Thrillerfest final day

Turns out I bought the wrong hangover nostrum.  Found out the hard way when I woke to find myself drenched in blood!  Amazing how fast and furiously a nose can bleed!

Waking up drenched in blood at ThrillerFest  is a bit too ironic even for me.  Clearly I needed a cup of joe and a muffin to get myself back on track.   Thinking I'd save money and not order room service, I headed downstairs.  By the time I slunk back to my room, I was feeling rather subdued.

Fortunately croissants and coffee do solve all problems and I was soon ready to attack the day.  I slithered down to the bar, yes the bar! at noon! to see who'd swim by.

And this is one of the many many benefits of going to a conference.  As I sat in the bar reading I reconnected with a pal from other conferences, an editor I'd seen just casually before and a couple other people who had some interesting things to talk about.  It was three hours of allowing serendipity to work its magic.

By the end of the day though I'd still not connected with one of the editors I'd hoped to meet. He's from out of town and this weekend was an ideal time for connecting over more than a phone line.


But, no luck. So I flagged a cab, settled in and headed back to the office.  At 35th and Madison my phone chirruped the theme from Jaws.


"Hello!"


Yes, it was the editor I'd been stalking!
He had time to meet.
Yay! When?
NOW?
Yikes!


Cab driver, stop! Break right! What do you mean it's a one way street? Right! Right!
Levitate if you must!


A quick vault over oncoming traffic and we were on Park Ave heading north.  A quick zip up the overpass and there I was, back at the Hyatt. My seven dollar cab ride to the second floor!


I threw myself out of the cab, clutching my luggage and messenger bag, heading straight home to the bar.


And yes, we had a lovely meeting.


If you're a writer and you're looking to make connections, there's a whole lot to be said for a conference.  I met with several writers outside the pitch fest, just very casually, and I read two manuscripts over night for writers I'm interested in. That doesn't happen often, but it does happen. The ONLY way it happens is if you're there, ready to take advantage of an opportunity.