One Great Post (Part 4 of 5)

Ah, Girls Camp.  The closer it approaches, the more dread I feel.  It is a good thing I really, REALLY love these girls.  Otherwise the meetings on top of meetings I attend prior to actual camp would be unbearable.  But before I leave so people can tell me random bits o' info about the menu for Dutch-oven night and the camp craft rotation schedule, I am posting yet again. The news I was too tired to post last night has to do with my friend and fellow writer Holly Cupala and the Summer Revision Smackdown!  To give a very, very poor explanation of the Summer Revision Smackdown:  Holly and one of her readergirlz co-divas decided to spend the summer helping YA writers everywhere to revise that dang manuscript (you know, the task that makes even taking off to Girls Camp seem like a good idea).  Each day, they're posting revision tips from some fantastic YA writers, and Holly asked ME to participate!  Click here to read what I had to say.

I just saw that today's post was by none other than Carrie Jones!  Carrie is an amazing writer and person, plus her urban fantasy Need is taking the YA world by a storm!  I guess it goes without saying that Carrie is my bff in all the world, although she lives in Maine (too far away to be part of  the Clique).  I have asked Carrie many times if she will come visit me this summer, but maybe it will sound better coming from you!  If anyone reading this will go to Carrie's blog and send her an email telling her to come to Utah this summer, I will give you chocolate.

Now, onto last week's Thursday fun at the BYU conference.  This was the night my dream came true and I got my much coveted photo with Louise Plummer!  Louise mentored me WAY back in college, when I first started seriously writing YA fiction.  She read a really bad novel I wrote that I now won't even read because it embarrasses me so.  But Louise didn't even make me a little bit embarrassed when she responded to the book.  Which is why I'm the published author I am today.

Anyway, since she was on the faculty at the BYU conference this year I was hoping to get a picture with her.  Alas, it looked as though that was not meant to be.  BUT...on the final night of the conference they held a banquet, and since I helped organize the mingle I got a special seat!  At a special table!  Which meant I was SITTING RIGHT NEXT TO LOUISE!  Oh, sweet goodness of life and its tiny miracles (okay, let's face it--for me this was a HUGE miracle).

The photo:

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