Here’s my schedule for those of you who’ll be there or who are local and want to stop in at the booksiging on Saturday (open to the public!):

Wednesday at 10 am: Digital Publishing Workshop with Angela James – over 2 hours of Q&A session on everything Digital publishing! Have questions? Come on over and ask em!

Wednesday at 2:30 – SF FOR FEMMES: WRITING CHARACTER-DRIVEN STORIES WOMEN WILL DEVOUR

WEDNESDAY: To attract female readers you must have captivating characters, not blind them with science. Our panel of experts will teach you how.
Captain: Ann Aguirre Panelists: Lauren Dane, Colby Hodge aka Cindy Holby, Stacey Klemstein aka Stacey Kade, Lucienne Diver (The Knight Agency)

Wednesday at 3:45 THE ONLINE AUTHOR PERSONA: HOW TO MAKE FRIENDS, INFLUENCE PEOPLE & AVIOD TRAIN WRECKS

WEDNESDAY: The Internet offers many opportunities for authors to interact with readers, network with industry professionals and promote effectively. On the flip side, all that freedom brings opportunities to make mistakes that can tarnish a reputation for years. Come listen to strategies and advice from authors who’ve made the Internet work for them and learn how to avoid cyber-disasters.
Panelists: Ann Aguirre, Lauren Dane, Sylvia Day aka S.J. Day, Mark Henry

Then I pass out for a while and gear up to see my friends and have dinner, etc!

Thursday I’m going to be Megan Hart’s plus one at the awards ceremony so I can hoot and clap like a hick when she accepts her award.

And then on Saturday from 11 – 2 I’ll be signing Relentless, Laid Bare and Coming Undone at the bookfair with a giant gathering of some of my very favorite authors.

Hope to see you there!

Wednesday – the official first day of RT!! We’d registered on Tuesday so we didn’t have to deal with any lines that morning. It was really just a day of easing into the conference.

Megan did a multicultural romance panel first up in the day and then we decided to grab some lunch with KKT and Vivi before our panel. TOTAL FANGIRL MOMENT!!! Okay so I go to wash my hands and as I walk around the corner I see this utterly gorgeous red wrap. I compliment its owner and as I go back around the corner, Megan and I had a moment as we silently mouthed, “THAT’S BRENDA JACKSON!!” Yes, boys and girls I not only had that moment but as it turns out, Brenda Jackson was at the lunch too. Lord amighty, my internal dialog was squealing and gushing but I hope I managed not to act like a fool. Also at the table were the very lovely Olivia Gates and Caridad Pinero – both exceptionally wonderful ladies.

After lunch it was off to our panel – How to Co-Write a book with your BFF without killing each other. As I said below, this was up against the cavemen calendar signing so it was not a packed house. However, we did have fun and Mark Henry and Mario Acevedo provided much entertainment and the annual RT gross discussion topic was born when we began to talk about a website Megan found the evening before – X Rays of things people put in their asses. Yes, folks, I can go on for days about this stuff, but suffice it to say Ahhnoooose Potahtoes was a catch phrase.

Afterward, we saw Joey Hill in the hall and made her take pictures with us, because I love Joey Hill and hello, I wanted a picture with her.

Megan Hart, Anya Bast, Lauren Dane and Joey Hill

Our agent and all around super wonderful person, Laura Bradford arrived after our panel and we ducked out for a bite before the party later that evening. DJ music was back this year (YAY!!) and none of the shows seemed to go overlong, which was very nice. The ballrooms were all decorated really well for every party I attended. Wednesday evening pics below feature many faces. The goofy ones are mainly mine, LOL – what can I say? I like goofy faces.

Lauren and Ann Aguirre

Danny Firedragon, Lauren and Sasha White

Vivi and KKT

Thursday was a more mellow day. First I did an interview with All Romance Ebooks – whose crew was awesome and fun. Megan went right after I did, which was fun as well, especially the part where someone walked by with therapy animals and a loud “MEOW” was added to the interview, LOL.

Me waiting for Megan, who is being interviewed just across the hall

The whole crew waiting. James, Anya Bast’s husband, was kind enough to take lots and lots of pictures at all our events. He’s the one who took many of these shots.

While in line for Avon’s Dusk to Dawn Mixer – I was fortunate enough to be surrounded by the Australian booksellers. The ladies from Temptation Bookstore and Rosemary from Rosemary’s Romance are wonderful! I love to hear what booksellers think and these folks have a lot of wonderful insight. In addition, I got Tim Tams out of it – awesome win. I highly encourage authors to send stuff to these fabulous bookstores – international readers love our books too!

