Conference Notes--Day 2

I listened to an inspiring workshop by Debbie Macomber, who shared some plotting techniques she uses. I meant to write after lunch but my evil friends led me astray and I ended up joining them in a glass of champagne and gossip in our hotel room upstairs. Which was very instructive, as it happened. Never underestimate the power of industry gossip! Some so-called 'rumours' have come to pass this week. Also learned some gossip about myself doing the rounds of Romance Writers of America, which was verrry interesting!

Then, on to the Harlequin Golden Years of Hollywood cocktail party where a glass of champagne and orange juice was just a little too much for this little black duck on top of the afternoon's libations. I've abstained from alcohol entirely for about seven months, so it's not surprising I was a little knocked sideways by the small amount of alcohol I consumed. Still, managed to take some great pics of the costumes. Was led away by a friend who saw I needed to leave but couldn't find the strength to do it, and then somehow I got sucked into a planning meeting for upcoming romance contests. Don't know how our Paula Roe manages to get so much done! She's a little curly haired dynamo. Stumbled off to bed after a debate over the value of query letters in contests. Still can't quite recall what I was doing in that meeting in the first place.