Storyteller's Journey

Last weekend my storyteller's journey took me to the SCBWI Fall Retreat at Silver Falls State Park. On the third day of the conference I was able to fit in a bit of hiking and enjoyed the beautiful scenery at South Falls. Since we were treated to a rare day of sunshine in the Pacific Northwest that day, many other nature lovers had the same idea! Even though it was a bit crowded in the park, I was able to capture a few good photos - I'll share them with you on Sundays, in the coming weeks.

(Left-Right)

Although I thoroughly enjoyed the nature walks, what I will remember most from that amazing weekend is the great information that was shared from the five ladies pictured here. Their knowledge of all things literary is only exceeded by their kindness and generosity of heart!




Karen Grencik - Co-Founder of Red Fox Literary
Emma Dryden - Dryden Books - Editor & Consultant
Michele Torrey - Award-Winning Author
Suz Blackaby - Award-Winning Author/Illustrator
Ellen Hopkins - NY Times Bestselling Author

The wealth of information and insight, all given with a high level of expertise, (& a dash of humor ^_^) was overwhelming. When I returned home I informed my husband I felt like my mind, my heart, and my soul were about to explode! As I process through the valuable instruction I received I will share it all with you in the coming weeks. However, it will be given from my own perspective, so I will not be giving information from any of these wonderful speakers specifically; rather, how it fits into my journey as an aspiring author. By the way, thanks also to Robin Koontz and Judith Gardiner. In the midst of pursuing their own writing careers they managed to put on one heck of a writers' conference for SCBWI - you two are awesome. I hope to see you & a lot of new friends again next year!