Skip to main content

2006 ACFW Conference, part 1

Captain’s Log, Supplemental

Blog book giveaway:
My Monday book giveaway is Dark Hour by Ginger Garrett.
You can still enter. Just post a comment on the blog post above. On Thursday, I'll post the title for another book I'm giving away.

Part one of four:

It was a whirlwind conference for me this time, because I had people I wanted to spend time with (agent and editor) and responsibilities (Genesis contest and the awards ceremony). I felt like I was always running somewhere. As a result, I don’t really remember much about the conference, but here are some predominant memories.

I roomed with Meredith Efken again. She’s not only a brilliant writer, she’s a night owl and we never had to worry about waking each other up when going to bed.

I saw brief flashes of my friend Randy Ingermanson, and I only wish I had more time to talk to him.

Chip MacGregor, who had been Associate Publisher at FaithWords (Time Warner/Hachette Book Group, USA), announced that he is now starting his own literary agency, MacGregor Literary. I got a chance to chat briefly with him. He’s so much fun to talk to. I’m really glad he’s now back to agenting. He’ll be fabulous.

Speaking of agents, I also spent some time with Steve Laube. He’d done a few paid critiques at the conference, and I was fascinated by the fact that he used the guidelines and standards used for the prestigious Christy Awards. He went out on a limb and actually scored each manuscript so that each person would be able to see where he thought they fell on the scale.

The Christy guidelines are very explicit about aspects of craft and theme. I can imagine some of the people he critiqued might have thought his scoring a bit harsh, but the guidelines are so exact that I think it would be very helpful regardless of the bluntness of the critique.

I met a new Zondervan editor, Andy Meisenheimer. Andy’s terrific—I started insulting and teasing him as if we’d been friends for years.

I got to meet with my Senior Editor, Sue Brower, as well as my agent Wendy Lawton and Janet Kobobel Grant (Books and Such Literary Agency). We had a great time discussing marketing ideas for the book.

Next: Teaching and quiet moments.

TMI:

Writing: I posted another "Health and the Writer" post at WriterQuotes, a “Write Time” post for busy writers at WordPraize, and an agent post at my Story Sensei blog.

And in case you missed it, my review of The Secret Life of Becky Miller by Sharon Hinck is posted at the Fab Four Book Picks blog.

There’s also a book giveaway and chapter excerpt from Dark Hour by Ginger Garrett below. I’ll be posting a book review on Wednesday.

I’m working on my revisions right now. Revisions are not as clean and organized as a plotting chart—my anal side is showing, isn’t it? Please pray I can get it done on time. I want to please my editor Rachelle (who’s a great editor because she reads my blog :) ).

Diet: Don’t even ask. My parents came for a few days, which is all I need to say.

Comments

Mary DeMuth said…
Hi Camster,

You didn't mention that you asked Sue if you could have a nose ring and she told you to ask God.

I hope all is well with you. Thanks for the ACFW roundup. I look forward to hearing more.

BTW, you did a terrif job on the Genesis contest.
Anonymous said…
It was good to see you at the conference. I echo Mary's sentiments on your job with the Genesis contest. It was so well done, and I'm so happy for all the winners! Can't wait to see how it all goes down for next year.

I'm eager to hear what you have to say about the teaching/quiet moments. I know I learned a lot from these.

LOL about your diet while the parents were in town. Know what you mean. But that's what is so great about Mondays. It's a chance to start over. Even if it's for the thousandth time. Kind of like the grace of God. He forgives us even if we just confessed the same sin many times before.
Rachelle said…
Camy, is that chocolate on your nose or....?
Anonymous said…
Andy wanted you to know you spelled his name wrong. :) But it's not your fault. Who in the world has a name like Meisenheimer? (He's probably reading this and turning extrememly red and huffy - he would never be so rude as to correct an author on her own blog.) But I would. Lol!

Have a great day!

Sarah
Camy Tang said…
Dearest Andy,

Considering I wasn't even important enough to get A BUSINESS CARD I think you should be THRILLED I even mentioned you on my fabulously-popular blog!

And I'll correct the error. Sorry about that. Don't know where my brain was. OF COURSE Meisenheimer has only one s. I mean, it's not like I'm an Asian chick who rarely spells European names...
Anonymous said…
Sounds like fun! Checked out your post at WriterQuotes and WordPraize. You've been one busy chick! ;-) So how does one go about getting their book reviewed by the awe-inspiring Camy at the Fab Four Book Picks blog? ;-) Talk soon and thanks for sharing your escapades.

