ONCE UPON A TIME,
THERE WAS A
GIRL
WHO LOVED
BOOKS.
IT WAS ME.
THE END.
Coolest shirts ever, right? Kitty got them for us.
Think KM Shea, Melanie Cellier, and Kenley Davidson are some of the coolest people on the planet? So do I. So much, so, that I about geeked out when I got to meet my friends all IN PERSON for the first time after knowing one another online for nearly three years.
Three years. Can you believe it?!
Unfortunately, Shari L. Tapscott and Aya Ling were not able to join us. (I know, we were broken-hearted, too.) But they were in our hearts, and Shari agreed to let us represent her as a fox throughout the length of the conference, and if I may say so, she did “fox” quite gracefully. In fact, here she is:
It’s funny, you always wonder what it’ll be like to meet your special people in person, kind of like a mail-order bride…I guess? Only we weren’t getting married. Or moving. Or leaving everything and everyone behind.
But these ladies were just as wonderful…even moreso than I imagined. We fell right into step as if we’d been hanging out for years instead of texting for that long.
NINC was more wonderful than I can really express. I learned so much and met so many professional. And it was just amazing to get to find “my people” business-wise.
Not really a surprise, fairy tale authors aren’t quite as well-known as the thriller authors, but our group, thanks to Kitty’s shirts, found our own little niche, and it was fantastic. I’ll be making some pretty big pivots business-wise that will hopefully make this amazing experience better for me and all of you amazing readers.
Oh, and if I forgot to mention, Melanie and I went to Disney World together! Where she bought me balloons and gluten-free cake for my birthday. Do you know how hard it is to find gluten-free cake? Or how long it’s been since someone bought me balloons? This lady and her family were so much fun to be with, and I’m so grateful we got to share the experience.
And yes, the moms got a ride to ourselves. It was actually Flight of Passage in Animal Kingdom, the ride which prompted me to figure out one of my world building snags in my upcoming dragon trilogy. And as Mel is the one who got me on the ride, I totally owe that to her.
It was honestly the best vacation of my life. I got my husband and babies as well as my friends. Cross that with business and my birthday, and you’ve got a winner.
Of course, it wouldn’t be a proper vacation for my family unless we had some sort of illness. My son had some sort of reaction to either a medication or something on location, and we had to visit the Disney First Aid centers multiple times (which are flipping amazing, btw. Real RN’s and everything) and a trip to urgent care the night before we drove hom.
But, being a Disney Princess at heart, I can’t wait to go again. And hopefully, we’ll eventually have the whole gang together!
What was your favorite vacation? Post pics below!