The Writers Are Coming! The Writers Are Coming!

I feel somewhat like Chicken Little running up and down the streets shouting, "The sky is falling! The sky is falling!" only no one listened to her. I pray that doesn't happen here. :) In fact, I pray just the opposite. That a whole host of people will read this and learn it's a GOOD thing that the writers are coming to town.

That's right. It's time for the 8th annual ACFW Conference, and it's coming to Denver!

Some have already started arriving, but by Thursday, there will be over 500 authors, writers, editors, agents and other industry professionals present at the Denver Marriott Tech Center for fun, fellowship, training, networking, and delicious food! As a friend always says, "It's all about the food."

I'm thrilled to see the conference come to a town near me...even if I can't take advantage of it due to lack of funds. But I can still come up and hang out in the lobby and see all my friends passing by on their way to somewhere important. :) Just being present at the hotel will be a treat, as I can soak up the atmosphere and ride on the wave of excitement that fills the air each year at this conference.

It's the premier fiction writer's conference in the country, and the authors that come out of this organization are top notch, some even going on to become best-selling and award-winning authors. The training and instruction and mentoring can't be equaled anywhere else that I've found. So many members have a heart to help, which is truly inspiring.

And where else are you going to find over 100 authors all signing in the same place? You heard me right. Over 100. Go here to find a complete list.

So, Denver....look out! We're going to take this city by storm, make our mark and leave our calling card once we're gone.

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Tiffany Amber Stockton is an author, online marketing specialist and freelance web site designer who lives with her husband and fellow author in beautiful Colorado Springs. They celebrated the birth of their first child in April and have a vivacious puppy named Roxie, a Border Collie/Flat-Haired Retriever mix. She has sold eight books so far to Barbour Publishing. Other credits include writing articles for various publications, five short stories with Romancing the Christian Heart, and contributions to the books: 101 Ways to Romance Your Marriage and Grit for the Oyster.

Read more about her at her web site: http://www.amberstockton.com/.

One Thing Leads To Another

In the olden days, writing was a solitary, lonely process. When I started out writing, there was no ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) to find other writers to commune with; there wasn’t even ACRW (American Christian Romance Writers). You counted yourself lucky to happen upon another writer in your town. You sent your proposals off to an editor by snail-mail with a SASE (Self Addressed Stamped Envelope). And dinosaurs roamed the earth. (But I won’t get into dinosaurs in this post.)

I had taken a correspondence course and then found out that there was another lady in our church who was a writer too. We became friends. She knew someone who knew someone who knew a lady who was part of a critique group. My friend told me to call and I did. We both joined the group. It was so great to have other writers to understand and support me. (Because let’s face it, we writers are a different breed.)

Then I moved and lost my support group. I was alone again, writing by myself in my closet. I was desperate to find other writers, so I searched and found one. It wasn’t like my old group, but I was around writers again. :-D

The leader of that group told me about a writers conference where I met a woman who told me about another conference that I also went to. Through circumstances beyond my control, my writing sample that was supposed to go to one of my favorite authors went to an editor to be read. I was terrified. But meeting with that editor led to my first book contract and publication.

So what? You’re probably thinking.

So because I met the other writer lady at church, I joined a critique group which led to another writing group which got me to my first conference which led to my second conference which eventually led to my first contract.

If you are one of the people who don’t think you are ready to go to a conference or that you shouldn’t go because you don’t think you should spend the money, you should go. Ready or not, conferences prepare you in your writing growth. I was not ready for my first conference, but it prepared me for the next one and my first sale.

It is all a building process. You don’t know what God has planned or who He has for you to meet, so . . .

One Thing Can Lead To Another. If you don’t go, you could miss the one thing that leads to all the others.

ACFW has an awesome conference September 17th - 20th. If you are thinking of going, GO! And see what God is going to start.

Opportunities with Our Web Site

Yes, yes, it's me. The illustrious...or perhaps *infamous* web designer for our brand new ACFW Colorado web site. It's been an exciting venture to get it set up and established, not to mention handling all of the little tweaks and updates. And of course, with several different "cooks" offering input on the recipe that would eventually become the site, it's been at times harried to keep up with everything and make sure all requests were handled.

Like so many others here among my fellow board members, my life is a busy one. But it was just like God to allow me time to make it through my THREE book deadlines this past week before it came my turn to post on this blog. Yes, that's right. If you haven't figured it out yet, we're on a rotating schedule that is shared by all of the board members for the currently existing chapters of ACFW in Colorado. As we form new chapters, we'll add the new board members.

In my "other life" when I'm not doing web design, I'm a published author and the treasurer for Worship! Write! Witness!, the Colorado Springs chapter of ACFW. Last year, when it came time for elections for the board positions for 2009, I had a momentary lapse of sanity in considering the position of publicity officer and handing over my position to someone else. It was our very own Mary Davis, president of the Springs chapter, who talked some sense into me. :)

For those who aren't aware, I'm pregnant and expecting our first baby in March. It's going to bring about a lot of change, and I honestly don't know what I was thinking when I thought I could take on anything more than I already do. So, thank you, Mary, for being a somewhat sane person during my brief spell of insanity!

Now, let's get back to this fantastic web site. Yes, I can say that, since I designed it and maintain it. LOL!

How about a peek in what's coming in the next week or so? Would you like that? Yes, I thought you would.

But first, here's what we have to offer right now:

• A blog on the main page that you can follow, posted to by the board officers for our existing chapters
• Individual chapter pages featuring their upcoming schedule and speaker line-ups for 2009
• Links along the sidebars on the chapter pages to member web sites and blogs
• A preview of other groups in Colorado who may or may not be in the process of forming an official chapter, so if you live in that area, you can get in touch with others who live nearby (if they become chapters, they'll have their own page)

Next up is a page spotlighting current and upcoming events that will be taking place in Colorado. These will include our one-day conferences and our annual retreat for now. However, if there will be multi-author book signings or speaking events, we'll also highlight those as well.

In addition, we'll soon be offering the opportunity for you to request critiques of your fiction writing by professional critiquers. There will be a page where you can fill out a form with your request and submit your pages. Proceeds will benefit the chapters in Colorado.

That's all for now, but stay tuned to all of the exciting things happening. We've just launched, but already, we're buzzing and hopping.

And don't forget, our national conference this year is coming to DENVER! It's been 5 years since it's been here, and we're all excited. If you're a fiction writer and are able to attend, you don't want to miss it. Of course, your favorite board officers here in Colorado will be there to greet you too. *winks*

That's all from me for this month. Thanks for stopping by.

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Tiffany (Amber Miller) Stockton is an author and freelance web site designer who lives with her husband and fellow author in beautiful Colorado Springs. They are expecting their first child in March and have a vivacious puppy named Roxie, who is half Border Collie and half Flat-Haired Retriever. She has sold six books to the Heartsong Presents line of Barbour Publishing. Other writing credits include several writing articles for various publications, five short stories with Romancing the Christian Heart, nine contributions to the book, 101 Ways to Romance Your Marriage and 2 contributions to Grit for the Oyster. Read more about her at her web site: www.ambermiller.com.