Realm Sphere—How Did It Go?

I just stepped off the ride of Realm Sphere, and yeah, it was cool. There were many highs and lows. At times it felt like things were spinning out of control. But with all carnival rides, you never know if you’ll have fun or hurl. So let’s recap from the beginning:

First, the flight over was horrifying. Seriously, there was a point where I was asking for forgiveness of sins. I mean, it wasn’t my first rodeo—I’ve experienced turbulence before. This ride was incredibly rough. It was as if the pilot couldn’t get the dang thing off the ground. You know that feeling of your stomach dropping on a rollercoaster? It was that—over, and over, and over, and . . .

Anyways, we got to the hotel (which was gorgeous, btw) and received the news that they couldn’t process our card. The bank put a security hold on the funds because we were out of state. The gentleman who helped us was completely indifferent, and after a painful 45 minutes of sweating, they finally paid it through. We raced to the nearest elevator—only to discover it was broken! At this point, we just wanted to get to the room and watch QVC.

The conference itself was fun. I mean, let’s be honest here, there were two things I was looking forward to doing: the costume contest and my pitches. So, I’ll start with the costume contest.

The turnout was interesting. There were a ton of fairies, wizards, elves—you know, the typical fantasy fare. I did see a Phoenix, and a man dressed as a dragon. And a guy wearing real knight’s armor! Anyways, we all lined up on a huge stage and announced what we were. I simply said, “I’m Amy, a common moth.” Apparently everyone cheered (or so I was told). I was overcome with stage fright, so it was a bit of a blur.

There were several classes I attended—most of which I was either too bored to remember or I ditched. It actually brought back fond memories of high school. 😂 I wasted a ton of money at the expo buying books for my daughter and even had some of them signed.

But this all boiled down to the pitches, right? They were the reason why I traveled clear across the country in the first place. Well, I’ll say this: they didn’t go horrible. To be respectful of the editors, I’m going to self-edit here. I did meet a kindred soul who I instantly connected with. She left with my books, so maybe lightning will strike . . .

All in all, I had a really good time. I made PRICELESS memories with my daughter and friend. Memories that can only be described as EPIC. For now, I can’t wait to go home. As with all introverts pushed to their limits, this trip was a colossal drain. I will return to my cave and emerge some time next year.