Wanda Dyson's been called a "natural" and a "master of pacing," but her fans know that whether it's police thrillers, suspense, or bringing a true story to life, Wanda knows how to take them on a journey they'll never forget. Wanda is a multipublished suspense author, currently writing for Random House/Waterbrook. Her one attempt at a nonfiction book was picked for an exclusive release on Oprah. Wanda lives in Western Maryland on a 125 acre farm with a menagerie of animals and when she's not writing critically acclaimed suspense, or away at conferences, you can find her zipping across the fields on a 4-wheeler with Maya, her German Shepherd, or plodding along at a more leisurely pace on her horse, Nanza. With the release of her newest hit, Judgment Day, Wanda is heading back to the keyboard to start on her next high-octane thriller, The Vigilante. In addition to writing full time, she is also the appointment coordinator for the CCWC, Greater Philadelphia Christian Writers, and ACFW Writers conferences. Visit her Website at www.WandaDyson.com.

With Thanksgiving around the corner and Christmas soon to follow, no one is thinking much about conferences. But it won’t be long before conference season will be in full swing, and you don’t want to be risk missing some great conferences because you weren’t prepared. One of those conferences is Jerry Jenkins’s Writing for the Soul Conference, February 10–13, 2011, in Denver.

It looks like they have another great lineup this year: Bethany House nonfiction editors along with fiction editors from Focus on the Family, Harvest House, Tyndale, Zondervan, Waterbrook/Multnomah, Strang, and Kregal, just to name a few. And some of the agents who will be available to meet with attendees include Blythe Daniel, Janet Kobobel Grant, Rachel Kent, and Terry Burns. Magazine editors will be there as well. This conference gives you three appointments, and with that line-up, you probably don’t want to miss this conference. Keep in mind that the Writing for the Soul Conference prefers you wear business casual.

Mt. Hermon Christian Writers Conference is April 15–19, 2011, in California. This is considered one of the “must attend” conferences for Christian writers. The focus is on learning craft (fiction and nonfiction), and they offer over seventy workshops for all levels of writing.

Regardless of which conference(s) you attend, if it will be your first, you might feel like hiding in your room most of the time. Don’t rob yourself of the wonderful experiences waiting there for you. Read through your conference package and familiarize yourself with the schedule. Find the freebie table—they always have some wonderful stuff there for you to take home with you, including editorial guides, bookmarks, magazines, catalogs, and pens. They don’t last long, so be sure to find that table as soon as you can.

Not sure what to do now? Look around and find others who look as lost as you do. Introduce yourself. They’ll probably be incredibly grateful for a friendly face to share this new experience with. Then, enjoy the conference.

Unless you’re under a deadline, you probably won’t get a lot of writing done during the holidays. But once that Thanksgiving turkey is little more than leftovers and you’re considering Black Friday, you will think about writing . . . but you’ll be writing your Christmas gift list. Have you ever put “conference registration” on your Christmas list? Why not? Maybe your spouse and kids will see it as the perfect gift for you. Print out the registration page of your favorite conference, put it up on the fridge, and see what happens. Santa may be nice to you this year.

Happy conferencing,

Wanda Dyson

NOVEMBER CONFERENCES

November 10-14: CLASS CHRISTIAN WRITERS’ CONFERENCE; Ghost Ranch, Abiquiu NM – 400 expected to attend; Kaeporter@gmail.com; www.classeminars.org

November 11-13: HEART OF AMERICAN FALL CONFERENCE Kansas City MO – 125; hacwn@earthlink.net; www.hacwn.org

November Conferences

November 20: AMERICAN CHRISTIAN WRITERS ORLANDO CONFERENCE, Orlando FL; ACWriters@aol.com; www.ACWriters.com

Nov 29-Dec. 5: AMERICAN CHRISTIAN WRITERS CARIBBEAN CRUISE, Caribbean Cruise; ACWriters@aol.com; www.ACWriters.com

2011 CONFERENCES

January: GLEN EYRIE FICTION WRITERS CONFERENCE, Colorado Springs CO – 100; 800-944-4536; www.gleneyriegroup.org

January: MY THOUGHTS EXACTLY WRITERS’ RETREAT, Schuyler NE- 10; 402-727-6508

January 12-14: AMERICAN CHRISTIAN WRITERS DIRECTORS’ FORUM, Nashville TN – 40-80; ACWriters@aol.com; www.ACWriters.com

February 10–13: WRITING FOR THE SOUL CONFERENCE Grand Hyatt, Denver, Colorado; 400 expected to attend contactus@christianwritersguild.com; www.christianwritersguild.com

April 15–19: MT. HERMON CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE 37 Conference Drive, Mount Hermon, CA 95041 450 expected to attend rachel.williams@mounthermon.org http://mounthermon.org/adult/professionals/writers-conference

May 11–14, 2011: COLORADO CHRISTIAN WRITERS CONFERENCE YMCA Estes Park Center, Estes Park, Co, 250 expected to attend www.WriteHisAnswer.com; MBagnull@aol.com