Well...I'm back...and the HDQ

So, as all of you know, I went to Reno last week. Well, I am back from Reno now and will give you my update.

Honestly, it wasn't as fun as I thought it would be. The last two years I have had a blast at the conferences! I mean it was just kind of dull there this time. I was so busy that I didn't have a chance to even step outside of the hotel. I didn't get a chance to go to any of the workshops that I wanted to and I wanted to rent a car and go to Tahoe, which is about a 45 minute drive from Reno, but the afternoon I had that planned, they opened my area, which was supposed to have been closed for the afternoon and would have given me a free afternoon b/c there were no workshops that afternoon. As it was, I was on my feet pretty much the whole time from about 6 in the morning to 7 or so at night – except for lunches where we all got together as a group. This year was especially heinous b/c there are usually around 1900-2100 people at the conference, but this year it was close to 3000. I was the volunteer “running” the promotions area and was kind of the liaison between the authors and publishing houses doing the promotions there and the general attendees. I enjoy doing it every year b/c, hey, free stuff, but this year was too much I think.

I mean catching up with the friends I have from across the world was fun, but I wasn't into the gambling or the drinking. I think that I had more fun talking with one of my roommates than anything else at the conference. Though I do have to say that the food was awesome, except when it came to the salads. Salad is an appetizer, not a meal. The last day, our lunch was a Southwest salad. UGH! I like salad as a whole with the occasional meal, but not every day, with every meal and as a meal.

Oh, I learned that Johnny Rockets has great fries and grilled cheese sandwiches! 

Two of my roommates were from my Austin chapter. One was a critique partner of mine and another was her other CP from England. The really pleasant surprise was that the third roommate who was also from our Austin chapter that I only met a couple of times prior to the conference is a Christian. We are close to the same age, she lives in the Austin area, has two young boys and a strong marriage, she used to live in Germany and was a missionary there in her 20s. She was talking about doing mission work and at first I thought she was Mormon, but she isn't. Turns out she was talking about genuine missionary work and not the "missions" that the Mormons send their members on. We talked and talked and talked and basically pal'd around the conference when she wasn't in workshops and I wasn't working my tail off behind the scenes. I had such a great time with her. So this conference was really beneficial to me in one significant way: I made a great new friend in my area who also is a Christian that writes romance. She writes paranormal romance by the way. Even though both of us are Christian, we aren’t fond of inspirational romances. As she says, if you say you haven’t been tempted as a Christian to do things that are un-Christian-like, then you’re lying. Nobody lives without temptation. And sexual tension is a part of life. Everyone deals with it. It’s what you do about that tension that matters.

Once I got back to Austin, nothing was better than seeing my Emily! Thank God for the children who love us! She was all I thought about on the way home, and for most of the conference. The last two years were ok being away from her, b/c she was less aware that I wasn’t there but this year was different b/c she knew that I wasn't there. The nightly calls were difficult on me. I’m not sure what I’m going to do next year. I’m not going to National in Atlanta, but to a wedding in Scotland with Matt – if we make it to then (which I really hope we do). I am debating on whether or not to take Emily or to keep her here. Then there is the whole school issue too. She’s smart enough to go into kindergarten next year at 4 and I really would like that, but the wedding falls during when school starts. What to do, what to do? Well, I have a whole year to figure it out.

Ok, so for today’s HDQ:

Is there something that you looked forward to that when you finally went to it or did it that it was a real let down and not what you had your expectations set for?

You already read my answer above. I’d like to hear yours.
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I forgot to add that other than making a new friend from Austin at the conference, the second best thing (and only other worthwhile thing worth mentioning) was the Suzanne Brockmann BBQ I went to. For anywone who knows who Suze is, yeah, it was that great! She ate dinner at our table, there was a lot of fun with her Q&A session, a skit of "The Complete Works of Suze Brockmann - Abridged" and trivia with a raffle. Laughter and a great time and yummy food (especially the desserts) was had by all. This was Thursday night. For those of you who DON'T know who Suze is: she is one of the most engaging authors today. She writes romantic suspense in hardcover about Navy SEALs and CIA agents and a Special Forces group that are kind of like troublshooters for hire. Appropriately named Troubleshooters, Inc. made up of former SEALs, etc. If you are looking for a great read with a lot of action, some great romance and an engrossing plot/story, then Suze is the one for you!