That evening’s event was the Fairy Ball – again, the room was totally gorgeous. We missed the dinner part due to another dinner plan but the dancing part was awesome. We hit the pool bar afterward and chatted with everyone until very late. The social part of RT always makes me happy. I meet so many new people and see all my old friends too. It’s really a lot of fun, even if I want to sleep for a week when I get back home.

More tomorrow! I’m trying to edit together all the video I took but I’ve got a sick kiddo at home so it’s around that. Soon I hope!

I arrived on Sunday evening and Megan picked me up at the airport. Once we got everything unloaded at the hotel (the grounds were quite lovely and our building, while a bit away from the conference center, was actually perfect for that very reason. It was really quiet for the entire conference) we headed to dinner.

We caught up with Angie James as we headed back to the hotel and she was heading out. Chatted for a few and then met up with Vivi Anna for drinks and planned our next day.

Monday was pretty much all Magic Kingdom. We had a great day. The weather wasn’t overly hot and while there was rain on and off, it meant the park wasn’t overly crowded either.

There was a slightly worrisome search for a missing box of tote bags when we returned but luckily the following day we located it and all was well as the hotel began to fill up with convention goers. Usually the hotel has absolutely no idea of what will happen to them when a thousand romance readers and authors show up but this one seemed to have some of the usual glitches taken care of in advance. I found the staff of the hotel to be incredibly helpful (our hair dryer caught on fire on Tuesday and we had a leak in our shower which proved to be a problem all week, but they dealt with it efficiently and the bell staff were wonderful about helping us move stuff around via golf cart). The bars all stayed open after the parties ended, which we learned is now a part of the RT contract with the hotel (this is a really good thing, so yay to RT!).

The lack of a central bar made it a little hard to find people and there were authors I didn’t see one time who I knew were there. BUT the covention area was gorgeous. Beautiful rooms and a long, central hallway marked by seating nooks made it really nice to escape a loud party and sit t o talk with people. I really liked that part and as for the rest, there was lots of texting and calling to meet with friends you’d lost so in the end, it was fine. The food in the restaurant in the main building was quite reasonably priced and very tasty, the drinks weren’t ridiculously expensive either.

Renee and her beau, Joe arrived on Tuesday just in time for lunch and some drinks at the pool bar. His nametag said “companion” so we said he was there to keep her out of trouble, and she promptly fell off a curb and twisted her ankle!

Connected with Cindy Eden, who’s very sweet and helpful husband helped us move things from our room to theirs so we could stuff the bags for our reader party.

The suite party was pretty packed and I got to hang out and visit with lots of folks and get to know some new ones too. I know pictures were taken but I only have a few. Anyone who has them please do forward copies to me!

Renee and Lauren on Tuesday night

I knew Tuesday night was the last hurrah for very little makeup and hair pulled back, but I did enjoy going early so we could ease into our week. The party was a way to connect and hang out with people who’d arrived early.

Registration moved very smoothly and this year, they included an insert for the authors and panelists telling them which workshops and panels they were on, where to be and when. They had info about our party and where I needed to go for the RT Awards show. This was so very helpful! The totes this year were the best we’ve had so far – so thank you to Sylvia Day!

And then bam, it was Wednesday and RT started in earnest! Megan and I had a panel – How to Write With Your BFF Without Killing Them. Sparsely attended though I believe the line up at the EC Cavemen calendar line for free calendars and pictures at the same time may have affected attendance, LOL. Still, everyone who came got a copy of TCOB and I think it was a good panel anyway! In the hall we met a lovely bookseller who was wearing our Hookah/You Will Buy Our Book tee shirt that we had put in all the bookseller bags and had made for our party totes too. She was kind enough to let us take a picture with her.

There’s more but I have to finish up some mom stuff for now. I’ll get back to RT Recap tomorrow!

Me and the ever so lovely Angie James~

Megan, Fred and me – no groping, just a hug. And hello, he’s so very pretty.

Megan, Sasha White and me – Wheeee!

Megan, Me, Kimberly Kaye Terry and Vivi Anna

Me and Megan when we sort of took over the Black Lace spotlight that no one at Black Lace actually knew about!

Maya Banks, me, Beth Williamson (I love these ladies)

I love me some Laura Bradford.

Booksigning with TWO security guards even!!

