RWA 2011 in NYC - things to think about

If you've never been to New York City before, and if you're debating whether or not to attend the 2011 RWA National Conference in New York City, here are some of my thoughts.

Because the city is a major destination, it might be easier to find cheap flights; if you live in an area where it's possible, it's also very easy to take the train to Penn Station, which is close to the conference hotel. The hotel, the Marriott Marquis, is expensive, but unlike in some other cities, you won't be limited to the onsite hotel restaurants; Midtown is crowded with restaurants with a wide range of prices. (Though take note, the Marquis has a cool revolving rooftop restaurant!)

Depending on your tourism desires, sightseeing can also be very cheap in New York, if you're willing to walk and take the subway. (Cabs are reasonable as well, but sometimes hard to come by during rush hour or in certain neighborhoods). There are myriad guides and helpful websites to tourism in the city. And the people-watching can't be beaten.

Plus, you can also attend the International Association for the Study of Popular Romance Conference, which is piggybacked on RWA. One trip, two conferences!

RWA Conference 2010 Report, Part Two

The cover of The Moonlight Mistress is featured on Naked Romance this week, with some of my thoughts on it as well.

And now back to my RWA 2010 report!

Friday was my busiest day. I attended the awards lunch and cheered for the Librarian of the Year Jennifer Lohmann and for the Veritas Award recipient, Gwenda Bond. I then spent some quality time in the bar with Gwenda; her husband, writer Christopher Rowe; and YA author Diana Peterfreund. We talked genre and book covers and markets. It was nice to be back in the science fiction/fantasy world for a little while; I'm more at home there than in romance, because I've "lived" there longer.

In late afternoon, I attended a reception for Harlequin's Single Title authors and finally got to meet one of the Mira staff who'd been exceedingly helpful to me for a long time. I also met Susan Anderson briefly, as well as Courtney Milan (it took me a little while to realize we'd never met in person, only online!) and Kathryn Smith, and got to see Victoria Dahl for the first time at the conference. And a bunch of other people as well.

I then returned to my room to dress for that evening's big bash, the Harlequin Party at the Waldorf Astoria. On the right you will see the signature cocktail of the evening, the "Harleqin Heartbreaker," or rather what's left of one!

The space this year was much smaller than usual, but the dancing was just as enthusiastic; they've had the same DJ for all three years I've been attending, and he really knows how to get people out ("It's Raining Men," for example, is popular for more than one reason). I danced, took photos, and ate pretty sugary things including ice cream lollipops and caramel apple and lemon ice. Below is a section of the pretty, pretty chocolate log, decorated with candy leaves and insects.

All parties must eventually end, and a group of us left after midnight, trudging out behind a group including Nora Roberts. For the record, we did not steal their cab. They had a limo waiting.

Back in my room, I realized belatedly that I needed to take off my eye makeup again (it was different from what I'd worn earlier in the day). But I was good and did that. Then I slept. Packing could wait until the morning.

I was really glad to get home on Saturday night. I spent all of Sunday lolling about reading and napping. I'll be ready for next year...in about eleven months or so.

RWA 2010 Report, Part One

At last, my report on the 2010 Romance Writers of America Annual Conference! Scroll down or click the "RWA" tag for more posts and lots of photos. That picture on the left is one of the pretty floor mosaics at the Orlando Airport.

I arrived Wednesday afternoon. I unfortunately had woken up way too early so was a bit punchy that whole day. My travel, though, was fine; the plane was about an hour late leaving, yet arrived close to the original arrival time. Perhaps there was a TARDIS involved? The van I took from the airport to the Dolphin Hotel was completely full of RWA Conference attendees, with the exception of one male business traveler who was going to the Hilton. We almost talked him into going to the conference with us instead.

I spent the rest of Wednesday with the mundanities of checking in, registering, unpacking, etc. before the Literacy Autographing, which is a fun but exhausting event. I then ventured out to the Blogger Bar Bash and met...lots and lots of cool people. I have a pile of business cards. Let's see, there was Anime June of Gossamer Obsessions, and KristieJ of Ramblings on Romance, and Librarian of the Year Jennifer Lohmann, and Magdalen B of Promantica, and of course host Wendy the Super Librarian. And many more. I was so tired I wasn't very entertaining, though. Instead of going on to the Romance Divas Karaoke gathering as I'd planned, I went to sleep instead. That was the right choice.

Thursday morning, thanks to the suggestion of rommate Sarah Frantz, I got room service. It was an unspeakable luxury not to have to hunt around for food, since I hadn't quite mastered the hotel's geography yet. However, I felt about a thousand times better than I had the night before, so everything made much more sense! I dropped off my postcards and bookmarks at the Goody Room and picked up various goodies for a Romance Diva friend who collects such things. I also visited the bookmarks of friends Kate Pearce and Jeannie Lin and snabbled a couple for my own use, even though I'd already pre-ordered their books.

