Jun
19 2007 |
So the five author anthology that has my quickie from last year, Sudden Desire is now out in print!
Sexy Summer Fun features stories from me, Katherine Kingston, Hannah Murray, Nikki Soarde and Ravyn Wilde! To celebrate, I’m going to run a contest (because they are fun and I can). Tell me what your favorite romantic summer activity is! Easy yes? Just leave them in the comments to this post and I’ll choose a winner for the paper anthology at 3 pm pacific on Saturday.
And a quick comment on the RWA PAN/PRO thing: Okay so it’s not quick so I’m going to put it behind a text cut. If you want to read it, click the read more text…
First off, I’m eligible either way so this isn’t “sour grapes” on my part because I’d be affected by the new “guidelines” being put in place.
This is my response: And people are shocked when authors say the RWA is ineffective. Seriously, this is what they’re spending time on?
Do they need to have a conversation then to decide what published means and what career means? because um, I hate to break it to them but those terms mean different things to different people.
Two thousand dollars on an advance or over the course of a year in royalties does not “career” make IMO. It’s about your goals. Some people have day jobs and write on the side and that is a career for them. The amount of money made annually or on an advance isn’t so much the issue, is it? It’s like saying teaching isn’t a career because teachers don’t make nearly as much money as other people with graduate degrees do. Or lawyers who practice non-profit work instead of big firm work don’t have careers because they make a pittance rather than hundreds of thousands of dollars a year. A career isn’t solely about money to everyone.
I think this entire issue has been done bassakwards. The conversation about what PAN should be and which audience it serves
should be had before guidelines get changed. How can anyone other than those people who feel exactly the way the people proposing the change feel even begin to decide if they don’t even know what the terms are supposed to mean and why they mean what they do? (or even what the hell I mean after reading this run on sentence)
It’s precisely this sort of rush to run out and make sweeping changes without any comprehensive thought as to the outcomes that makes the RWA irrelevant more and more every day.
Until PAN wants to have a real discussion about what it’s supposed to be, how can any of us really decide how this issue should be decided?
Takes deep breath and rants anew about a wider issue…
Moreover – this gets to the idea of these “special membership levels” – I suppose upon deeper thought I’m sort of perplexed by these levels rather than having one organization whose mission is to serve equally all its members.
Either everyone gets in to the RWA as a member, struggling and not yet published to Nora Roberts (okay so there can be only one Nora but you get my point) or not. The problem is the existence of all these “special” status levels.
If we’re all considered romance authors then shouldn’t we all get cookies? What about a ribbon or a badge makes me more worthy of protection and action on the part of my organization than anyone else who pays her dues?
If we’re talking relevance, I don’t pay 75 bucks a year to get cookies and get the secret handshake to enter a room where the non pubbed can’t get in. I’m not interested. I went to high school already and I have no excitement to revisit it.
I did re-up my membership to the RWA this year after thinking very long and hard about it. I think it’s easy to assume the worst of the RWA when all one needs to do is examine their history of attempting to exclude any group that wears on that sense of entitlement some in the organization have and want to keep.
No, not everyone in the RWA has it, which is why I continue my membership. Most RWA members I’ve met are good people who care about the romance writing community as a whole. But I could not possibly give two figs about this “sekrit club” crap. I want the RWA to serve all her members and to stop wasting time and money with this dumb stuff.
There are 9,000 members in the RWA. The RWA should serve them all equally or have them pay less dues if they’re not going to do that and just say they’re a social club instead of a professional organization. If they want to be a professional organization, they should act like it.
June 19th, 2007 at 10:41 am · Link
Favorite romantic summer activity? Hanging out on the beach and watching the sunset. I love that.
And the RWA issue is just…oh my. My head spins just thinking about it.
June 19th, 2007 at 11:21 am · Link
Yay! Congrats on your print release! 😎
June 19th, 2007 at 11:37 am · Link
My favorite romantic summer activity is when my husband takes me on the boat at night so I can lay in his arms and we look at the stars.
June 19th, 2007 at 1:24 pm · Link
Laying on the beach and collecting the rays and doing lots of people watching! 😆
June 19th, 2007 at 3:04 pm · Link
Long walks on the beach with my guy. 😉
June 19th, 2007 at 3:12 pm · Link
Congrats Lauren! 🙂
You deserve it (())
My favorite romantic summer activitiy? watching the fireworks on the 4th of July from a nice,secluded spot & making some fireworks of our own! and of course reading Ellora’s cave books 😉
June 19th, 2007 at 4:07 pm · Link
My favorite romantic summer activity is camping out with the hubby. Nothing better than some lovin’ in a tent with the rain fly off so we can see the stars above.
June 19th, 2007 at 4:23 pm · Link
Congrats on the release, Lauren!!
As for the RWA thing, I’m thinking we should all just up and form our own group.
Well, no. I’m wishing I had the time to put together my own group. One that lets everyone write what they want and strives to give advice and support where and how needed. Not even limited to “romance” or any other neighboring genre.
On I dream…
June 19th, 2007 at 6:31 pm · Link
laying in the swing napping on hubby lol.
June 19th, 2007 at 6:33 pm · Link
Hmm since I am single at the moment I will have to adlib…my favorite romantic summer activity…Having the cutest Cabana Boy bring my a Cold Tall drink…LOL
About the RWA you know my take on that, not saying anything else..
June 19th, 2007 at 6:59 pm · Link
I will one day become a member of RWA, more for the conference than anything.
Summer activities? Going for a nice long…drive…with The Man.
June 19th, 2007 at 8:02 pm · Link
Hi Lauren. I’ve been reading your comments over at the The Spice Rack. (lurking…) Would love to read your summer Quickie, so for my favorite activity…it would have to be HOMEMADE ICE CREAM!!!! There’s just something about making scrumptious vanilla ice cream with Eagle Brand condensed milk in the summer that goes hand-in-hand with fireworks and hot summer nights. 🙂 Larissa
June 19th, 2007 at 9:50 pm · Link
My favorite romantic summer activity is when the DH takes me to a restaurant overlooking the ocean.*g*
June 20th, 2007 at 3:46 am · Link
Congrats on the release of Sexy Summer Fun!
My favorite romantic summer activity is walking hand-in-hand on the beach.
June 20th, 2007 at 8:06 am · Link
Cuddling with my husband while we watch fireworks on the 4th of July.
June 20th, 2007 at 9:22 am · Link
We just recently purchased a hammock(2 person), and laying out in that with my hubby after the kids have gone to bed is fab!!
June 20th, 2007 at 9:58 am · Link
My favorite is going to a romantic bed and breakfast with hubby for a night or two in honor of our anniversary while my sister and mother watch the kids.
June 20th, 2007 at 11:46 am · Link
A swim in the pool during the hot days especially of your partner joins you.
June 20th, 2007 at 11:48 am · Link
Just sitting and sharing a meal outside with hubby.
June 21st, 2007 at 9:57 am · Link
We just got a new above ground pool, so I’m looking forward to just relaxing there 🙂
June 21st, 2007 at 11:52 am · Link
Any kind of activity with hubby is romantic, ha!ha!
June 21st, 2007 at 11:54 am · Link
I enjoy looking at the stars on a nice warm summer evening with my hubby.
June 22nd, 2007 at 10:32 am · Link
Hi Lauren, congrats on the release! Fav romantic summer activity … enjoying a nice meal outside with hubby.
June 22nd, 2007 at 4:20 pm · Link
Congrats on the print copy release. I enjoy reading a hot book with my partner.