I, Canadian.

Well, the Surrey International Writer’s Conference has come and gone for the…fifth year I’ve been there, I believe?  As you may recall, I’ve ranted and raved about how much this conference can help a young writer.  It certainly did for me when Tome of the Undergates was a mere fledgling book, still capable of flight before it grew too obese and resorted to hunting and devouring land-based books.

And this year, they took a chance at that reputation for quality by inviting me to conduct a workshop, “The First Time Publishing Experience.”

Did it pay off for them?

Really, that’s not something I can answer on my own.  I’d certainly like to think that my presence was an added bonus to the Conference, but that is opinion.  All I can give you are facts, such as the fact that the workshop was very nearly standing room only, or the fact that we managed to fill up the entire hour and a half period with questions from the audience and ensuring that everyone got to ask what was on their mind, or the fact that I heard from several reliable sources that the board had been raved to about my performance and my contribution.

A success?  Possibly.  We’ll see if and when I get invited back next year whether this one was just a fluke.

Still, even if no one else considers it a success, I know I had an immense amount of fun.  Don’t get me wrong, I love the adulation and respect of the crowd as much as anyone else with an ego as large and sensitive as mine (a small crowd that includes me, Abercrombie, Newton and a few Norwegian supermodels), but the true draw of this conference is not the crowds or the adoration.  It’s the fact that we get to come here and talk about a craft that we’re in love with and fuss over the finest details of it in our never-ending duty to perfect what we do.

And because of that, I want to thank all that attended.  Not just my workshop, but all that attended the conference in general, all that came to the authors to get input on their writing, all that came to the agents to offer them great potential new writers, and all that came away, accepted or rejected, stronger for the experience.  These experiences will come back to you in a good way one day.

They certainly did for me.

Oh, and big, big thanks to all the people attending who made Tome of the Undergates a sold-out sensation from the Chapters booth!  It was a respectable number and enough people wanted them that they had to order more!  To that end, though, I understand there might be a few people who wanted their book signed who didn’t get it signed.  Please, just email me and we’ll work something out!

Keep in mind, though, that the lack of a bigger book stock meant that I had a few young ladies come up to me to ask them to sign something, anything. So I obliged.

Did I take pictures?

Baby, you know me.
See you next year!