Tag: Spellbinders Conference 2012

Spellbinders Conference in Hawaii on Aug. 31, 2012

On September 1, 2012

Pulitzer-prize winning author Jane Smiley and Jack (her significant other) who live in Carmel, California, now, but Jane is an Iowa graduate and taught at Ames for many years.

I’m here in balmy Hawaii on the 18th floor of the Hilton Hawaiian Village and tonight was the Welcome Cocktail party, which had rumaki, crab cakes, and many other delicacies I was not able to identify. (Drink tickets, too). I enjoy it immensely. Not only did I get to meet the great Jane Smiley, who wrote “1,000 Acres” and won the 1992 Pulitzer Prize for same, but I found out about the December 15th New Orleans Writers’ Tour of that great city (a fundraiser, primarily) and met Gary Braver of Boston, whose class I so wanted to take back when the last Hawaii Writers’ Conference under John Tulius was held.
This is a “new, improved” Hawaii Writers’ Conference, with no Mr. Powers (thank the Lord) but Gary Braver is still here and many new and equally gifted writers, including F. Paul Wilson (whom I shall referemce as Cousin Paul henceforth, to his eternal consternation), Jane Smiley, Gary Braver and others. I cannot think of all the names of all the luminaries, but Heather Graham and I talked at length about her wonderful fund-raising efforts to aid New Orleans and how that will go down, again, on Dec. 15th, this year, with Jonathan Maberry and David Morrell in attendance. I hope to be there.

Author Jane Smiley, Writer James Strauss (“House,” “Deadwood,” “John from Cincinnati,” the novel “The Boy”) and his wonderful wife of 44 years, Mary) in Hawaii at the Spellbinders’ Welcoming night cocktail party, which James helped helm.

The weather has been balmy, slighty windy, about 80 degrees and typically Hawaiian. I always wanted to retire to Hawaii, but was soon dispossessed of that delusion after the reading of the will. (“Well, you can RENT a place for a couple of weeks but you can’t LIVE there.”)

Here I am, however, on my 6th or 7th trip to the Islands and scheduled to present (with others) tomorrow at 2:00 p.m. till 2:50 p\.m

A wonderfu; time.

Presenting at the Hawaii Writers’ Conference (aka Spellbinders Conference)

By Connie Wilson

On August 31, 2012

In Books, travel

John Teehan (“The Merry Blacksmith”) and I in Chicago.

We are now in Hawaii, but, before leaving Chicago, I had the distinct pleasure to meet John Teehan (Publisher, “The Merry Blacksmith”), a wonderful layout artist and publisher extraordinaire, who was in Chicago. (He took the train!) John will be attending WorldCon in the Windy City, while I will be taking on the 50th (and newest) state for SpellbindersConference.com . [What a team! “I cover the Heartland” (and all parts hither) and John is East coast-based (Providence, R.I.)] John was also able to save the day in sending a PDF file of “H&D II” to a Virtual Tour participant who had not received the book yet.

Here, you see us on the balcony of my Writer’s Lair in Chicago, with the Chicago skyline in the background. Shortly afterwards, we dined at Scout in my neighborhood, a sports bar in the Central Station District.

Next morning, bright and early (and you all know how much I love early morning risings), we departed for Hawaii, leaving for the airport 2 and 1/2 hours prior to our boarding time of 9:13 a.m. The flight was uneventful, except that the stewardess was very nice and asked why we were going to Hawaii and I got to say I was “presenting at the Hawaii Writers’ Conference,” which is actually true. She asked for my card and said, “I knew there was a reason I liked you.” Nice gal.

Craig enjoys the creatures at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

We arrived at 2 p.m. Hawaii time and wandered around gathering supplies for our lovely ocean-view room. The only problem with the 18th floor ocean view is that there is also a view of the construction on a new swimming pool down below. We ate dinner (pizza) and finally decided we were too tired to do much else. (Despite a 2-hour nap upon arrival).

I tried to sign on to the Internet in our room ($16.95 per day) and it would not work. Therefore, I am now down in the “internet free” courtyard in 80 degree balmy Hawaiian weather, with lovely songs accompanying the sound of buzz saws and building (the construction outside our window). Ah, yes, the sound of a chain saw!

I went down to claim my books, mailed from the East Moline Post Office on August 14 and scheduled to arrive on August 27th. They were not in the business office, but the tracking slip revealed that they had, in fact, arrived as scheduled on August 27th and were now sitting in the post office. Leaving that problem for today, we turned in early and Craig got up early.

A gaggle of Republican turtles discussing the rambling and disrespectful remarks of Dirty Harry at last night’s RNC in Tampa.

I registered and went into the ballroom to sit and chat with Gary Braver of Boston, the presenter at the last conference whose class I badly wanted to take. I told him my sad tale of woe involving the Hawaii Writers’ Conference he last presented at and he told me some more tales of woe regarding it. He said he was going to buy a copy of “It Came from the ’70s: From The Godfather to Apocalypse Now.” I gave a copy of “Hellfire & Damnation II” to blurber Jon Land, who was his usual charming self.

Met at least 2 of the women who will be on the panel with me tomorrow. One of them has it all figured out how many minutes each of us is to get. (?) Not the way the panels at “Love Is Murder” (on which I have served) worked, but maybe she’s right.

I forgot my curling iron, so there will be a definite lack of stylishness to Yours’ Truly’s hair. In fact, I soon have to go try to make the “travel pack” of electric rollers serve, as that is all I have. Cocktail party tonight.

Here are some pictures of the parrot s and the penguin on the grounds and a very young tourist enjoying the penguin at the Hilton Hawaiian Village.

Spellbinders Conference, 2012.