San Francisco, California
12 hours into the Maui Writers’ Conference, and I was wondering if was all a spectacular waste of time, money, and aeroplane fuel. 36 hours in, and I was very glad I came.
I’m not going to count any chickens yet, but with a little bit of preparation and a lot of chutzpah, I managed to see all the agents and editors that I wanted to see, and made a few new friends besides, like Catherine and Paula (see above), specialists in bereavement and mental illness respectively.
Maybe predictably, I met them in a bar next door to the hotel.
Only time will tell if my last-minute decision to go to Hawaii pays dividends in terms of a book deal, but there seemed to be a good reaction to my book proposal (pulled together in a hurry, but none the worse for it – in fact, I was rather proud of the results) and I am hopeful that at least one of the leads opened up may come to fruition.
Even if not, the trip was well worth it anyway – apart from Catherine and Paula, I met yet more remarkable people. See next dispatch….