The ACFW conference was last weekend, and I'm still smiling from it. One thing is clear: writers are weird. No one understands writers like other writers. We look at things in a different way. We can discuss plot and character endlessly, and no one thinks we're weird. When conference times rolls around, we're all out of our cages. Even the introverts among us are talking with animation. And need I say there is much coffee drinking going on? We never book a hotel for conference unless it has a coffee shop. That's a stipulation our conference director Robin Miller knows well. :)

Conference ended with some major news being announced in the publishing world: the HarperCollins acquisition is going to include merging the fiction departments under our own Daisy Hutton as publisher. And speaking of Daisy Hutton, I wish I could get across how terrific she is! It's not only that she's super smart, but she's WISE. She knows books and she knows publishing. She was the perfect choice to put in this position. I love the way she empowers my team--and me! The fiction merger was a surprise to most of us, but it's a logical decision by Mark Schoenwald. Nelson has a team dedicated only to fiction. They live, breathe and eat story. I'm excited about what the possibilities might hold with the teamwork we see beginning! And I can speak from experience when I say it's super helpful to have a marketing and publicity team that thinks outside the box about marketing fiction. Just before conference started, Daisy promoted my wonderful publicist Katie Bond to Marketing/Publicity Manager, and she couldn't have made a better decision. Katie will handle this job better than anyone else I could imagine in that position.

The Middle Grade and children's departments will remain separate, so my Tommy Nelson projects will stay with my current editors. Shew! We don't know what will happen with sales yet for sure. I'm hoping and praying my friends in sales will all still have jobs when this shakes down.

One thing we all know is that there have been some major changes in publishing. Change can be scary, but I'm learning to embrace it. My editor and dear friend Ami McConnell is energized by change. I'm beginning to think she's right. When Allen Arnold announced he was leaving for a ministry position, I couldn't see how we could possibly go on. (A bit dramatic here, aren't I? LOL But I cried for days.) THEN DAISY CAME. And now I see how Ami and the entire department are blooming and growing. And I'm growing as well, growing in faith that God has this all in hand, ready to grow and reach for the next writing goal. I sometimes forget my life's verse Romans 8:28. ALL things work for my good. Not just the changes I like and embrace. God has great plans for us and the new stronger team. Why did I even doubt it? Because I get buried in the day to day and often don't look for his hand in these circumstances. But it's there when I bother to look.

What is changing in your life right now that you hate? Can you take a look at it and see how God might use it?