Me, Jennifer Dunne and Megan

me and Taylor Hartt

Me, Anya and her husband James

me and Ann Aguirre (LOVE HER!!)

me and the creator of my man Jed – Gennita Low

MH and LD

Reader Party!!

I’m still loading pics from my laptop to my desktop and getting pics from people so this isn’t it at all! I have one with the ever so wonderful Rhyannon Byrd and one of me and Jessie and some other readers from the bookfair so keep checking back!

Here’s my thing: I go to RT and I enjoy myself. Do I like everything I see? No. As a matter of fact I do not like it when people take something as horrifying as 9/11 and demean it. I don’t like to see drunk people falling over themselves in the bar either. But frankly – I’ve seen drunk people in bars at many conventions and I’m quite sure stupid stuff happens at dental hygenist conventions too.

I go to RT and I meet up with my writerly friends I see only once a year. We sit in the bar and laugh (and eat pizza and drink lots of water too), we dance at the parties (and this year I only dressed up for one, but you know what I am sick of authors sneering about people who like to dress up. I am sick of hearing “horny housewife” comments. I am sick to fucking death of this “I am too good and/or too special to go to RT” attitude.

Lots of people bitch about RT but you know? They have been really good to me. I’m not just talking about reviews but they’ve been supportive – they’ve put little bits in the magazine about my upcoming books. All my dealings with Giselle for ads have been fabulous and Jo Carol and other conference staff have been good too. Are there mistakes? Yep. Vegas wasn’t at the signing. It sucked. But – THAT IS LIFE. I’ve done enough signings to have experienced books not showing up, books I didn’t order showing up and none I did order showing. That’s how it works. Now, it may not work that way when you’re a big time author but down here many rungs on the ladder, that’s been my experience. I would have preferred Vegas been there, I was disappointed but it’s not the end of the world.

And in truth – You know what? RT isn’t for everyone. There’s not a darned thing wrong with not wanting to go to RT. It’s not RWA National or BEA or NINC or any other writer’s conference. They’re different conferences and you’ll get different things from them. I don’t think National is boring or more classy – I think National is different.

At the book signing on Saturday I met dozens of readers and book sellers and over the course of the conference I met hundreds as well as loads of authors and editors too. I LIKE that. As a conference, RT is like a working vacation for me. I do network. I do meet people and work – yes. But I also dance and I might have a few drinks (although this year the hotel was toxic and I didn’t really drink much). Our reader party was a total blast! We met lots of folks and we’ll be doing another next year too.

I laugh with the cover models (who were TOTAL gentlemen – Fred, Christopher Howell, Chris Winters, Traaavis was there to say hello, Luke – all very nice men who never did one untoward thing in my sight at all). One of the Chippendale dancers sat with us for a while on Wednesday night – Kimo – and he was very nice, answered all sorts of questions from the assembled authors at the table with humor. When I see people talking shite about these men I just want to remind folks that these guys are people. Yes, judged on their looks but when I see people who never met say Christopher Howell, talking negatively about him I want to say, “Hey, you know what? He’s a total sweetie pie, he’s got manners and a sense of humor and he’s pretty to look at. And he has feelings so you know, it’s easy to dehumanize people you see on a screen and all, but they’re real.”

I didn’t see them all. I am sure some of them were idiots – that’s a given that in any group there will be assholes. I do know of one incident where some of them jumped over a low banc of seats and if they’d fallen they could have injured a friend of mine with more than a few pins in her body holding her together. I did see some not so very lovely behavior in the bar toward the end of the con (and by the Saturday night all I want is some popcorn, some dancing and a last night of laughing with my friends – I had that and pretzels too, mmmm – and went to bed by midnight. And yes, the situation with the contestant who had to be arrested and taken to the hospital (and was let back into the conference the next day and wasn’t made to leave) was concerning to me.

I’ll never stay at the Pittsburgh Hilton again. The staff were awesome but the building was not prepared to house us all appropriately and I’m still coughing. Also, 17 dollars for a breakfast buffet? Come on! Good god, for a hotel with so many missing ceiling tiles and dust in the air, we sure did get charged a premium for everything. But again, the staff were totally awesome! From the front desk to the servers and the bartender in the lobby bar – folks were very helpful and I do appreciate that.

RT is NOT a bunch of drunken authors writhing over cover models. Does that happen? Yes. Is it even a sizable minority? No. In my personal experience, RT is fun. A bunch of women (and some men) get together away from home and they talk about books and writing and life for a week and they all schlep back to laundry and making school lunches.

