Romantic Times Convention 2012 Pt 1: Arrival & Friends

RT 2012 has come and gone. Like many attendees, I've mostly tweeted and Facebooked about it "live" through the five days I was in Chicago, but this year, I thought I'd gather some of my thoughts and impressions in one place because RT has undergone some changes.

This is my 12th RT. Yeah, I'm that old. I started going as a reader, a romance fan either to be among romance readers and authors. I was very lucky. My first roommate was the incomparable Cherry Adair, who remains a friend today.

Today, I have many more author friends and we get together at conventions, especially RT and RWA (Romance Writers of America).  I attend as an author now, but at RT, I'm also a fan of romance and all its trappings, be it meeting the authors, cavorting in costumes, enjoying the male cover models, talking about books, and admiring cover art. There's always laughter and fun at RT and 12 years haven't changed that.

My plane trip to Chicago--no problems! No delays, no lost IDs, no big agents staring down at me...I knew it was going to be a good convention after that :).

The only mistake I made was the lack of a coat. I don't know what I was thinking. Maybe it was all that trying to cramp 50lbs of books and promo stuff into my main luggage that caused me to forget that Chicago isn't called the Windy City for nothing! I arrived to 45 degrees Fahr. and the wind chill laughed at my goosebumps. I headed outside five feet, then headed back into the airport to buy a $20 sweater. It was a horrid pink but I couldn't afford the $70 Chicago Bulls sweater that I liked.

Once in the shuttle to the hotel, though, everything was okay again. We were staying at the Hyatt Regency O'Hare. Fellow attendees on board told me the hotel was in the middle of nowhere and that going into town for anything would mean $$$. This made me a tad sad because I had limited funds for this trip and taxi rides could eat up my budget. Which meant I probably couldn't catch a live Cubs game, dammit. The nice thing about the hotel was they checked us in right in the shuttle and gave us keys! Hey, no lines! And straight to the room with no hassle! I love this system.

When we reached the hotel, I bumped into some booksellers who had driven to the convention. I've met them on my very first convention 12 years ago, how about that for serendipity? This is how long reader-fan-friendships last in our little community. We chatted for a good hour before I excused myself because I really needed to clean up before my dinner engagement. But it was lovely bumping into my pals.

The first order of business was attending a dinner with a group of Australian readers. These women awe me. They fly 13+ hours to LAX and then drive on the WRONG SIDE of the road and attend RT almost every year. They love books and they love partying. My kind of people!

They held a party for some of their favorite authors and I'm honored to be one of them. I sat with my buddies Sylvia Day, Karen Tabke, Shayla Black, and Jill Smith (RT reviewer). Other authors with us: Nalini Singh (squee!), Jade Lee, The woman on the right of the pic below is Megan, our fabulous Aussie hostess.

We drank. We laughed. The food was great. And our hostess gave us opals and various gifts!

And oh, umm, yeah. That night, I discovered my downfall for the rest of the convention.

Butterscotch martinis.

They tasted like Gerard Butler kisses. Seriously. If I ever kiss Gerard Butler, my future husband, he'd would taste like butterscotch martinis. And you can bet that I'd taste him a LOT.

As you can see, my first night in Chicago is off to a great start!

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RWA 2011 Is All About Making U Jellus

Jealous yet? :D And there's some more in some bags somewhere, believe it or not!

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Florida Author Signing

I'll be at signing extravaganza this Saturday in Edgewater, FL.

11 a.m. to 2 p.m. June 4
at The Book Rack,
108 W. Indian River Blvd.,
Edgewater.

At last count, I heard fifteen authors will be there, including Roxanne St. Claire, Marianne LaCroix, Cheryl Norman, and Daniel Norton. Local businesses are sponsoring cookies and drinks and there will be gift baskets for raffles, so do drop by and say hello to so many fabulous authors :-). I look forward to seeing some of you there.

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RWA Why Can't I Be The Well-Behaved Author? Huh?

Surrounded by the bestest bunch of famous authors, I have to goof my opportunity to look authorly: Kylie Brant, Roxanne Rustand, Cindy Gerard, Ummmm...., Roxy's daughter, Emily, and Leanne Banks.

Sigh.

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2 RWA 2010 Video/Slide Show

The first is done by moi, a quick story panel of my friends and I having fun at RWA.

Slideshow design made with Smilebox

The second, a video of the RWA Literacy Signing, is awesomely done by Sarah Wendell from the Smart Bitches. She did a great job with the lip-synching!



And that's the week in a nutshell.

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Open Mic -- Uberauthor Gennita Unleashed!

Tracy Cooper Posey, who also writes as Teal Ceagh for Ellora's Cave, has invited me to an "open mic" at her blog. She thinks I have answers! Heh, heh. Truly, I'm honored and flattered to be on her hit list of authors with whom she wants to chat.

Anyway, she's asking for questions from readers--questions that you don't normally get to ask me here, maybe?--on writing, roofing, life being a pom prisoner, and other things that had nagged you forever but for some reason, you were too shy to ask before. Here is your chance! Click on her name and it'll link to her blog. Ask away. I'll lie through my teeth and entertain you with tales about being uber.

And yes, I'll think of a good door prize. No requests for Karaoke! (Leiha, I'm looking at you!)

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Relentless

Time keeps marching at a punishing pace and I can't seem to keep up. I apologize for Virtually One not being out yet. It's my fault. It's not finished and I'm having a bit of a problem with Jed right now.