Before lunch, I hung out in the lobby for a while with fellow Romance Divas, briefly interrupted by chats with my editor, who was passing by, and with Lucienne Diver, whom I hadn't seen on Wednesday. I really enjoyed Nora Roberts' keynote speech, and had a nice chat at the luncheon with Robin Rotham.

I worked out at the hotel's health club on Thursday afternoon, then that evening was the party for my online RWA chapter, Passionate Ink. Writer Angela Knight and scholar Sarah Frantz spoke most entertainingly, and I ate a lot of cheese. Soon after, I discovered my voicemail on my cell phone was wonky, so I dragged Ella Drake with me to fix it, because being without voicemail at a conference spells disaster.

I skipped dinner (remember all the cheese?) and then put on my pink pajamas and black satin robe to attend eHarlequin's annual Pajama Party. I was one of the first folks there, so got some interesting looks as I trekked through the crowded hotel lobby, along with a couple of "Pajama party?" queries. At the party, I holed up in a corner with roomie Elaine Golden and fellow writers Ella Drake, Leia Rice, Janet Mullany, and several others who wafted in and out, catching Amanda Berry and Jeannie Lin towards the end.

And so, dear reader, to bed.

Continued tomorrow!

Harlequin Party, RWA 2010

The dance floor was small, but lively!

Beverly Jenkins does air electric guitar.

My new cover flashed on the screen! Then I waited fifteen minutes, camera in hand, until it came up again, so I could take a picture.

More dancing.

RWA 2010 - Friday afternoon pics

Christopher Rowe, Diana Peterfreund, Gwenda Bond.

Vivian Arend and her hat.

Maria Snyder and Mindy Klasky.

Passionate Ink Party Picspam - RWA 2010

eHarlequin Pajama Party!

Leia Rice, Amanda Berry, Jeannie Lin.

RWA 2010 - The Swan & Dolphin

The conference hotel is very, very scenic.

RWA 2010, Wednesday, Literacy Autographing

Flying sure does make me tired. I spent most of yesterday feeling very slow and inefficient at everything, and eventually gave up and went back to my room and slept. I feel much better now!

Here are some pictures of folks that I took at the beginning and end of the signing, when I had a little time to wander around and see people myself.

Luckily, for the Literacy Autographing, all I had to do was sit down and talk to people. I can do that for a while even while tired. But the best part of the signing? Leia Rice had her e-reader, and I got to sign The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover with a stylus! I've signed my first e-book! Alas, the photo doesn't show my autograph very well. But I am still thrilled.

My editor stopped by and I got to chat with her; I also got to meet, for the first time, a representative from the German publisher of The Duchess, Her Maid, The Groom and Their Lover in translation. It was lovely to be able to tell her in person how much I like the edition's dust jacket.

Also, I got to sit next to Beverly Jenkins! That was really cool.

Literacy Autographing at RWA 2010 Pics

Vivienne Westlake and Beverly Jenkins.

Madeline Hunter and Elizabeth Hoyt.

K.A. Mitchell.

Louise Edwards and and Liz Scheier.

Suzanne Enoch.

Meagan Hatfield.



Per RWA, "The 2010 Readers for Life Literacy Autographing was a huge success with approximately 3,600 attendees and 500 participating authors. This two-hour event raised $55,000 for literacy, with the proceeds going to ProLiteracy Worldwide, Orlando’s Adult Literacy League, and the Nashville Adult Literacy Council."

Win a Kindle2! at the Literacy Autographing, RWA 2010 National Conference

At the "Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing tonight (5:30 pm – 7:30 pm, Pacific Exhibit Hall at the Dolphin Hotel), I'm participating in a Signature Scavenger Hunt to give away a Kindle2. It's part of the festivities in Orlando, Florida for the 30th Annual Romance Writers of America Conference.

To enter, visit the Romance Diva authors listed below at the Literacy signing, obtain a Scavenger Hunt sheet from one of them, and acquire all the signatures. Leave the sheet with the last one you visit. You'll then be entered in a drawing for the Kindle2 at the end of the night. By participating in this giveaway, you give these authors permission to add your email to their mailing lists.

My list of participants is helpfully alphabetical, since the authors are seated in alphabetical order at the signing.

Gina Ardito
Amanda Berry
Teresa D'Amario
Sabrina Darby
Ella Drake
Louisa Edwards
Karen Erickson
Victoria Janssen
Natasha Moore
Kristen Painter
Sarah Parr
Kate Pearce
Robin L. Rotham
Liz Talley
Kimberley Troutte

I hope to see you there! I'll have a pile of author scavenger hunt sheets, some bookmarks for The Duke & The Pirate Queen, and possibly chocolate.

