Help Me Prep For GCLS

Posted byrachelspanglerPosted inUncategorized

Hey Folks,

I’m in the midst of a big road trip, first to Kentucky then to Orlando for a quick trip to GCLS.  I’ve been so busy packing and planning itineraries and making transportation arrangements that I really haven’t had time to think about what I’m going to do when I actually get there.  Just yesterday Susie asked “Are you going to do anything official at GCLS?”  I said “That is a GREAT question.”  Well it turns out I am!

I’m going to be part of the author auction (Sans chaps this year) which is always fun and a great way to raise money for the organization.  I also have the distinct honor of doing a coffee chat with Elizabeth Sims and Marcia Finical.  I have never met either of these women but I am sure we will be bestest friends by the end of our session.  The coffee chat format is casual and fun and leaves everyone in the room with tons of freedom to go where ever we want to go.  I hope the audience comes in with some great questions, but if occurs to me that I don’t really have any of my own.  I’m very much a pantser and this may surprise you about me but I’m a little bit extroverted too, so preparing conversation topics ahead of time has never really been anything I’ve felt the need to do, still I thought maybe we might get more out of the experience if I didn’t wing it. Maybe I should go in with a list of awesome burning questions, alas I do not really have any awesome burning questions.

Do you?

If you were an author going in to meet two other authors, what would be on the top of your “to ask” list?  Would you even have a “to ask” list? What would you hope they asked you?

Lay it on me!

Published by rachelspangler

Rachel Spangler never set out to be an award winning author. She was just so poor and so easily bored during her college years that she had to come up with creative ways to entertain herself, and her first novel, Learning Curve, was born out of one such attempt. She was sincerely surprised when it was accepted for publication and even more shocked when it won the Golden Crown Literary Award for Debut Author. Since writing was turning out to be a real blast, Rachel decided to combine it with another passion and set her next romance on the ski slopes, and was absolutely stunned when her second novel, Trails Merge, won a Goldie in the category of Contemporary Romance. However, no amount of book signing or award winning can really change a Midwestern boi, and her third novel, the Goldie finalist The Long Way Home is just that, a return to the themes and settings that mean the most in Rachel’s life and writing. Her forthcoming novels include LoveLife (April 2011) and Spanish Heart (October 2011), both from Bold Strokes Books. Rachel and her partner, Susan, are raising their young son in small-town western New York, where during the winter they all make the most of the lake effect snow on local ski slopes, and in summer they love to travel and watch their beloved St. Louis Cardinals. Regardless of the season, Rachel always makes time for a good romance, whether she’s reading it, writing it, or living it. Rachel can be found online at www.RachelSpangler.com as well as on Facebook.

3 thoughts on “Help Me Prep For GCLS”

  1. I know this one is probably way overdone…I’ve heard from some people that writers should avoid using personal experience, while others say to use it, if nothing else as a base (write what you know). Where do other writers stand on that?

    Also, how on EARTH do they get past the first paragraph? And how many first paragraphs do they totally trash once they get into the story?

    Lastly, am I the only person with a totally trashed desk? 🙂

    Reply

  2. Hey Rachel.

    One question that might help us see into the mind of any author, is why do they do, what they do? What does it bring back to an author, to spend all those thousands of hours writing?

    We’ve come so far with lesfic in 30 years, with more writers, more publishers, more fans; where do you see us being in another 30 ?

    Lucky you to be going to the GCLS! Have a great time!

    Reply
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