Apparently there were a thousand people at RT this year. A lot of folks. And 900 of us behaved ourselves quite nicely I am sure. I can’t promise I didn’t annoy people with my calls to “bring me my hookah!” but whatever, if that’s the wildest I ever get, well that’s just fine. Most of us realize we’re in public. Most of us have a nice time without cheating on our spouses or groping anyone or even taking pictures of our naughty bits on other peoples’ cameras. It’s pretty unfair to take the behavior of those few who don’t know how to control themselves and paint an entire conference that way.

RT isn’t mandatory. It does tend to be a very high energy, fast paced experience and I am always feckign exhausted by Sunday and so ready to go home. But you know what? I love RT and I’ll be back. I always meet someone new who makes my life better (last year I met Sasha White and Kimberly Kaye Terry and Vivi Anna and I love them all to bits). It’s not for everyone and you know, that’s totally fine.

I’ll see many of you in Orlando next year!

Megan Hart, Lauren Dane and Jennifer Dunne

The very lovely Anya Bast

Me and Gennita Low

The dress I had was really lovely. I will definitely wear it again but the pretty silver stilettos not so much. I thought my toes would fall off! After dancing we all hung out talking until very late but it was nice to catch up with people I haven’t seen since last year.

Day two was the Under the Sea party and it was SOOOO much fun! We did miss Anya and her lovely husband but it was fabulous to have dinner with them beforehand along with Gennita Low and Jeri Smith Ready.

Megan, the lovely Laura Bradford and me before the dancing started.

Me looking dorky and Ann Aguirre (have you read Grimspace yet? If not, get to it!)

The absolutely gorgeous Patrice Michelle and me

Day three:

Reader Party!!! A big thank you to all the wonderful readers who showed up and spent part of their morning with us. And even more thanks to Anya’s husband who went way above and beyond in helping us set up, stuff bags and haul huge amounts of stuff everywhere. Also to Laura Bradford who was awoken early (by me) and came to help and stayed to take pictures and hand out bags and prizes.

Karaoke with the fabulous Carolan Ivey

More from the party!

Club RT with Megan Hart, Anya Bast and me

Lauren, Anya and her husband James at dinner (and I won’t tell you where because the place had the most atrocious service ever, I’d never go back there in a million years but the company was fabulous)

And I’m off to the vampire ball. More later!!!

Tuesday in the bar….

A Fred sandwich… Fred is one of the Mr. Romance competetors and he’s a very good sport and not an idiot at all as well as being well, LOOK AT HIM!

Lookit who I found in the hall! Maya Banks and Beth Williamson!!

More later I must away to breakfast and then to torment Megan at her presentation…

Early tomorrow I’m off to Anya’s and then on Sunday we’re off to Megan’s! Then we have a photo shoot with the uber fabulous Scott Church on Monday the 14th. Later that evening a book signing at the Waldenbooks in the Lebanon Valley Mall from 6 – 8 pm so if you’re in the area, please do come by to say hello!

And then on Tuesday we’re off again to Pittsburgh for the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention. I’m all atizzy with prep today. The washing machine is going. I’m nearly totally packed but there are always last minute things and I realized Wednesday that I’ll need to take along another small suitcase for extra promotion stuff because we have 68 people and not 50 sign up for our reader party. I’ll also be able to bring back books in it so I suppose that’s a good thing too.

I have not written as much as I wanted to this last week, which sucks. But I’m still good and hopefully I’ll come back as energized to work this time as I did last year.

Cascadia Wolves: Fated

Just wrote a very emotional scene last night but I think it came out well because I cried as I wrote so apparently it translated, or it did to me anyway.

Bookwise I haven’t read much although I did get an early look at Beth Kery’s Wicked Burn and I have to tell you all, this book is freaking amazing. Dark and sharp, totally sexy with an alpha hero who reminded me a lot of Linda Howard’s early heroes. Speaking of La Linda – I read Now You See Her last week and I have to reiterate how much I love her books. I LOVE HER. I’m reading The Ruins now which is uber creepy and I don’t think I’ll be taking it with me on this trip. I did get Karen Chance’s new one and also Meredith Duran’s Duke of Shadows so we’ll see which one I pick for the plane. I may actually do some plotting out of an idea I have as well. I don’t often have large blocks of time that are solely my own so I have a plethora of choices.