NESCBWI

I had a fun time at the New England Society of Children's Book Authors and Illustrators conference in Springfield, Massachusetts this weekend.  It was great to see so many friends and meet new people.

On my drive there, when I got off the Mass Pike in Chicopee, I was greeted by this big statue. At first, I thought it was Abraham Lincoln, but apparently this is "Muffler Man" or otherwise known as "Big White Guy."  While I was waiting for the light to change, I snapped this photo of him through my car windshield. 

As this conference has grown, it has needed bigger and bigger venues.  One of the organizers told me there were 868 people at the conference this year.  Not many venues can accomodate a conference of that size, and this year it was in Springfield, Massachusetts. I'm not much of a city driver, and Springfield was a challenge for me. But I made it!  And here was the beautiful view from my hotel room.



NESCBWI was the first writing conference I ever attended.  That year, it was in Sturbridge, Massachusetts and I drove down with Mona Pease, a writer who has become one of my dearest friends. I brought 10 pages of a manuscript for critique, and that manuscript was Rules.  I've met so many of my author friends through that conference.  So it's a special place for me, no matter where it's held.