First Ever Trip to CHA Thanks to Colorbok!!

Wow! CHA in Chicago was an amazing experience. I did a book signing at the very cool Colorbok booth on Friday and Saturday. Many thanks to Shanni, Wendy, Rebecca, Linda et al for the kind invitation. All of my books were gone in thirty minutes both days and I met so many wonderful new friends! I even put together a scrapbook (pictured) for the event with all of the new Colorbok products. I did three full layouts for each character without actual pictures of them because I want readers to imagine what Ashley, Tara and Libby look like. I may even post a picture of one of my writer friends who reminds me a bit of Ashley . . .

At first, it was a sea of new faces and ideas on Friday morning. I was absolutely amazed at all of the different booths and displays. I felt a bit like Dorothy when she arrived in Oz. So many colorful and creative booths, sights and sounds. But, its always those amusing little moments that leave a lasting impact. One of the first familiar faces I saw was Cathy Cano Murillo a.k.a. The CraftyChica who had interviewed me for an article for Lifetimetv.com and, well, we met in the Ladies Room of all places . . . We had a wonderful conversation about the crossover between crafting and writing. I, of course, learned to scrapbook creatively while I researched my novel (and thanks to my friends at Memories Galore here in Richmond- especially thanks to Dawn Hobbs who has laughed and scrapped through this whole media blitz with me! ) Our craftychica loved to craft and then decided to write her novel. I'll keep you posted.

All in all, I came home from CHA energized and excited about meeting so many new people. Special thanks to Joy from EK success for suggesting I do a make and take and the very memorable quote "you know, it's all about the tools." I'm excited about the future and I think I learned enough new stuff to put in a sequel . . .