For the past few years, I have participated in the Romantic Letters Conference, an adorable writer’s conference hosted by the League of Utah Writers Romance Chapter. Even though I’m definitely not a romance author, I have a handful of classes that can apply to any author at any phase of their writing experience. This year, I presented a class called “Getting Unstuck: A Scientific Approach to Overcoming Writer’s Block.” It’s a class I’ve given several times that I think is a needed message in the creative community.

This year’s conference ended up being unusual. Normally, the class lineup and keynote follow the expected schedule and everything works smoothly. This year, however, the keynote had a last-minute emergency and wasn’t able to come. Anyone who has ever attended a writing conference, know that the keynote is generally the highlight of the day. It’s a chance to better get to know someone who is further along in their writing career and gain inspiration and insight from their journey.

When the reality of this predicament dawned on the conference organizers, they made a last-minute scramble to fill in the gap. Imagine my surprise when I received a slightly panicked email asking if I could pull something together and step in. The reason they thought I was the best pick? I’d won this year’s Diamond Quill award for my book Stonebearer’s Redemption.

Cue imposter syndrome in all its shiny trappings. Even now, even with that level of win, it’s still hard to believe that people look up to me for it. It’s hard for me to believe I deserve any special attention for it. But, at the same time, nods like this are really nice and I appreciate the gesture. I did work really hard to make that book amazing.

So I said yes.

But … I didn’t want the limelight all to myself. I said I’d only do it if my dear friend Rachael Bush, who just happens to be this year’s League of Utah Writers President, would come and share the keynote with me. Because that’s what friends are for. I think I owe her a pack of Oreos…

Our last-minute joint keynote went fantastic and was thankfully short. Rachael was able to share about the league’s mission and goals and her experience with being part of it, and I was able to share my path to becoming a Diamond Quill Winner.

For this conference and getting that opportunity, it all came down to being in the right place at the right time. Had I not agreed to present at this conference, a different deserving author would’ve had their chance to be their last-minute keynote. And that’s okay.

But I’m happy to have been given the opportunity.