Monday, September 28, 2015

Attending a Mystery Writers of America Writers Workshop: A Pictorial Review

For those of you who don't know (probably most of you!) I take a writing sabbatical every August.  This is time that I minimize my yoga teaching and studio management duties in the hopes of having a solid chunk of time for my next book.  This year's sabbatical was very productive, and I spoke about it in this blog article.
 
The last day of Sabbatical was the best, however.  I attended a character development seminar with David Corbett that was hosted by the Mystery Writers of America Pacific Northwest Chapter.  Here is my photo log of the day.  I really did do some writing, I swear!

I got up at the crack of dawn (OK, 6:00) but somehow still managed to miss the ferry by literally seconds.  My car is the red one, first in line for the next boat which would leave an hour later.


My husband has nicknamed me the creepy puppy lady. This photo of my car's bumper hints at why.  Marc is especially fond of the sticker on the upper right. Husband and dog missing. Reward for dog.


Since I had sixty minutes to wait, I took the opportunity to work on revisions for my 4th Downward Dog Mystery, tentatively titled A FATAL TWIST


It was the perfect foggy Seattle day to learn about murder.


 The ferry is pretty dead on Sundays at 8 AM, so I had it almost to myself.


Did I take this photo before or after the zombie slot machine ate my brains? (I obviously haven't quite gotten the hang of taking a selfie yet.)


Even though I caught the ferry an hour late, I arrived  at the picturesque location at the Suquamish resort with enough time to walk around the gorgeous grounds



The resort is on the Suquamish  Indian reservation, with some awesome Native American artwork, like this magnificent totem pole.


I took this photo to prove to my husband that I actually attended a workshop.

 
And after the workshop, I spent some time in the casino. I wandered around the huge gambling area, taking my time. I vowed not to play until I'd discovered the exact machine that would help me make my millions. When I saw Zombie Outbreak, it was love at first sight. I vowed to spend however long it took to either double or lose the $20 I had allocated.  (Losing it took less than 5 minutes.)
 

 
Then it was home to a much brighter Seattle!
 
 
 The photos don't show it, but I did learn a lot, and I plan to put it to use with the start of my new series, tentatively called the Murder in Paradise Mystery Series.  Now I just need to find time to write it!

Tracy Weber


Karmas a Killer (4)And if you want to show me some love, you can preorder my newest mystery, KARMA'S A KILLER, now at Amazon Barnes and Noble.

Yee haw, yippee, and yahooey!

Check out Tracy Weber’s author page for information about the Downward Dog Mysteries series.  A KILLER RETREAT and MURDER STRIKES A POSE are available at book sellers everywhere


2 comments:

Misha Gerrick said...

Looks like an awesome way to spend the day. I've been having to go on "forced" sabaticals this year and the last (due to various reasons) and I'm MUCH more productive in those months. Maybe I should make it a tradition. :-D

Tracy Weber said...

Sabbaticals are AWESOME! I highly recommend them. ;-)