Writing...Just because!

During a recent visit to my hometown, Halifax, Nova Scotia, I stumbled upon an amazing opportunity to learn more about the book publishing process.  As I was sitting around the kitchen table with my mom, having coffee and perusing the Chronicle Herald (the local paper), I spied a notice about an event that was coming up the following weekend called, "Pitch the Publisher" which was part of The Word on the Street Festival , a day long literary event that's held every year.  It was a call for all aspiring authors to bring their manuscripts, ideas or proposals and test them out on an actual panel of local publishers (yes, I am working on a book about living in Dubai and it's to the point where I'm developing my proposal and researching agents and publishers).  I decided it was too great an opportunity to pass up and called right away to find out how to get on the list.  Alas, the schedule was full but I was put on a waiting list and reassured that the previous year t...