This past week over Labor Day weekend, the famous Maui Writers Conference "hit the road" to Honolulu. For the first time ever not on its home island of Maui, the conference opened its doors to the wider writing and reading community of Oahu this year. Attendance was tremendous - full of energy and freshness as writers met with critically acclaimed fiction and nonfiction authors leading workshops on craft and idea, listened to presenters in screenwriting and film, and met one on one with a roster of five star editors and agents from all over the United States.

I was privileged to be making my first appearance ever this year as a presenter: a "Maui Success Story."  Ten years ago as an eager young writer I attended my first MWC and stumbled into the limelight, winning a Rupert Hughes Award for Fiction. Literary agent Kimberley Cameron presented this prestigious award. She is the founding partner of Reece Halsey North, a literary agency located in Tiburon, CA. That day began our relationship, and the journey to success celebrated this year at the 2008 MWC - my newly released memoir, "The Geography of Love" (Broadway Books, August 2008). Imagine our delight to present a panel, "One Writer's Journey," on what it takes to deliver a "breakout book" - and do so with all the partners involved present!  Beside me on the podium were longtime friend Kimberley Cameron, champion of all talented and as yet undiscovered writers, Elizabeth Evans my brilliant agent at RHN, and Christine Pride, my gutsy gifted editor at Doubleday/Broadway Books. Together we led a powerful discussion on the teamwork that is a publishing success.

Dear Readers: Over the next weeks or so I will post additional comments relating to that panel and be happy to offer any interested readers/writers information or answers to questions on what the experience of this conference and a successful book have been like for me. To follow the debut progress of "The Geography of Love," please check out the Events page for Glenda Burgess here at Redroom.com, or my web site www.glendaburgessbooks.com. I would love to see a Redroom member at a book event!