Susan Sands: Hottest--Happiest Place on Earth!

I just returned from the Romance Writers of America annual conference in Orlando. Disney at the

end of July ain't for sissies, y'all. The conference was held at the Dolphin resort, adjacent to its sister hotel, the Swan. Our rooms were located in the Swan, wouldn't you know? We made the "hot walk" several time a day between the two, where my sunglasses fogged up and my deodorant was challenged in ways that you don't want to hear about.

As always, RWA did an amazing job of hosting a few thousand of us writers, and keeping everyone darting to and fro to super informative sessions and workshops hosted by the industries' most savvy authors and professionals. My takeaway is, as always, that things are rapidly changing in the publishing world, and if you close your eyes, you might miss it. Don't chase trends. They will be gone by the time you arrive. Nothing is truly dead. Not chick lit, not paranormal, nothing. The names might change, but it's all semantics.

So far, I've managed to avoid the conference crud this time. Fingers crossed it doesn't catch up with me. I'm feeling a little discombobulated, though. I turned in a book I'd been frantically trying to finish just before I left, and now that I'm home, it's strange not to have that deadline looming. Of course, my daughter is a senior in high school, so there are many other obvious deadlines coming up, not to mention more college visits and the pace that is senior year. She's my third, and final child. I've now got one out of college, one in college, and one about to finish high school. The empty nest is just around the corner. We can discuss that later.

I hope everyone is enjoying their last sliver of summer.

My first book, Again, Alabama, is still free in all digital formats! Look for Christmas, Alabama coming up for pre-order very soon!!

Susan