Tennessee Mountain Writers Conference.  March 29-31, 2012
     We arrived in Oak Ridge Thursday afternoon, just as Connie Green was cleaning up a broken jar of salsa in front of the hotel.  We could tell it was going to be a hot conference.  Connie is treasurer of this organization, and she has been a good friend for years, coming to give talks to my class in Literature for Young Adults at Tennessee Wesleyan.  She has two young adult novels and lots to share with students. 
      Then, at the reception, I ran into more old friends.  First, there was Pat Hope, who started this wonderful conference in 1989.  She was editor of the Roane County News back then, and she was such an inspiration.  It was good to visit with her.  And then, Ed Francisco, master teacher at Pellissippi State Community College, whose sessions were so very inspirational at that first conference back in 1989.  I had just self-published my first little volume then, Witnessing, and I needed all the encouragement I could get.  Ed is still inspiring students.  I met one of his students, Jacque Davis, who is editor of the current Pellissippi literary magazine, Imaginary Gardens.  Here I am encouraging her to check out Tennessee Wesleyan College to continue her studies.  
        Yet other friends we encountered.  Mona and Dick Raredon were our neighbors when we first moved to Oak Ridge in 1956.  Bill was a graduate student working on his dissertation at ORNL and I was a new graduate of WCUNC, desperately looking for a job so we wouldn't starve.  We lived in the Hillside Apartments and Dick and Mona had snakes for pets.  Those were the days of MSI, Management Service Incorporatede, who ran everything in Oak Ridge in those days.  We had our share of adventures.
  But oh yes, the conference.  I had to forgo Rita Quillen's poetry session to attend Terri Grigsby Brooks' "Social Media for Writers."  I listened and took notes, but I'm still overwhelmed by Facebook.  Charles Connor's session on E-Book Publsihing was more useful to me, I think.  I think I see what to do with this next manuscript I have in the wings.  It sounds Do-able.  The next session was about promotion.  I'm a little ignorant in that area, but I'm learning.  And the last session I was able to attend was about Creativde Nonfiction by Ksaren McElmurray.  I'm definitely working in that area.
     Unfortunately, we weren't able to stay for the whole conference, but for anyone who's looking for practical and inspirational advice as a writer, check out the Tennessee Mountain Writers.