Annalisa Daughety, Love is a Battlefield
2nd: Kathleen Haynes, The Quarterback Club
3rd: Cara Slaughter, Joanna’s Treasure

Historical Fiction category:
1st: Mona Hodgson, A Thimble’s Worth
2nd: Rachel Moore, A Trail of Waves
3rd: Lori Benton, Trouble The Water

Historical Romance category:
1st: Patty Smith Hall, Flights of Freedom
2nd: Karen Witemeyer, Cloud by Day
3rd: Erica Vetsch, Marriage Masquerade

Mystery/Suspense/Thriller category:
1st: Jane Thornton, Menace
2nd Donna Alice Patton, Wrestling Demons
3rd: Janice Olson, Don’t Look Back

Romantic Suspense category:
1st: Jenness Walker, Deja Vu
2nd: Dani Pettrey, Quest
3rd (tie): Kelly Ann Riley, A Cowboy’s Prayer
3rd (tie): Jane Thornton, Be Anxious

Science Fiction/Fantasy/Allegory category:
1st: Chawna Schroeder, Metamorphosis
2nd: Lynda K. Arndt, The Song of Blood and Stone
3rd: Valerie Comer, The Girl Who Cried Squid

Women’s Fiction category:
1st: Heather Goodman, 50 Things To Do Before I Turn 30
2nd: Cynthia Ruchti, They Almost Always Come Home
3rd: Kristian Tolle, When Autumn Comes

Young Adult category:
1st: Carla Stewart, An Unexpected Journey
2nd: Stefanie Morris, The Dragon of Delarest
3rd: Kasey L. Heinly, Broken Glass

Tomorrow I’ll post more pictures and tell you about the book signing at the Mall of America.

See you then!