Pictures

Maggie Awards, Saturday October 3, 2009

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The Georgia Romance Writers held their Moonlight & Magnolias Conference this weekend and Saturday night was the Maggie awards.
A very special treat for me… my hubby came along as my date. Here we are before the Awards Ceremony.

And here are the results:

1st Place ~ Keli Gwyn, Violets & Violins

Kelli was in California and unable to attend the Maggies. She gave a wonderful acceptance speech from her cell phone, while our own GRW member, Walt, held the phone to the microphone. If I’d been using my head, I would have taken a picture of Walt holding the phone to the mic!

Congratulations, Kelli! I know we’ve seen you visit the FAITH blog in the past! We’re celebrating with you!

2nd Place ~ Christine Johnson, The Aviatrix

3rd Place ~ Belinda Peterson, Dreaming of You

Look how beautiful she looks!!! Lindi is such a wonderful encourager! I will never forget my second GRW meeting (the first had been about 2-3 years earlier and I’d been too afraid to return until 2006). I sat down beside Lindi and she made me feel like we’d been friends forever. And then she introduced me to Missy, another great encourager, and ACFW… The rest is history. Congratulations, my friend!

4th Place ~ Cara Slaughter, Love on Assignment

Honorable Mention
~ Christy LaShea, The Bridge Between
~ Dianna Shuford, Racing Against Time

~ I was honored to have tied with my critique partner.

It was an honor to have been a Maggie finalist, especially with these two great ladies!

What are you celebrating? I’d love to learn about it and celebrate with you!

ACFW Conference Highlights

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Worship is always awesome at ACFW. It brings us back to why we write and who we’re writing for. Praising God for our accomplishments and guidance to our goals.
This song is so meaningful to me. While I’m waiting, I will serve You Lord… those are just some of the lyrics. We need to apply that to every aspect of our life… from hard times with family, to challenges at work when we wonder or ask God – “Lord, why am I here?” – to waiting for our dreams to come true. Remember to serve Him while you wait on His answer!

Here, Rachel Hauck leads worship. Her Glory band is fabulous!

FAITH Sisters Mindy and Angie ~ They are a wonderful support for me and I’m glad to call them sisters in Christ!

Here is best selling author Debbie Macomber.

Debbie has been one of my favorite authors for years and it was such a treat hearing her speak at ACFW Conference this year. She overcame obstacles of dyslexia, to many years of rejection. Perserverance pays off!

A view from the Marriott at the Denver Tech Center.

One of the best views I could grab of the mountains in the distance.


ACFW – Arrival in Denver

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Today was a beautiful day to fly… Here is my view from seat F. I sat beside two ladies in route to a wedding.

For a yet-to-be-published writer, I think it can be a bit uncomfortable when someone asks you what you write. I’m sure I blushed when these ladies grilled me about who I was and what I wrote as the plane parked and we all started to file out of the tiny aircraft. Sometimes, it’s hard to remember what you write and please don’t ask me about the book I’ve been working on for five years… I wasn’t ready to pitch! I thought I’d only have to pitch to editors and agents – not my flight buddies!

I tried to steer them toward my two published friends sitting ahead of me, Julie Garmon and Missy Tippens, but these ladies were intent on trying to figure if they’d read anything I’d written, or trying to plant in their mind my name. Such sweet ladies and hopefully, if I’m ever published, they’ll remember to look for Christy LaShea on the bookshelves, instead of remembering the fluttery red-head who couldn’t remember her name or the current book she was working on.

Then again, that flight to Denver may be one fat fog for them…

Ah! The Hotel! This is the Marriott at the Denver Tech Center.
It’s a gorgeous hotel. Multicolored red carpet blankets the corridors. Stone is laid near the entryway and elevators. There are columns of what I think may be flagstone.
The hotel is huge and spacious. The staff is polite and accommodating and I think I can make this home for the next four days.

View for your day

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“Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?
Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
So why do you worry about clothing? Consider, the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin;
and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?”
Matthew 6:26-30 (NKJV)

Burt’s Pumpkin Farm

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Beyond Dawsonville Georgia located at 4801 Highway 52 is a place I know has become a tradition for many families. Burt’s Pumpkin Farm is a place my family has gone for years, every year as the seasons turn from summer to fall. Here are some photos.

Note this very informative and important message from Management at Burt’s Pumpkin Farm:

Downey tries to push the pumpkin!

Gotta get you some deee-licious boiled peanuts!

My niece Savannah with all those pumpkins!

My nephew Landon, Downey in the background, climbing and sitting on the pumpkins.
As you can tell, the Smith’s don’t adhere to directions very well 😉

Landon and his dad Blake waiting in the looong line for the Hay ride!

And we always have to get a slushie.

Downey, Savannah & Landon’s Nana musing over the kids.

More pics to come….

ACFW Conference 2008 – Wednesday!

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I flew into Minneapolis around 5:30. I wasn’t alone for long. There were a lot of ACFW folks waiting for the hotel shuttle. Once we settled in at the hotel, a group of about 15-20 of us invaded the Olive Garden for dinner…


Here’s two of my good friends, Amy Wallace(Author of Ransomed Dreams and Healing Promises) and F.A.I.T.H. girl, Jennifer Hudson Taylor


And here’s my roomie, and fellow F.A.I.T.H. Girl Mindy Obenhaus with new CBA author Beth Wiseman (Author of Plain Perfect)


And with F.A.I.T.H. Girl Angie Breidenbach is her Agent Tamela Hancock Murray.


Texas Ladies Anne, Dawn and Lena Nelson Dooley (Multipubbed author of more books than I have room to mention here!) share a delicious Gelato!

And here’s the whole gang! I know the good people of Olive Garden were glad when all of us chatty authors left. But we had a great time. If you’re ever in Minneapolis, visit the Olive Garden not far from the Sheraton. Don’t ask me how to get there. I couldn’t begin to tell you….But we sure had fun!