Gina Black: Contest Winner Extraordinaire!
Hi, Gang!
I thought it would be neat if Gina shared a report about our meeting in Reno, and so her write up follows below!
Deidre
FROM GINA BLACK
Since I live in Southern California, this year I decided to drive to conference with my husband and son. Taking our time on California's scenic 395, we spent one night on the road before arriving in Reno on Tuesday. Which is to say, I found out I was pulled from the chorus line into a starring role on the Knight Agency blog while I was at Mammoth Lakes.
I couldn't have been more surprised. Elated too. And nervous?
Definitely nervous. I know Deidre has a reputation for being friendly and charming and even though clients I've spoken to and friends we have in common simply adore her, I was still panicked.
Fortunately, by the time Saturday afternoon arrived I was so bleary from conference, that any residual edginess simply perked me up and kept my aching feet moving toward our rendezvous point.
I couldn't help wondering what Deidre would be like. The Knight Agency blog--and her writer blog too--are so personable, I've felt like I know her, while at the same time I don't know her at all. With that in mind, I confess to checking her out on Friday afternoon. I had a group appointment in the same room she did. Later I found out I'd been pointed out to her, so we both knew who we were looking for on Saturday afternoon.
We met at the Elevator Bar. From there she whisked me up to her room where we could talk without being interrupted and introduced me to Pamela, her sister. The first thing we all did was admit to being exhausted. If you've read Deidre's post on romancing the blog called "What the Agent Folks Do," you'll know why she and Pamela
were tired; in my case, it was a combination of three days of non- stop talking, my annual wearing-of-the-heels, and--of course--not getting enough sleep.
Southern warmth and charm set me at ease before I even sat down. A glass of wine didn't hurt either. In no time the conversation took off on its own, traveling a windy road that included our careers in television production (what a coincidence), cooking (we don't), what we thought of "L.A. Confidential" (we loved it), why we can tell immediately when a book or movie is going to be good (voice), celebrity wrestlers (we love 'em), and the author-agent relationship...
...which lead...
...to the inevitable moment...
...when I would talk about...
...my projects...
...which (gasp) I described without the aid of my index cards.
In contrast to some of the panels and workshops at National where agents and editors couldn't raise a spark of interest in the submissions they read, Deidre and Pamela were curious and enthusiastic. Instead of looking for reasons to say 'no,' I had the distinct impression they were looking for reasons to say 'yes.'
This made it much easier to talk about my work, and that--of course-- meant I didn't forget major parts, relate important information inside-out and backwards, or make my quirky and emotionally compelling stories sound boring.
Before I knew it, we'd yakked for over an hour and it was time to get ready for the awards dinner! What a good time.
Thank you Julie Lessman for allowing me to take your place and meet these two lovely ladies. Truly it was the highlight of my conference.
Oh, and Deidre...the son filled me in on Diamond Dallas Page and the (heh heh) Diamond Cutter. :)
I thought it would be neat if Gina shared a report about our meeting in Reno, and so her write up follows below!
Deidre
FROM GINA BLACK
Since I live in Southern California, this year I decided to drive to conference with my husband and son. Taking our time on California's scenic 395, we spent one night on the road before arriving in Reno on Tuesday. Which is to say, I found out I was pulled from the chorus line into a starring role on the Knight Agency blog while I was at Mammoth Lakes.
I couldn't have been more surprised. Elated too. And nervous?
Definitely nervous. I know Deidre has a reputation for being friendly and charming and even though clients I've spoken to and friends we have in common simply adore her, I was still panicked.
Fortunately, by the time Saturday afternoon arrived I was so bleary from conference, that any residual edginess simply perked me up and kept my aching feet moving toward our rendezvous point.
I couldn't help wondering what Deidre would be like. The Knight Agency blog--and her writer blog too--are so personable, I've felt like I know her, while at the same time I don't know her at all. With that in mind, I confess to checking her out on Friday afternoon. I had a group appointment in the same room she did. Later I found out I'd been pointed out to her, so we both knew who we were looking for on Saturday afternoon.
We met at the Elevator Bar. From there she whisked me up to her room where we could talk without being interrupted and introduced me to Pamela, her sister. The first thing we all did was admit to being exhausted. If you've read Deidre's post on romancing the blog called "What the Agent Folks Do," you'll know why she and Pamela
were tired; in my case, it was a combination of three days of non- stop talking, my annual wearing-of-the-heels, and--of course--not getting enough sleep.
Southern warmth and charm set me at ease before I even sat down. A glass of wine didn't hurt either. In no time the conversation took off on its own, traveling a windy road that included our careers in television production (what a coincidence), cooking (we don't), what we thought of "L.A. Confidential" (we loved it), why we can tell immediately when a book or movie is going to be good (voice), celebrity wrestlers (we love 'em), and the author-agent relationship...
...which lead...
...to the inevitable moment...
...when I would talk about...
...my projects...
...which (gasp) I described without the aid of my index cards.
In contrast to some of the panels and workshops at National where agents and editors couldn't raise a spark of interest in the submissions they read, Deidre and Pamela were curious and enthusiastic. Instead of looking for reasons to say 'no,' I had the distinct impression they were looking for reasons to say 'yes.'
This made it much easier to talk about my work, and that--of course-- meant I didn't forget major parts, relate important information inside-out and backwards, or make my quirky and emotionally compelling stories sound boring.
Before I knew it, we'd yakked for over an hour and it was time to get ready for the awards dinner! What a good time.
Thank you Julie Lessman for allowing me to take your place and meet these two lovely ladies. Truly it was the highlight of my conference.
Oh, and Deidre...the son filled me in on Diamond Dallas Page and the (heh heh) Diamond Cutter. :)
posted by Deidre Knight at 2:18 PM
6 Comments:
Glad you had such a nice experience, Gina. I've gotten the impression from this blog that Deidre is a lovely lady, but you never know, she might breathe fire in person *eg*. Nice to know that she doesn't!
And Deidre, you've got spammers coming out of the woodwork lately. Anyone got any Raid??
Ellen,
Gina may actually think that I DO breathe fire!! LOL! But we had a blast, so if I did, she came out all right.
Good for you, Gina. In spite of your nervousness it sounds as if you had a great time. Fingers crossed that something good comes of it for you.
Cathy
Someone pointed you out? -blink blink- No way!
Glad you had a great time!!
Gina how cool! Sounds like ya'll had a great time (i'm groaning at wrestlers LOL)
Hey, Gina, glad you had such a good time getting to know Deidre. Deidre, I enjoyed meeting you and briefly meeting Pamela at the Chicklit party. Also had a chance at a last-minute meeting with Nephele -- much appreciated that you squeezed me in, Nephele.
Cindy
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