Up at 4AM and on the 5AM airport shuttle to catch an early flight which (we find out at the airport) is delayed until 8:30. Lost some sleep with that glitch. I had to wait to creep through TSA before I got my first cup of coffee. Tip for you younger readers: Don’t start drinking coffee. It’s just one more thing you have to do in the morning before you can become yourself. Because of the delay we will have approximately 30 seconds to catch our connecting flight in Seattle. Shouldn’t be a problem. Ha.
But if you’re a writer (or a reader) delays can turn into opportunities. If 
you’re not too annoyed to think you can take advantage of the situation by pushing some words across a page (or reading a few pages) turning the wait to your advantage. I actually manged to get in several hours on I,Q2, not as much as I would have in my farm office, but it was a relatively good day of writing.
One perk of conferences is that you get to see old author friends and meet authors you haven’t met. We had the pleasure of hanging 
out and having dinner last night with Marc Nobleman. Wonderful fellow who has written over 70 books. We found out that he’ll be joining Marie and I in a couple of weeks at “The Childrens Literature Festival” in Warrensburg, MO. If you’re going to the festival, and you should (Where else can you meet 40 of your favorite authors?) go to one of Marc’s sessions. You’ll enjoy what he has to say.
Thank you for this most kind post, Roland. You and your wife were such great companions this weekend. It’s always a thrill to meet a fellow writer, but even more of one when it’s a writer whose work I already know and like. Looking forward to seeing you again in two weeks, and on the circuit after that.