Interview at Annalisa's Site

I am being interviewed at Annalisa’s site - please stop by and say hello!

The Insecure Writer’s Support Group and Spunky on the Road – Conferences and More

It’s time for another edition of The Insecure Writer’s Support Group, founded by Ninja Captain, Alex J. Cavanaugh.

The question for today: How long have you been blogging? (Or on Facebook/Twitter/Instagram?) What do you like about it and how has it changed?

I started this blog on March 22, 2005. Nineteen years ago! I had no idea what I was doing, but I’d attended a seminar on blogging at the Virginia Festival of the Book that month and decided to give it a try.

I can’t begin to tell you the changes over the years. In the beginning, a blog was more like a free website. It wasn’t the community that most of us know. Other bloggers didn’t follow and comment on other blogs. We were just throwing stuff out there, hoping someone would find us.

While blogging has waned the past few years, it’s still a community, and that’s nice. I might not blog but once a month now, but I like connecting with other writers and friends I’ve made over the years.

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Spunky on the Road

I’ve a lot of events coming up, which is fun. I just did a book store last month, the first one I’ve done in YEARS. (I SO miss Waldenbooks.) But here are the events for the next two months:

April 13, 10-2:00 pm
Local Authors Fair
Clayton Center, Clayton NC

April 17, 9-1:00 pm
Read Local Author Fair
Hosted by Mauney Memorial Library
Patrick Senior Center, King’s Mountain, NC
Featured speaker!

May 4, 11-2:00 pm
The Novel Nest Bookstore, Wilson, NC 27993

May 17-19
Pennwriters Conference
Double Tree Resort, Lancaster, PA
Presenter

June 1, 10:30-12:30 pm
Story Keeper Bookstore, Selma, NC

The Pennwriters Conference will be a double bonus, as I finally get to meet author Susan Gourley! (And I appreciate her recommending me for the conference.)

I still remember meeting Toi Thomas at the Hampton Roads Writers Conference in Virginia Beach, VA. She was so excited to meet ME, but the feeling was mutual.

My favorite conference will always be the Bayou Writers Conference in Lake Charles, LA. Bless IWSG anthology author Jessica Ferguson for recommending me. I also got to meet IWSG anthology author Slyvia Ney.
They flew me to Louisiana (my first visit!), put me up in a super nice hotel, and treated me like royalty the whole weekend. (Double bonus – my best friend, Kerri, who had just moved to Texas and I'd feared I’d never see her again, drove in for the conference and we got to spend the weekend together.)

So, to say that I am THRILLED to be doing so many live events again would be an understatement.

What about you? Do you enjoy live events? How long have you been blogging?