Georgia Beers | GCLS 2009

GCLS 2009

Written by Georgia

I’m back, and happy to be here. What a weekend! I’m freaking exhausted, running on three hours of sleep (if I’d known the shuttle has to pick you up 2-3 hours before your plane leaves, I wouldn’t have booked myself on a 6 a.m. flight), and in need of a shower, but I wanted to take a little time to empty my head, share with you my very first blog on my new website, and talk about how the GCLS annual conference always makes me feel.

There’s something so incredibly inspiring for a writer to attend a gathering like the GCLS conference…the understanding that a large percentage of the people there paid a good chunk of money to see you and get your autograph or listen to you read or (in my case this year) actually hope to learn something from you about their craft, is immensely humbling. I have participated in panels and discussions in conferences past and I did so again this year. Rachel Spangler and I spent a wonderful hour in a Coffee Chat where we took turns making one another blush while also actually managing to talk about our writing (and Rachel snagged not one, but two Goldies this year…woo hoo!). I also took part in the Author Auction, which was such a blast (despite how nerve-wracking it is to stand onstage while women shout out the monetary amounts they’re willing to spend—or not spend—to dance with you), and together, my fellow authors and I helped raise more than $2,300 for the GCLS. We were a pretty proud bunch and weren’t above some questionable behavior to raise the bids—lap dancing, assless chaps, and stripping, to be specific. (I’ve already started saving my money for next year so I can buy Karin Kallmaker—I want to see if I can use osmosis to soak up some of her writing juju, but the woman doesn’t come cheap.)

This year was a first for me. I’ve attended every conference since the beginning, so this was number five, but for the first time, I gave a presentation all by my lonesome. Lori Lake and Patti Schramm asked if I’d be willing to do so and I said, “Of course,” assuming (wrongly) that they’d give me more than a title to work with. But “The Art of Romance” was all the coaching I got and the rest was up to me. After many weeks of panic, I stopped whining and put my nose to the grindstone, outlining what I know about the subject (surprising myself) and what works for me when it comes to crafting a romance novel. Bonnie made me a kick-ass PowerPoint slideshow to go with it (which I’ll post on this site as soon as Webdiva Tami tells me how). I was nervous as hell as the time to present got closer, but I decided that being honest with my audience (of more than twenty-five!) was the way to go, so I told them how anxious I was. I began too fast and was shaky for the first five minutes or so, but my attendees were awesome, participating in discussions, asking questions, and really getting into it. Initially, I worried that I was going to run short, but an hour and fifteen minutes later, we were still talking, still debating, still discussing. I felt absolutely jazzed afterwards, totally on a high, and I heard from a lot of people about how much they got from it. So, I’m really thankful to have been given the opportunity to actually share what I’ve learned with others who do—or want to do—what I do.

I was humbled a bit when Lee Lynch received the Trailblazer award at the ceremony on Saturday night. Hearing about her life and her activism reminded me how woefully uneducated I am when it comes to the women who paved the way for me, and it embarrasses me to admit that. I’ve made a pact with myself to do some research, to look up old articles and columns so I can learn and appreciate what people like Lee and Ann Bannon and Katherine Forrest did many years ago so that people like me can do what we do today and do it freely.

So now I’m home, back with my sweetie and so happy about it. It’s the first GCLS conference ever that I attended without Bonnie and I won’t do it again (and thank you to everybody who asked about her…how sweet are you guys?). I’m utterly exhausted, but still on somewhat of a high. I don’t know exactly how to explain it, but every time I return from the GCLS conference, I’m stoked about writing. I can’t wait to hunker down with an idea and get to work. I think the people who attend and go out of their way to tell me they enjoy my work really make me want to give them more, and isn’t that what every writer wants? Inspiration? A reason to keep doing what we love? That’s what I find at the GCLS conference, and I thank each and every one of you for giving that to me. Anybody who knows me knows it’s been a rough year and a half for me in the publishing world, but a gathering like the one I just attended renews my faith, restores my confidence, and reminds me why I do what I do. So, thank you.

And now…I must shower.