Every event has a highlight. For the Surrey International Writers’ Conference, it has to be after the Saturday evening’s theme banquet, when author Jack Whyte offers up his annual rendition of ‘The Hippopotamus Song’. This year’s performance was especially poignant because many of us know we almost lost Jack last year following his November 30, 2012 surgery to remove a portion of his left lung.
Last Saturday night he sang with every bit of his usual gusto. I won’t soon forget it. Here’s a taste:
Memories are highlights to savour long after the event is over, and I have so many…
Lots of memories:
Meeting new friends,
reuniting with old friends from previous years’ conferences, and
celebrating their achievements
Sharing a special weekend of mother/daughter camaraderie
Attending eight excellent workshops (out of a choice of 72),
listening to six sensational keynote speakers,
being brave and bold through two agent and editor interviews,
and an oh-so helpful Blue Pencil consultation with Hallie Ephron
.
Being reminded,
“There are people out there
who need the stories only YOU can write…
Your voice matters.”
(Jim Hines)
and yes, Jim, we do have Internet here in Canada!
.
Lots of smiles:
A young women, barefoot and wearing scanty pajamas,
creeping out of the elevator in the hotel lobby
“I locked myself out of my room”
(No, of course I didn’t have my camera handy!)
The heartbeat at Michael Slade’s Friday night ‘Shock Theatre’…
“Ba-boom! ba-boom! ba-boom!”
and Robert Dugoni with a pumpkin over his head!
“Gravatar???”
and exchanging great lunchtime conversation with
Seth Jaret
Borrowing extra wine glasses from the bartender
“You gotta be bad. You gotta be bold. You gotta be wiser…”*
(the finale to Bruce Hale‘s keynote speech Sunday)
There are umpteen more memories lurking in remote crevices of my overfilled brain, but it’s time to take myself to bed and begin the post-conference decompressing.
How do you extricate the gems after a condensed period of ‘information overload’?
~ ~ ~
*You Gotta Be (Des’ree)
.
MUSINGS 
Glad you had a good time. Would love to have been a fly on the wall during the blue pencil session. I always get a lot out of hearing someone else’s critique – both for writing and for critiquing.
Love the pics and the quotes, and the lady who locked herself out of her room. That’s something I’d do.
Great recap! It was a fantastic weekend…now to catch up on sleep and keep the inspiration a-flowin’!
Lovely blog, and thanks for your kind comments, husband waiting for a cancer operation, so rather slow in replying. Kind regards, Carole.
Even though I’m late in responding, I truly do appreciate your comments, Judith, Joylene, Leanne and Carole Anne. I still don’t seem to have caught up on my sleep but I’d swap sleep for inspiration any time! It was a great conference weekend, as always.
Carole Anne, I know this is a difficult time and my prayers are with you and your husband.