Popular Posts

Lavender hand lotion

Captain's Log, Stardate 11.05.2009 I have to tell you, I LOVE Etsy.com ! Etsy is dedicated to providing a marketplace for people who like to make handmade products and people who appreciate them (and buy them). It has everything from handmade gifts (like my mom’s Bucilla Christmas stockings and ornaments and tree skirts and wall hangings and … well, just click here to see what she has! ) to soaps and lotions and jewelry and knitted items and hand-painted yarn and ... I could surf that website for DAYS. Anyway, lately I’ve been concerned about the lead content in my lotions, especially since I’m using them more now that it’s turned colder and drier here in California. I have to use lotion on my hands everytime after I wash them. So I went onto Etsy and searched for organic hand lotions, and bought this lavender lotion from Lue Cosmetics . What was really nice is that the owner, Jane, sent me a direct message via Etsy right after I made the purchase to ask if I’d received it yet and ...

Tabi socks, part deux

Captain's Log, Stardate 07.25.2008 (If you're on Ravelry, friend me! I'm camytang.) I made tabi socks again! (At the bottom of the pattern is the calculation for the toe split if you're not using the same weight yarn that I did for this pattern (fingering). I also give an example from when I used worsted weight yarn with this pattern.) I used Opal yarn, Petticoat colorway. It’s a finer yarn than my last pair of tabi socks, so I altered the pattern a bit. Okay, so here’s my first foray into giving a knitting pattern. Camy’s top-down Tabi Socks I’m assuming you already know the basics of knitting socks. If you’re a beginner, here are some great tutorials: Socks 101 How to Knit Socks The Sock Knitter’s Companion A video of turning the heel Sock Knitting Tips Yarn: I have used both fingering weight and worsted weight yarn with this pattern. You just change the number of cast on stitches according to your gauge and the circumference of your ankle. Th...

I’m a Book of the Year winner!

Captain's Log, Stardate 09.22.2008 I won first place in the Debut Author category of the American Christian Fiction Writers Book of the Year awards! Here are all the winners! Debut Author Sushi for One? (Camy Tang) Zondervan, editor Sue Brower Bayou Justice (Robin Miller writing as Robin Caroll) In Between (Jenny B. Jones) Contemporary Novella Finally Home in Missouri Memories anthology (Deborah Raney) Barbour Publishing, editor Susan Downs Moonlight & Mistletoe in A Big Apple Christmas anthology (Carrie Turansky) Remaking of Moe McKenna in Race to the Altar anthology (Gloria Clover) Historical Novella Love Notes in Love Letters Anthology (Mary Davis) Barbour Publishing, editor Rebecca Germany Beyond the Memories in Missouri Memories anthology (DiAnn Mills) The Spinster & The Tycoon in The Spinster Brides of Cactus Corner anthology (Vickie McDonough) Lits Splitting Harriet (Tamara Leigh) Multnomah Books, editor Julee Schwarzb...

Grace Livingston Hill romances free to read online

I wanted to update my old post on Grace Livingston Hill romances because now there are tons more options for you to be able to read her books for free online! I’m a huge Grace Livingston Hill fan. Granted, not all her books resonate with me, but there are a few that I absolutely love, like The Enchanted Barn and Crimson Roses . And the best part is that she wrote over 100 books and I haven’t yet read them all! When I have time, I like to dive into a new GLH novel. I like the fact that most of them are romances, and I especially appreciate that they all have strong Christian themes. Occasionally the Christian content is a little heavy-handed for my taste, but it’s so interesting to see what the Christian faith was like in the early part of the 20th century. These books are often Cinderella-type stories or A Little Princess (Frances Hodgson Burnett) type stories, which I love. And the best part is that they’re all set in the early 1900s, so the time period is absolutely fasci...

Romantic guys

Captain’s Log, Stardate 10.13.2006 Heroes: I’m a TV junkie, I admit it. I’m hooked on the new series called Heroes. (It’s like X-Men, but before they realized their powers and came together to become the X-Men. And without the funky costumes.) Okay, regardless of the X-Men type storyline, one of the heroines—a high school girl—is talking to a boy she likes, the quarterback of the football team. He’s sweet-talking her and being very flattering. She says he doesn’t really know her very well. He goes into this romantic spiel about how he notices she draws unicorns in the margins of her notes in class, etc. Now here I pause the TiVo and turn to Captain Caffeine. Skeptical Asian wife: “That’s so un-guy-like! How realistic is it for a typical guy to say something eloquent and romantic like that?” Captain Caffeine: “It sounds romantic because he’s the quarterback of the football team.” Confused Asian wife: “What do you mean?” Captain Caffeine: “If he were a computer geek, he would sound like...