SiWC: T-minus Eleven Days… 🦇🥀

That’s the Surrey International Writers’ Conference, if you’re wondering!

2024 "Gothic Raven" logo on wares designed and sold by the SiWC in their Redbubble store.  Yes, I want.

The countdown is really on now and because life always happens all at once, there’s a lot going on in the Pre-Conference Era… but I know exactly how lucky I am to have this opportunity and I’m so thankful and excited and am going to enjoy every second, from panels to pitch sessions and buffets to banquets.

I’m always nervous about pitching but I also love it, in that weird, adrenaline-hooked way that I sort of enjoy horrible things like job interviews and exams. (I also dread them a bit, obviously.) But I like pitching better than other high-stakes, heavy-prep occasions because more than anything, it’s just a conversation about something you love and dreamed up from scratch. And how lucky am I to get to do that, with someone else who is keen to love my imaginary world, too?

Plus, my fab friend Camille Hesketh, who is a soprano and all-around superwoman, once told me that all those nerves are just another kind of excitement - more energy to fuel your performance. So I try to look at it that way instead of peeing my pants.

Speaking of pants, the wonderful folks at Juniper & Oak Consignments helped me rustle up some banquet-worthy tops that I can wear with the one pair of slacks I plan to pack in my carry-on luggage. I promptly left both shirts outside in the rain whilst trying to air them out without taking them to the dry cleaner, but what can I say - I’m all glamour, all the time.

Which reminds me… better pack one of those laundry-stain-remover-to-go pens… 🧺🧼