Dear Friend,
I missed you last week! I was in Albuquerque, New Mexico, attending the Romance Writers of America’s annual conference thanks to a dear and wonderful friend. It was the first time in 8 years that I’ve attended one, and boy, how things have changed. Or maybe my writing needs have changed. I think it could be a bit of both, to be truthful.
I left in the afternoon of Tuesday the 14th, joined up with Brenda in Denver, then the two of us continued on to Albuquerque, where our mutual friend Lynn was waiting for us. The hotel (Embassy Suites) may not have been as fancy as the Marriott Hotel, but it was nice, just the same, and perfect for a smaller conference.
By smaller, I mean half of what attended back in 2018. The workshops were fewer (3 every 45 minutes with a 15-minute break in between). I would say 90% of the workshops were geared for beginning or intermediate writers/authors. There were a few that I thought I might have wanted to attend, but just couldn’t justify going to them.
I did attend one on AI but was a bit disappointed as it wasn’t what I thought it would be. If you were a techy person, it would have been perfect for you. I had been hoping it would be on how AI is affecting authors.
Any food for the major presentation events was a buffet, which was a big disappointment to me on Saturday night during the awards ceremony. Even so, the food was good and filling.
As for our room, we each had our own bed to sleep in. I volunteered to sleep on the sofa bed, and it got a bit uncomfortable by night five. I was happy when Monday came. Lynn took Brenda and me to the airport, and we both headed to Denver, and then I went on to Oklahoma City. I was never so happy to cuddle under the covers of my own bed. Oh, and Simon was happy I was home as well. He loves my son and granddaughter, but I’m his person.
All in all, it was a great trip in that I got to spend time with both Brenda and Lynn, as well as being surrounded by other authors and those who support creatives. Next year RWA will have its conference in Portland, Oregon. Will I be going? Probably not.
Before I left for the conference trip, I had made the decision to make a healthy change. Both of my parents had passed due to heart conditions, and I’m overweight at 247.2 pounds. I asked my medical person about getting me qualified for the Medicare Bridge Program. It took a couple of weeks (she was on vacation, then I was at RWA) to get the correct paperwork through and then to get the actual approval. With that being said, I got approved and started on Zepbound on the 22nd.
I’m almost done with my first week, and while I did have a little nausea the first couple of nights, it has been going pretty well. I’m learning what to eat to get my minimum of 80 grams of protein, 35 grams of fiber, and 80 ounces of fluid each day. I will say that the “food noise” has really taken a few steps back, and I feel fuller for a longer amount of time. Also, I have been sleeping much better with fewer middle-of-the-night bathroom breaks.
That’s about it. I can never thank you enough for continuing to read these snippets into my life as an author. I hope I have not bored you too much with them. 😊 After all, other people's lives are never as glamorous as we may think.
May your e-reader or bookshelf overflow with delightful books to read!
Maxine
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