What my mother said was true, Part I

My mother had a saying: "You learn something new every day!" And yes, she always said it with an exclamation point at the end. She used this phrase all the time (she was big on phrases), and was one of the few adults I met as a child willing to admit she didn't know everything. Not only that, but that her mind could be changed by new information. I didn't realize until after her death what a truly fascinating person my mother was, but that's a topic for another day.

This weekend, I attended the (fabulous) Emerald City Writer's Conference in Bellevue, Washington. I learned a lot of things. At this point, I'm a multi-published author, however, like my mother, I understand there is still more out there to learn (how much more, is often too overwhelming to deal with).

One of the more fascinating things I learned was about the ancient art of Chinese face reading. Since the book I'm working on now (Sex, Lies and Alibis) features a heroine who is into feng shui, I was thrilled to happen upon a workshop that deals directly with something I need to know right now. As a believer that all things happen for a reason, that there are no accidents, and that "when the student is ready, the teacher will appear," I wasn't too surprised to find myself sitting in a workshop that I thought was going to be on one topic that turned out to be on another one much more perfectly suited for my needs. The Universe is so funny that way.

I learned that Chinese face reading is over 3,000 years old and has proven time and again to be accurate. This is very helpful information for an author in creating physical features for a hero, heroine, and especially a villain. This morning, I googled Chinese face reading and got a bazillion hits, so apparently I'm the only person out there who'd never heard of it. Well, you learn something new every day! (Thanks, Mom)

As for the conference itself, I had a wonderful time. Met up with some old friends, and made some new ones. The bookfair was open to the public, and the turnout was incredible. I was able to introduce my books to new readers - always an exciting thing.

Authors write with the hopes people will read what they've written. It's only partly about making an income, it's much more important that all the time we spend laboring over a manuscript will be worth the effort when a reader closes our books, satisfied. Authors love hearing from readers that we've done our jobs; it helps us write that next book, and the next one. We keep in mind the whole time, the smile you're going to get on your face when you finish our books, and think, "Wow. I loved it. I can hardly wait for her next book to come out." I tell you, I get giddy just thinking about that.

So check out Chinese face reading. And if you're a writer and want to attend the best writer's conference in the West, plan to attend the Emerald City Writers Conference next October. You might just learn something new!

...MS...