PPWC 2026 - Day Two - Morning

Staying at the hotel is the best idea when attending a writers' conference. But my budget couldn't justify the expense when I lived only twenty minutes away from the venue.

I had to arrive on time Saturday morning. I was the moderator for best-selling author Kevin Ikenberry. Besides entertaining us with his engaging, dynamic speaking style, Kevin was going to enlighten us with Decision Making for Authors. 

He covered Evaluating Opportunities. Don't let insecurity persuade you to jump on a contract or writing offer without investigating and seeking advice. Working with Others - Know who you're working with, their reputation. On the flip side, be coachable, a team player.

Kevin spoke about several other decision making tools, using examples from his own career, for good or bad. "It's possible to do everything right and still lose." Accept that you'll make bad decisions, but know that your judgement improves with time. Embrace the moments of joy.

I rushed out at the end to meet my husband in the lobby. I purchased a an author head shot with professional photographer Allen Winston of WinstonFoto. He specializes in pet photography in addition to human portraits. Allen agreed to include our puppy and kitten in the photo shoot. I can hardly wait to see the results!

After posing for the camera, I attended another session presented by David Lyons. The passion he and his wife have for the victims of crime came through in his talk The Human Side of Crime: Survivors, Detectives, and Emotional Intelligence. David's list of who pays the price in a murder demonstrated how crime touches an entire community. He asked us, "Are any of these people erased in fiction?" The talk made me consider broadening the scope of the effects of crime on characters in my stories.

​The lunch keynote was given by author Pippa Grant. Her talk was inspiring, taking us on her writing journey. It was also very entertaining, with lots of laughs.

Halfway through day two already? The conference was going by too fast.

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