Update: Scholarships

Dark Angel strikes again!

My wing man, Dark Angel, over there has been crackin' the whip during the final countdown to the Fantasy on the Bayou conference.

Today he's obsessed with motivating me to make it possible for EVERY writer who dreams of making it to New Orleans for the conference CAN make.

That means... scholarships. As many as I can dole out.

I know, that sounds crazy, right? Right.  But here's the thing... arguing with a six and a half foot winged critter in the middle of the Piggly Wiggly about how to make miracles happen for my fellow writers... THAT's freaking crazy. Especially when you consider the fact that I had to dress said winged critter up in a service animal vest before the manager of that fine grocery store chain would even allow us to enter its sacred premises for the meat sale of the week. (Meat sale jokes aside...yes, I admit that I may have poked at Dark Angel's ego a wee bit too much when I made the service animal vest with sparkly tassels on it. In pink. But that's a different argument for a different blog, lol.)

Now back to the scholarship spiel...

I've received several emails and questions about scholarships (when will info about them be posted, how will I know when I get one, how can I donate, etc.). Now I have to be honest, it's not that I've been ignoring folks--far from it. I just haven't responded with answers, because I was crazy busy working some magical deals with the conference gods.  Hence the me being very grateful that my wing man up there showed up for the negotiations with his "I've got your back" game face on.

In addition to that I'm excited to share with you that the conference has been exceedingly fortunate to receive donations from some wonderfully generous folks.  So before I go any further I must say...

Thank You! 

to EVERYONE who's donated, emailed, and generally been patient with me while I sharpen up my magic wand to make some conference miracles happen.

But now I've appeased the bean counting Lords of Calculator-Ville and I finally, finally, FINALLY get to announce...

SCHOLARSHIPS ARE AVAILABLE!!!

WOOT! 

(I love my job. Can ya tell? lol.)

So how many scholarships are available?  

Answer: Depends on how many writers contact me with hardship requests.  Depends on what their needs are.  Depends on the flow of donations to the group. Depends on Dark Angel's continued negotiation powers.

So we're clear, I've made it my goal to give out as many economic hardship scholarships as possible.  

Look, I'm no stranger to economic hardship--single mom, laid off, mortgage, writing dreams, the hair needs a root job, and the pantry is stocked with ramen noodles and more boxes of mac n' cheese than I can count.  It happens, but it doesn't get us down. That's right, because we're writers with a dream, a passion, and a goal: Publication of our stories.

So if you're like me, suffering some economic hardship and hungry to learn as much as you can about the writing craft, business, and life... then make my day and apply for a scholarship.  (And if you're worried it's painful, like other scholarship applications, don't fret, it's not.  I made it as easy as I possibly could because... well, I'm me and that's what I do *grin and wink*)

Steps to Apply for a Scholarship 

1. Register for the conference, choosing the normal conference rate you qualify for (this is a bookkeeping thing that'll help me keep track of scholarship funds and appease the OCD Lords of Calculator-Ville)

2.Click the box marked YES for applying for a scholarship.

3. Send me an email at conference@romance-ffp.com that includes:

     A. why you want/need a hardship scholarship (a few words is fine like, "I can afford the hotel but not registration and I so want to go because Maggie Shayne is my all time favorite author and if I don't make it my life will no longer have meaning--Please, please Conference Miracle Worker, please make my conference dreams come true!" Okay so maybe not that melodramatic, but you get the idea ;-)
     B. convince me that you can handle transporting yourself to the conference (aka, have car will drive, etc.)
     C. what inspired you to become an author (this doesn't have to an essay, just a line or two that conveys your passion for the pursuit of your writing dream is what I'm looking for)

It's as simple as that.

This is a first come-first serve sort of deal... so register early to take advantage of my miracle making magic wand.

For those folks who have applied for a scholarship already, you're first in line and I'll be sending out emails to you over the next few days.

And as always... if you have any questions, comments, or concerns... I'm just a comment box or email away!

Until next time... take care and happy writing!
~Staci
FF&P 2012 Conference Miracle Worker