This is the last installment of my four-part article about the HHCC conference in Dallas. It'll probably be the shortest.
The keynote speaker was
David Morrell, most famous for writing
First Blood, the book that eventually became the movie,
Rambo: First Blood. His speech dealt with finding the emotion that drives you to write. Fear, for example, or lust.
After the speech, he and Jerrilyn Farmer had a book signing. I'd purchased Ms. Farmer's first book,
Sympathy For The Devil before lunch, and managed to be first in line in signing.
The first session after lunch was Crime Doesn't Pay - Enough. Cindy Daniel moderated, and the panelists were Jordan Dane, David Morrell, and Chris Roerden. All three panelists sort of put to lie the idea that writing doesn't pay, though, since all three are full time writers. David Morrell has had books turned into movies (and admitted that he did have a percentage deal with the Rambo movie(s));
Jordan Dane has two three-book contracts with major publishers (and her first book hasn't even come out yet! Major congratulations!); and
Chris Roerden is a freelance editor, writer, and non-fiction ghostwriter. This particular session didn't impart a lot of useful knowledge, but it was interesting to hear about the different levels of success from different writers.
The final session was On The Road Again. Moderated by P.J. Nunn, it had Dan Hale, Jeff Shelby, and Jerrilyn Farmer. Elaine Viets was also supposed to show, but she apparently had some serious medical issues. This last session discussed signings. All the writers talked about being nice to the bookstore employees, because you want them to hand sell your books after you're gone. They talked about launch parties. Ms. Farmer is a big fan of them. She suggested having the party at a bookstore (independent is best, since they're even more likely to hand sell your book after). You provide the cake and snacks, of course.
Well, that's about it. Like I said, the fifty minute sessions were overall less useful, though I still enjoyed Saturday's sessions.
Gotta get up early in the morning, so g'night.