If you can't attend the conference, check out my blog post from yesterday which features information about the annual Romance Divas' Not-Going-To-Conference Conference.

I will hopefully be blogging from the conference, but likely on an irregular schedule.

RWA Nationals Tomorrow!

I'm leaving for RWA Nationals in Orlando tomorrow.


I'm bringing:

1. Business cards;

2. Bookmarks and postcards for The Duke and The Pirate Queen;

3. A list of cell phone numbers, and dates and times of parties and rendezvous;

4. A book to read (yes, really!); and

5. Fuchsia lipstick.

Also some clothing and toiletries, if you were worried.

Here are some a couple of events where you might be able to find me:
Wednesday, July 28, 5:30 pm – 7:30 pm, Pacific Exhibit Hall at the Dolphin Hotel: "Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing

Thursday, July 29, 10:00 pm – 1:00 am, Oceanic 1: The eHarlequin Pajama Party.

ALSO:



Not forking out the dough for the RWA Conference this year, with evening wear, suits, high heels and whatever "business casual" means?

Not to worry! Romance Divas is hosting the

Not Going to Conference Conference...

The Conference You Don't Have to Get Out of Bed For!

From July 28-31, come hang out with some terrific, savvy authors -- and you don't even have to brush your teeth (although, seriously, good dental hygiene gets you extra points.)

We'll be hosting panels on:

--The Power of Three: A crit group tell-all (Paranormal): Crystal Jordan& Patti O'Shea & Dayna Hart/Rowan Larke.

--The Lolitas of Steamed! Present Writing the Steampunk Romance -more than leather corsets and brass goggles! Marie-Claude Bourque & Theresa Meyers.

--Whips, Chains, Slings, Oh My: It Really Isn’t About the Toys (BDSM Erotica): James Buchanan & Joey Hill.

--The Great Big YA Panel: Rhonda Stapleton & Shannon Delany & Kiersten White & Carrie Ryan & Linda Gerber & Saundra Mitchell & Lara Zielin & Brenna Yovanoff.

Register for free at Romance Divas, then come join us on the forums for the discussions, as well as some terrific prizes, including critiques of synopses, chapters, and proposals; books both print and electronic; design services; a $25 Barnes and Noble gift card; and more.

More RWA National Conference 2009

Nifty Hotel Pictures

I couldn't find a place for these in my posts on the conference, so here they are: a few "artsy" snapshots of the Wardman Marriott.









Tomorrow is Snippet Saturday--theme is "openings." I've posted the opening section of Moonlight Mistress.

RWA National Conference 2009 Report, Part Three

I loved the hotel gardens, which were filled with beds upon beds of bright red salvia and richly golden marigolds.



Friday morning, I got up way too early because I heard one of my roommates saying into the phone, very calmly, that a hose in the toilet tank was shooting water all over the mirror. At least it was clean water...I decided that, if I got cholera, at least I would provide a research opportunity for hundreds of historical romance authors.

Friday at the conference for me was a long list of appointments and scheduled events. I semi-accidentally attended part of the Harlequin spotlight because I had to show someone where the room was, and then got to see my Moonlihgt Mistress cover flash by on the slideshow, which was exciting, a half-second of fame! I attended a group luncheon with my editor and fellow Spice authors Amanda McIntyre, Charlotte Featherstone, and Kristi Astor, where I had a delicious Floating Island for dessert, my first and certainly not my last. Lunch was followed by a reception for Harlequin single-title authors (where I finally managed to run into my last year's roommate, Robin Owens, and fellow Spice author Kayla Perrin). And I got to tell Anne Stuart what I love about her spy books: "It must be love because I can't quite bring myself to kill you." I also met various Harlequin staff, some of whom I'd met before and some whom I hadn't, and was impressed anew by how nice they all are. The reception was followed by an unsuccessful attempt to find and meet Lauren Dane at a signing, but I was too late, and she'd already left. However, I had a chance to chat with Susan Krinard, with whom I was on a Worldcon panel long ago, and Olivia Gates, whom I'd briefly met at last year's Harlequin party.

Colleen Gleason and I had hoped to meet up, but instead we were, repeatedly, ships passing in the night. At least now I know what she looks like in person. Maybe next year!



I had to retreat to my room again after all that face-time and change for the Harlequin party. I ate dinner by myself, not talking to anyone but the waitress, and that helped me recoup my energy for the party.

As last year, the Harlequin Party was one my highlights of the conference. This year, it was held at the Ritz Carlton; I shared a cab there with three other party-goers, one of them Lydia Parks, whom I'd met earlier in the conference. Once there, I met, by chance, Freda Kay, who'd just sold a couple of Spice Briefs. I took off my shoes and danced (badly but enthusiastically), ate too many desserts, had loud conversations, took pictures, and in general found that I had more energy than I thought I did earlier in the evening.



