I wasn’t expecting a package from UPS yesterday, so you can imagine my surprise when the big and brown truck pulled in front of my house and blared the horn. The package was big. Fluffy. The return address read “Harper Collins Publishers.”

My heart sped.

Look what was inside:

There’s a bracelet, a NYC magnet featuring Times Square, a subway map in a nifty little holder, and a book called, “My First New York” about famous people and their first trips to the city. In case you haven’t heard, RWA’s national conference is being held in New York City next week. I’ll be there from Monday-Saturday.

This little package, preparing me for my trip, was over the top. I cried. The publisher didn’t have to send anything like this. They didn’t have to think of me…but they did. It was the littlest thing–a bag filled with goodies—that made all the difference for me; I still don’t think of myself as “making it” in the writing industry (and doubt I’ll ever think that way), but as of yesterday I feel like I’m giving NYC a run for its money.

Writing update: I’m on Chapter 3 of my novella, still on page 60 of Book3 in the Crimson Bay Series. I should be finished with the novella by the conference and Book3 by Fall. And I must admit, I’m having much more fun writing the novella than I thought I would!