Historical Novel Society 2011 Convention

I had the great opportunity to attend the Historical Novel Society Conference in San Diego last weekend.

While the panels were interesting, what made the experience so fabulous was everyone being so friendly. No matter where I was, sitting at a meal, walking down a hallway or waiting outside the agent's pitching room, everyone was eager to engage in conversation. I heard fascinating stories about outlaws, princesses, kings, nuns, the arts, adventures, mysteries, romances, the Civil War, The War of the Roses, Ancient Egypt, Ancient Rome, the American West and so many more.

I also learned a lot about the business side of writing--especially the significant and unknown effect of e-books on the writing industry. Even though Bookscan isn't tallying e-book sales yet, there are indications that e-books now make up 30% of the market for books sold and for fiction up to 50%. During the final breakfast, I also had the opportunity to meet fellow members of the Los Angeles Chapter of the Historical Novel Society. And even though I had signed up late to the conference, meaning I had no scheduled agent pitch sessions, Kris did an amazing job in managing the no-shows allowing me to meet with three wonderful agents.

Thank you HNS for holding such a fun and interesting event.