I’m back from Atlanta, safe and sound and very happy to be home.

The conference was incredible and somewhat overwhelming. There was a lot of information to be had, networking to be done, and people to talk to. Even though I was there a day early, it still felt like I didn’t get a chance to talk to my good friends as much as I’d have liked to.

I will blog about my adventures, and provided my buds send me their pictures, I’ll even have some photos to share. (Yes Dorine, I know I should have been taking pictures, but my camera sucks.) But before I regale you with tales about my trip I have a little reflection I want to share with you.

When I woke up this morning, it felt so good to be in my own bed, with a clock that I could read with my near-blind contact-less vision. I got up and got breakfast for my kids then went outside to empty the garbage. On the way back in, I weeded my flowerbeds a bit and noticed the changes that happened over the week I was gone.

It occurred to me then how much I missed getting my hands dirty. I checked my email and I realized how much I missed having a computer at my disposal. I walked my older girls to camp and realized how much I missed being able to walk down the street comfortably with my hair a mess, no makeup, glasses on and no bra without worrying about running into an agent/editor/publisher that I wanted to speak to.

I love going to conferences. I’m a total extrovert and love, love, love hanging around with other writers and talking and laughing and drinking. I love learning about my craft and doing research and seeing friends I only get to see once or twice a year. I also love meeting new people and making new friends.

Usually, I have a period of let down once I come home. An emotional hangover, if you will. I miss my friends desperately and feel isolated in a world of non-writers who just don’t get me. I’m sure that will come, probably as I’m catching up on all the laundry and housework that didn’t get done the week I was away, but I’m so glad to be home.

Maybe I’m finally figuring out that I have everything I need to be happy, I just need to appreciate it more.

Ari

Okay, so I’m celebrating a bit early, but I can’t help it! I’m so excited!!! I’m leaving for Atlanta on Sunday so I probably won’t have much time to blog before I go, therefore I’m blogging about SPITFIRE early.

See, my baby comes out on Tuesday the 25th and I’ll be at RWA in Atlanta so I won’t be able to scream and cheer and jump up and down about it on its release day.

This was such a fun story for me to write, during a not so fun time in my life. If you haven’t guessed, I’m all about escapism, and this book really provided it for me. I was able to lose myself in car chases and gun fights and not think about all the craziness going on in my life.

I really hope when people read it, they can escape for a while too.

What do you do for escapism?