Bonjour! I am in Charleston, South Carolina, attending the 3-day PubSmart Conference and I can tell you there has been a lot of excellent information to absorb.
Here’s a quick explanation: “PubSmart is about introducing new models that lead to smart decisions about how to seize opportunities in today’s transformed book marketplace”.
The keynote speakers, Jane Friedman, Hugh Howey, and CJ Lyons were superb and the coolest, most down-to-earth people to chat with.
BONUS! I have a fabulous new free app especially for readers that I will share with you next week and I’m very excited about that!
Making this conference even more special was the opportunity to spend quality time with my friends and fellow authors Steena Holmes, Christine Nolfi, Leona Bodie, Bette Lee Crosby and of course, Bette’s charming husband and publisher, Dick. As always, when the literati gather, there were opportunities for wonderful connections to be made and new friendships established. The fact that PubSmart was limited to 200 attendees offered unique opportunities to mingle and chat with everyone! Truly a very special time!
This stop in Charleston fit in nicely with our trek back to Toronto from south Florida, but tomorrow afternoon we will hit the road again and be home by Saturday evening. Hopefully there will be no snow to greet us!
If it’s Friday, it must be France
Along with attending the writer’s conference … which has been exciting, innovative and energizing … I have also been tweaking the final details in my MS so I can send it off to my editor this weekend. One of the chapters involves Katherine and Philippe visiting with some friends in this intriguing village of Entrevaux. I had such a good time writing about it, I decided to share my post from last November with you again. There is a slideshow of a walk through the narrow passageways and, as I wrote, I kept those photos on my screen to remind me exactly how it felt in that ancient and mysterious, semi-abandoned village. I hope my husband and I will have time to return there this summer.
I hope you enjoy your return visit! Click here to take another Medieval Meander.
Next week I will have my act together again and bring you a new post. Thanks for your patience!
Bon weekend, tout le monde!
Patricia Sands 
Oh, like publications smart. I thought it was about how to drink beer. 😉
Haha! There was beer too! However it was a brilliant conference!
Me too! My first thought was that you must be doing some kind of pub crawl……… 😉
LOL ~ it’s fascinating how certain words elicit specific images. Now I might just go and have a beer.
😉
Pat, it sounds like the conference is exciting and motivating. A bonus that you get to spend time with fellow writers.
Look forward to hearing more about PubSmart.
Susan
Well there you are in Charleston and this person here in France has turned the last page of Sue Monk Kidd’s book The Inventory of Wings about the Grimké sisters Sarah and Angelina, famous and infamous inhabitants of that same town. 🙂
Putting it on my TBR. The culture in that part of the States is fascinating.
And amazing to visit these places where stories run deep, though little trace of them I imagine on the current facade. That Sue Monk Kidd found her protagonists had lived in the town she was living is amazing in itself!
Charleston is a gorgeous place – what a great location for a conference! Have a safe trip home and hopefully no snow… 🙂
You’re right, Meg. It’s a beautiful city and environs. The conference was excellent and the snow is all gone up here. Good timing!