By Tammy Karasek @tickledpinktam

We are now less than a month away from the 2025 Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. It’s an exciting time for sure. I thought I’d share some tips and terms with their definitions to help you with your conference experience. I know not everyone is an extrovert like me, so I wanted to tell you about some ways you will be able to network and meet new writerly friends that isn’t painful. I promise. If you know me at all, you know I love to meet people, to have fun and to giggle at any given moment.

You’ve been warned!

Five Blue Ridge Conference terms to remember:

1. Not an Introvert This Week. This is the time you need to forget you are an Introvert. You will be here from Monday afternoon through Friday afternoon—good grief, that’s a lot of peopling time. For me, I say, “bring it.” For a few of my introverted friends, they say “please don’t make me talk.” But I want you to know this is a safe place. There will be several hundred, I mean, a few other people there. They will be like you—they are writers in some way. We’re often called weird because we enjoy sitting at a keyboard. Alone. However, at Blue Ridge, you will find like-minded weirdos, er writers, that get this whole writing career. Embrace your people!

2. Hanging out with My Peeps. Hanging out means gathering in one of several spots I’ll highlight: 1) Clouds coffee shop, 2) Nibble nook, 3) Rocking chairs, or at night 4) Mountain Laurel lobby for lobby time. If you want to grow your network of writing or speaking friends, your room will not get that result for you. Plan on popping into one, or all, of those above throughout the week. You can fill your schedule with classes and appointments which is not a bad thing at all, just remember your own personal tank and how much you will be able to keep going. Some folks fill their schedule and can keep at it. While others need a breather, a cup of coffee from clouds or a scoop of ice cream from Nibble Nook. I encourage you to find some quiet space to meet some people. Grab your coffee or ice cream and find a seat at a table with others. If you need some decompression time—cozy into one of the beautiful white rockers on one of the porches and sit with God. Feeling overwhelmed? Come find me, I’ll be giggling and wearing pink! I’m happy to sit with you and chat or pray, whatever you need. There are many faculty and staff that will do the same with you.

3. Shopping. Yes, you can shop at the Blue Ridge Conference! There is a gift shop for the Ridgecrest Conference Center near Clouds Coffee shop which is fun to peruse. But the other shopping is the Blue Ridge Conference Bookstore. Linda and John Gilden run our bookstore and have done so for many years. It is a well-oiled machine and runs smooth as silk. The authors on faculty and staff will have books on the table and some conferees will as well. They do take cash and credit card, so make your list of books you’d like to find at the conference from your favorite author. AND then plan on bringing those books back to Spillman Hall (main auditorium) for the book signing on Wednesday after Genre night. Such a fun time.

4. Genre Night. Genre night—this is the night to dress up as your main character, your genre, or something writing related and walk the stage for all of us to see. Folks get pretty creative, I tell you, but it’s so fun to see what they come up with. You get to wear your costume to dinner and it will strike up many a conversation when folks try to guess what you are showcasing through your costume. In all my years of attending BRMCWC, there are several costumes that stay in my mind—the introverted writer (I see you Kass!), a Dinosaur costume (ahem, Mz. DiAnn!), and so many more. Be thinking now and gather your costume pieces to pack.

5. Glad You’ve Come, You’re Welcome Here. I’ve been to many conferences over the past fourteen years. Some were friendly, some were not. At this particular conference, the staff and faculty of BRMCWC are excited you’re here and we look forward to meeting as many of you as possible. We will not teach and run to our rooms and hide. You will find us grabbing a cup of coffee (sweet tea for me, thank you) and sitting down to a table of new friends. In the evening, faculty joins in the fun and chatting in the lobby in Mountain Laurel. Though they may not stay as late as some of the conferees—we do need to teach the next day—my point is, the faculty is kind and approachable. We encourage you to catch us out in the hallways, walking to the next building or sitting with a drink or snack. If we are waiting on an appointment, we will tell you, but know we’ll take a minute or two before that person arrives to chat. We really are glad you’re here. You’re one of us!

The above are only a few of the many items to look forward to at the 2025 Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. I’d like to open the discussion up for any former conferees or faculty and staff to throw out some of their favorites from their experience at Blue Ridge. Let’s chat . . .

Tammy Karasek uses humor and wit to bring joy and hope to every aspect in life. Her past, filled with bullying and criticism from family, drives her passion to encourage and inspire others and show them The Reason to smile. She’s gone from down and defeated to living a “Tickled Pink” life as she believes there’s always a giggle wanting to come out!

She’s a writer of Romantic Suspense—with a splash of sass. Her debut book, Launch That Book, released in November 2023. She’s published in a Divine Moments Compilation Book—Cool-inary Moments. Also, she’s a writing team member for The Write Conversation, The Write Editing, Blue Ridge Conference Blog, and more.

Known as The Launch Team Geek, she helps authors launch their books. You’ll also find her as a Virtual Assistant for several best-selling authors, the Social Media Manager for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Founding President of ACFW Upstate SC, and Founding President of Word Weavers Upstate SC. Connect with Tammy at https://www.tammykarasek.com.