Wonderful Autumn Escape

by Maggie Sefton

The view from my hotel window

This past Sunday evening I returned from a four-day writers' conference in St. Pete's Beach on Florida's beautiful west coast.  Novelists Inc or NINC is made up of multi-published authors from every publishing genre imaginable.  Mystery, Fantasy, Romance, Historical, Paranormal, Science Fiction and Young Adult.  And there are blends of all those genres as well.



As you can see from the photos I'm posting, there was plenty of temptation to escape the conference sessions and wander outside in the balmy low 80s weather.  But---all of us stayed to attend the very interesting sessions that were presented on all aspects of publishing in today's competitive marketplace.  Believe me, we learned something at every session.  There were representatives there of publishing houses as well as literary agencies and all the important retailers like Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and iBooks/iTunes.  And some new ones attended that are located mostly in Europe like Kobo.


Look at the beautiful colors in the Gulf of Mexico waters

The sessions were fascinating as well as providing a chance for writers to get together and socialize.  That is especially fun.  Most of us would escape outside to the many cafes and restaurants scattered around, and even drive off to favorite spots.  We've all built some long-lasting friendships at these conferences.  And, it was especially fun to see fellow Cozy Chick Lorraine Bartlett there with her husband
aka Mr. L.