It is always so nice to be home

I had a ball at the annual Romance Writers of America conference!

I got to see people I hadn't seen for quite a few years and meet amazing new talented fun people. I spent time with good friends, revelled in all of it and danced my heart out at the Harlequin party.

But boy am I glad to be home. :)

Yesterday, after getting up at 3 a.m. and flying pretty much all day, then driving the 3 hours home, all I could think about when I wasn't sleeping was getting back to normal.

Normal for me is writing and I can't wait to get back to it today. Yesterday, even exhausted, the characters started prodding me to get to work. I'm anxious to return to Whitehorse and find out what the Winchesters are up to. They'll be making an appearance next spring.

My normal is quite different from the RWA conference in Washington DC.

The first thing I notice is the quiet. The roar of that many people all talking about their books, their editors, their agents, their hopes and dreams is deafening. You can't get on an elevator without hearing the catch phrases: "My agent says I just have to establish my brand." "The editor told me to send her a partial." "I just pitched my book to her and she loved it."

It's hard not to get caught up in that. A conference is a place where dreams come true and the excitement in the air is contagious. So many aspiring writers are hoping this will be the conference where it happens for them. I sure hope it did. And the published as always looking for that opportunity that puts them on the New York Times bestseller list.

There is no place like a large, noisy, crazy writers conference. I've found you either come home excited about writing or threatening to sell your computer and get a real job.

I came home on a high like none other. It was all good. But ultimately, after the glamour and glitter, it will come down to those long hours spent alone in front of a computer screen.

The next RWA conference is only a year away, this time in Nashville, and anything can happen -- if you dream it -- and write with all your heart.