Conference Fun
Today I’m going to do my best to convince everyone out there that they should make plans to attend the Romantic Times conference next year in Orlando!
The 2008 conference was great. It was my second time at RT, and it was better- for me - than the first. This year I only went to 2 panels (and only spoke at one). The majority of my time was spent with writer friends who I only get to see once a year, and chatting with readers. I got to meet several readers this year that I’d never met before…Like Debbie (Who said she’d stalk me if I didn’t live in Canada. LOL ) and Jaynie Ritchie (who came all the way from Singapore tot he conference!) . And The Smut Sluts! I got to meet a couple of these playful and fun loving women in person. And LAURIE!! I was thrilled to have this pretty blonde woman walk up and shake my hand at the bookfair on Sat. Then she told me who she was and it was all I could do not to jump over the table and tackle hug her. I’ve ’spoken’ with Laurie for a couple years now, all online, and meeting in person was great.
There were way more wonderful people than I can mention here. Living in Northern Alberta I don’t get to meet many readers. There’s only one bookstore in my city who likes to have me in for readings and signings, the others are part of a chain and don’t want me to sign because of the “content” of my books. Yeah, like the sex in my books is so much more offensive than the violence in so may others. Whatever. Anyway, the point, meeting readers at RT is a high that I need to keep doing what I do. Hearing from readers who love my characters and stories motivates me to keep writing like nothing else can. Thank you to everyone who has ever spoken up and said hi to me, in person or by email. I love you for it!
I finally met Brava editor Kate Duffy in person this year. I’ve been at several conferences where she’s been, but she’s not my editor, and I’ve never made it a point to meet her. However, this year Kensington held a cocktail party, offsite of the conference, for it’s authors, and I attended. It was one of my top three highlights of the week. Being not shy I just plopped myself down in a booth and started chatting, and Kate was wonderful. I spent several hours chatting with her, and popular Brava authors Helen Kay Dimon, Karen Kelly (I love this woman..such a wonderfully wicked sense of humor)Diane Whiteside, Sylvia Day, and Smart Bitch Sarah! It was a great time, and I loved it all, even the fact that the Red Bulls I was drinking had me wandering the hotel lobby from 4 AM - 6 AM.
Okay, Maybe I can’t blame the Red Bull, since I didn’t drink any of the energy drink the next night yet I was once again up and about from 4- 6:30 in the AM. Maggie the night desk clerk and Rob the night manager were wonderful company. *smile* I guess I’ll just always be a night owl.
Myself and my Allure sisters had our Safari Party on Friday and it was huge success. I signed every book I had, and handed them out to people who knew who I was, and had specific books they wanted as well as some readers who had no clue what I wrote but wanted a free book. *grin* It was great! I have faith that any and all who got a book will enjoy it and hopefully decide they want more time in Sasha-Land and track down my backlist.
I developed a fan girl crush on thriller writer Barry Eisler after attending a panel where he spoke. I’m a big mystery/thriller reader, and this guy is one dynamic speaker. I loved what he had to say about writing and his upcoming stand alone book. I’ve never read any of his books yet, but after listening to him, and surfing his website I know I’ll love them. They seem to be in a similar vein to Lee Child’s Jack Reacher series, and I’m a die hard fan of those.
Another surprise for me was cover model John DeSalvo. I can remember years ago when Sylvia wanted him on her blog skin, and she showed me his website. I wasn’t really hot for the guy. He was your typical cover model. Sure he looked good, but whatever. Well, he was at the conference for the cover model reunion dinner, and I saw him down at the bar after. The man is beautiful in person. He wore a very nice suit and tie, and was utterly gorgeous. A real MAN. Not a boy, or an arrogant peacock, but a man. I got the chance to talk to him a bit and he was a true gentleman, too. A nice treat, and now I can say I’m a girly fan of his too. LOL
At our Safari Party Sylvia decided to tell everyone to come to our Paradise theme party in Orlando next year because I would wear a bikini!!! Did she check with me before spreading this rumor? Nope, not at all. At first I thought it was funny. No way in hell would I wear a bikini….but y’know what? It’s just the challenge I need. I’m always up for a challenge, and I thrive under pressure, so sure, I’ll wear a bikini next year. After all, I’ve been moaning about how I gain twenty pounds every time I write a book, and I want to get back into shape…now’s the time. My cousin has been trying to join a martial arts club here in town, but he didn’t want to go alone. I told him I’d get back to it in the summer, and now I have an additional reason to do so. I love working out, but I lose interest way too fast in just going to the gym. I need to learn and be challenged or I lose interest and slack off. So, back to the dojo it is. After I meet this deadline. LOL
Now that I’ve told you how much fun RT was, I’m going to show you. (I tried to load the videos on here, but it wouldn;t let me…so I’m giving you links to view them)
First up is a teaser for a project some friends and I planned to work on while at RT…check it out…
Then a videojournal from me, with a stream of photos from the conference.
And lastly…I’m sending you to check out THE HUNT, THE CAPTURE on Megan Hart’s Blog !!
While I did help brainstorm the idea for the mockumentry, Megan and Lauren did all the work. They are the best…go watch it, and tell them that!
I hope this has convinced you to consider attending RT next year because the people are what make it so much fun, and I’d love to meet all of you!
