Whooped and whooping it up!

Whew! I'm whooped about now but am incredibly excited! I just had the honor and blessing of getting to eat out with Janice Thompson. She's here on a short visit for personal reasons. It's awesome to have had a little time with her.

Janice is a very funny gal. She's written books like Gone With The Groom (reviewed on this site) and she blew me away by telling me that she once wrote 14 books in 18 months. Holy Cow! She had contracts for them, so she did what had to be done.

I felt like I'd really made a friend. Sitting down at a barbeque restaurant, gabbing, learning from her experience and watching her glow. All these things made me feel so blessed.

If you want a giggle, read Janice's books. If you want to learn how to do public speaking, take her online class. If you want to meet a really genuine and joyful person, shake hands with Janice.

I learned a lot tonight. I felt a kindred spirit. And I probably talked her ear off because I was so excited to be with her and celebrate ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) being a link that makes this globe a very small world:-D

My favorite part of the evening had to be explaining what "jo jo" means. Janice chortled with glee. I made her order them with her meal (okay, she was just plain a good sport about it, lol.)

For those of you that are not Montanans--jo jo's are potato wedges dipped in spiced batter and either baked or deep fried. A common meal up here is chicken and jo jo's.

Another funny happening was that we knew a lot of people in common. Her daughter is my friend's daughter-in-law. Her friend is in Toastmaster's with me. My family has and did go to school with people in her family. But none of us knew that until tonight. Now we all interconnect in some funny ways.

I've had the honor of visiting several ACFW members in different towns. Have you found out how far-reaching your membership is? I've met folks at conferences, sure, but I've also had some amazing one-on-one conversations just by calling an ACFW member who had either mentioned visiting Missoula or I've been on business in their hometowns.

This was an awesome night! I hope we have forged another new friendship:D

So here's a question for you: If you go to another city, do you know if an ACFW member lives there? And if so, have you taken the time to visit them? Sure we're all after the moon and want to be published. But have you taken the time to listen, befriend, or help another ACFWer?

Angie
PS Janice is teaching several classes on public speaking. Something else we have in common is a love of public speaking. She's going to teach a class in May for the ACFW course list. Sign up!!!