OWFI (Oklahoma Writers Federation held in Oklahoma City May 2nd & 3rd)

Can't believe the conference has come and gone. I believe each year gets better and better. 

I had the great privilege to work with Shelley Pagach at the registration table this year. Greeting everyone as they check in has become one of my favorite parts of the conference. And Shelley had everything in order and easy to find. The bookstore was available during the entirety of the conference. I brought three titles.

I counted forty-two classes. I attended nine of them. What were some of the subjects? Poetry, short-story- horror and otherwise, narrative non-fiction, serial fiction, villains, and YA fiction. There were also sessions on book launches, pitching, indie publishing, hustling, and marketing your books. AI got some equal time. Substack, Facebook, more than I can list. (Or that you'd want to read.) I had my favorites, but I am not going to pick favorites. (LOL)

The Friday night banquet was a great deal of fun. I didn't participate in the Noir Year Mayhem Masquerade-Costume Contest, but there were alot of others who did. It was terrific to watch. Some were very clever, like Sam (real Spade), and the chalk line body. 

Jim Butcher's (author of the Dresden Files) Keynote address was entertaining as well as enlightening. How to Fail at Writing included his anecdotes about learning the writing craft from a very dedicated teacher (when he finally chose to follow her advice.) Working nine years before success and a determination that would not allow him to quit. Of course, the moral of the story is that the way you fail at writing is to quit. I actually won one of his books in a drawing!!  

Saturday's banquet included a very good dinner and the awards ceremony. We all waited anxiously for the names to be called. I was happy to place with three of my stories, Fox Haven, Dream Weaver, and Children of Kepler, all in various unpublished categories. 

The whole event was glorious!