The best part of the party, for me, is seeing lots and lots and lots of women, all ages, dancing and laughing and dancing some more. My three roommates (Cambria Dillon, Emily Ryan-Davis, and Tessa D'Amario) made sure to get a photo of all of us together, and I nabbed some photos of fellow Spice authors and Romance Divas as well. I ran into Robin Owens again, and dragged her over to Tessa D'Amario, who wanted to meet her in person. And I finally ran into Jeri Smith-Ready, another D.C.-area writer I'd met at a CapClave.



I left the party around 11:30 pm; two of my three roommates then arrived back, equally tired, and we talked and talked and talked until I started to lose the middles of sentences. I crashed hard and the only thing that saved me Saturday morning was a very large buffet breakfast in the hotel, calories in place of sleep.

Saturday, I stumbled around in a fog, though I did manage to see Alisa Sheckley, whom I knew from the science fiction world, and later was introduced to Tracy Wolff because Charlotte Featherstone snagged me before I stumbled past them. We had a lovely discussion of erotica and writing and publishing same. I had lunch with a group of Romance Divas in between packing, checking my phone messages, and finally leaving the hotel. The sun felt glorious.

I was too tired to regret the end of the conference too much. I got to Union Station a little early, checked email, in a very perfunctory fashion, with free wireless, and indulged in a twenty-minute chair massage, during which I nearly fell asleep. As soon as I was on the train and had handed over my ticket, I fell asleep.

There's a lot missing from this report, but for me the most important part is getting to meet other writers in person. We spend so much time alone with our computers or notebooks, it's great to know that, in a way, we're part of a community as well.

RWA National Conference 2009 Report, Part Two

I was most amused to find the hotel had changed one of the mens' bathrooms into a womens' bathroom, and as part of the repurposing, they draped and decorated the urinals with flowers and boxes of tissues, so our maidenly eyes would not be offended.



Thursday at the conference seemed to last for a really long time and involve a lot of wandering around the hotel trying to find things and people. I woke, too early, and realized I'd solved a problem with the current novel; then I fell back asleep. I slept late, very unusual for me, and just barely had a chance to get a latte and a pastry before I was due to help set up for the Keynote Luncheon. I called this being a "books-on-chairs flunky" because I, you guessed it, put books on chairs. A lot of books on a lot of chairs. We ran out of books before we ran out of chairs, and had to move some books from the back tables to the front tables.



After, I decided to stay for the luncheon itself along with roommate Emily Ryan-Davis and some other Divas, and ended up having a nice conversation with historical author Lauren Willig, whom I met for the first time. She writes in the early Napoleonic Wars period, so I'll have to seek out her books. I ran into Lucienne Diver and we had a brief sitdown with coffee to catch up on non-publishing things, then I found...a bunch of folks, in sequence, among them Kate Pearce and Crystal Jordan, and I was able to meet Louise Edwards for the first time.

I went to at least some of the book signings; in line, I got to meet blogger Azteclady, who is fun, and as in San Francisco last year, author Elizabeth K. Mahon and I stalked each other. I was collecting books for the Romance Divas "Not Going to Conference Conference" giveaway. I also got, for my own pleasure, a signed copy of Anna Campbell's Untouched.

My sense of time is rather confused, but at various times I ran into the D.C.-area authors whom I knew already from the local CapClave sf/f convention--Mindy Klasky and Maria Snyder. Mindy gave me a ribbon for her new series, and I put it on my badge holder, but it fell off at some point during the day.



Thursday afternoon, I had a scheduled meeting with my editor, Lara Hyde. We'd never met in person, but I had a description of her. I met the wrong person (who fit the description) first--we were both looking for someone we didn't know! Then Lara and I found each other, and ventured out of the hotel for ice cream and a brief chat. I then left Lara and went down the road for a party held by my RWA chapter, Passionate Ink. By this time, it was pretty hot outside, and I'd made the mistake of wearing a red silk jacket over my shirt. I caught a cab for what normally would have been an easy ten to fifteen minute walk. I was a little late for the party and thus didn't get a chance to talk to very many people, but did get to chat with Meagan Hatfield before the speeches began. I was sitting in a section of the pub that didn't have good air circulation, so I became a little dazed for a while.



After getting back from the PI party, I was hot and tired. I retreated to my room for a bit. There I met up with one of my roommates, Emily Ryan-Davis, and convinced her to accompany me to E-Harlequin's Pajama Party, which featured lots and lots of chocolate on the tables. We ended up having an excellent time there, having a lovely chat with Francis Ray (whom I met last year) and her daughter, and hitting it off with Nocturne Bites author Lydia Parks. The conversation was so good, I ended up eating Kit Kat bars while drinking a whiskey sour, which ought to have been really, really nasty...but I suffered no ill effects.

The next morning, the toilet exploded! Tune in tomorrow!