Finding Inspiration at Moonlight and Magnolias
Author: Trish Milburn
Original Publication Date in Love Notes: November 2001

Despite the rain that accompanied me during the first hour or so of my journey on the morning of Oct. 12, nothing could dampen my enthusiasm for attending the 20th annual Moonlight and Magnolias conference in Atlanta. It’d been more than a year since I’d attended a writers conference, and I was having conference withdrawal. 

Shortly after arriving, I began to run into friends I hadn’t seen in months — Gayle Wilson from Alabama, Debra Dixon and Martha Shields from Memphis, MCRW member Debra Webb, Dee Davis from Texas and my roomie for the weekend, Michelle Butler from Arlington, Va. Despite a bomb threat at the hotel the first afternoon, we got off to a good start on Friday with the cocktail hour and some funny stories while sitting around the bar late that night. It’s these types of situations where you really bond with your fellow writers and sometimes get the latest scoop from the industry. 

Saturday morning, it was off to workshops. I attended the spotlight sessions on Silhouette and Bantam/Dell. Senior Editor Leslie Wainger with Silhouette said writers can requery on previously submitted manuscripts if they’ve been substantially revised and you make the situation clear in the new query letter. No partials or completes should be sent this second time unless the editor asks to see it. Anne Bohner with Bantam/Dell said the company is interested in light contemporaries and loves to find new authors who write quickly while writing well. 

Harold Lowry, current RWA president and author of several romances under the name Leigh Greenwood, kept everyone in stitches as the luncheon speaker. His tales of being a male romance writer in a female-dominated world were truly hilarious. 

Two inspiring workshops in the afternoon sessions were Gayle Wilson’s Writing Category Romantic Suspense and Jacquie D’Alessandro’s Learning to Live with Revisions. Saturday night brought the Maggie Awards Banquet and a lovely speech by keynote speaker Linda Howard. She closed with these simple words that I’m going to paste to my computer: “Dream large. Write large.” 

MCRW published member Sherrilyn Kenyon was one of the former Maggie winners who were asked to share what it was like to win the Maggie and to present a Maggie medallion to one of this year’s winners. 

Moonlight and Magnolias also hosts two workshop tracks on Sunday morning before the group booksigning. MCRW published member Debra Webb presented an informative workshop on the differences between the various category lines and what each is currently hungry for. Harlequin American is interested in seeing some settings in big cities in addition to their typical small town settings. They’re not interested in mystery or suspense, and if you have a baby in your story be sure he or she is integral to the story line and not just a hook. Debra relayed information that Harlequin Historicals may be beginning to lean toward more sensuality. Harlequin Intrigues must have the hero’s and heroine’s lives in danger, and in Harlequin Duets the hero and heroine must be together 90 percent of the time. 

There was a general feeling that romance houses overall are beginning to lean back toward wanting some paranormals or books with a bit of a paranormal element. But this isn’t universally true, so be sure to ask whomever you query. 

After the booksigning, I had to say bye to my buddies and head up the interstate toward home. But during those four hours on the road, I grew more and more excited about starting a new manuscript. That post-conference high — and being able to see friends I don’t see often — was well worth the price of admission.

Love Notes, the official monthly newsletter of Music City Romance Writers, is provided to paying members free of charge. If you are an MCRW member and would like to submit an article to Love Notes, visit the main newsletter page for more information. If you would like to reprint one of these articles in your RWA chapter newsletter, please give proper credit to both the author and the original source. For any other uses, please contact the president.