Admittedly, telling you I'm exhausted from re-roofing doesn't make me feel any better, so I try to wake up at odd hours in the morning to sneak in some writing. I love my writing, but when one has to force oneself for a word count it becomes a chore, you know? I hope you aren't too mad at the delay, but I'll try my best to get the manuscript ready by end of the month. Fingers-crossed.

And now, I must go back to writing (late lunch) and then back on the roof.

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Booksignings From Hell: Been There Done That

Here is a funny video of what most of us authors experience when we do our rounds of booksignings. I don't like doing them alone any more because of what Parnell Hall went through ;-). Also, never sit beside Sherrilyn Kenyon (Low is near Kenyon) during one. Much as I love, LOVE, that woman, you'll end up doing nothing but exercising your smiling muscles.



Unless, of course, you're a Mega Author. Totally different then!

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Overheard at RT: Rob G. Browne to Brett Battles, "You parade around the room in your underwear anyway."

That was part of a very serious and intellectual conversation. Really. Brett insisted that, if I did quote Rob, I must also add that he was adamantly denying the fact that he PARADED.

The very popular vampire ball had many attendees parading in their best costumes, though. The turnout was fabulous and I'm always amazed at how elaborate the make-up and costumes were. I stood in line with Cindy Gerard beside a woman who gave us a detailed account of how she sewed her vampiress outfit from her old suede curtains. And how she stuffed the horns on her head. It was just simply amazing.

Heather Graham and gang did another of their crazy skits. This year it was Alice in Underland, and I'll never hear the word Twilight again without the image of F. Paul Wilson sauntering on stage in Edward makeup and wig. There was also a male Lady Gaga at the end of the play, the perfect guest for the Mad Hatter's Party indeed.

Workshop-wise, I had the bestest time captaining my second romantic suspense panels. My guests were Cindy Gerard, Ann Voss Peterson, Caridad Pineiro, Nina Bruhns, and Shiloh Walker. The ladies were wonderfully eloquent, talking about the perfect alpha hero. One of the fun questions was "How long and how many times a night?" ;-)

I also asked about the qualities of our heroine--what qualities do we writers give them to make them The Woman for our hero? Bruhns talked about strength; Peterson wanted her heroine to have the "heart of a warrior;" Walker liked her heroines to be capable and smart; and Pineiro agreed, adding that she and many readers didn't like the TSTL (too stupid to live) heroines, so she always try to avoid writing those. For myself, I said that I liked to give my heroines two things--a sense of humor, so she could laugh at that silly alpha male or coax him to laugh at himself too, and, she must pull one over her hero at least once in the story. I related the story of Marlena's Tweety Bird tattoo in Into Danger as an example. Got a good laugh out of that ;-).

The e-book signing, my very first, went well too. It was two hours long and newbie that I was, I managed to sell six CDs of Big Bad Wolf as well as two downloads of Virtually Hers. I was very happy to know many fans were waiting for the print copy of Virtually Hers (coming out in August) and all my homemade Jed-bookmarks were popular--all gone within an hour!

That's the report for now. It's time to pack and drive home, so posting will be sporadic for the next 20 hours. It's raining so think GOOD THOUGHTS FOR GENNITA, 'kay? I hate driving in the rain. The next report will be about Saturday's main event, the Booksigning, tales at the bar, esp. one about a potato, MR ROMANCE 2010, which some bloggers are calling the MANGEANT (heh), and the Dorchester Rock and Roll party. I'm sure you're all waiting breathlessly.

Again, photos when I get home (and after rest). My little puter isn't made for resizing. Can't wait to show you all the crazy costumes and happy faces at the convention!

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Overheard at RT: A man mumbled, "OMG I'm buying a drink for a man in wings."

I had a great time at the Faery Ball. I was wearing a wig and had my little shifter tail on too. But for some reason, my wig kept getting snagged by wings and waving hands of dancers all night and by the time I was sitting at the bar with my gang, I looked quite strange. I told people staring at me not to worry, as I was just shapeshifting.

I wrote a post about my Bond James Bond workshop at the RT BLOG. Do click on the link and check it.

Sat on Cindy Gerard's panel. Shared a drink with the wonderful Brenda Jackson. Talked non-stop with a great group of readers who had a bunch of questions.

Dropped by at a John Scalzi's table when he was here to do a signing. As always, he was amusing, gracious, and absolutely funny. I always have a great time when he's around.

Whew. I was so pooped that I needed an hour to recuperate. Then it was off to the Faery Ball (video above). I took some great photos of authors and readers glammed up as the fey. While you're patiently waiting for me to get home to resize them, check out the embedded video of the costume contest.

I didn't get back into my room till 2.45am! You know my body is protesting right now.

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Overheard at RT: Barry Eisler growled out, "Down on your knees."

So here I am at RT again, having a wonderful time mingling around my kind of people--readers who love romance and all its different sub-genres.

My morning panel. "Bond James Bond," went well. Everyone had a good time and I was invited to blog about it at the RT blog, so more details about that as soon as I get it done. My panelists were Barry Eisler, Robert Gregory Browne, Andrew Peterson, and Julie Kramer, every one of them a unique writer of the romance/suspense/thriller genre. They gave great insight about writing that character that stands out and POV from a killer mind-set. If you haven't checked their books out, I do recommend them because really, I was quite in awe after listening to their backgrounds and experiences. All of us write about assassins, killers, snipers, and the people who love them.

I went to Jennifer St. Giles' and Barry Eisler's panel which kept its promise that it'd be unforgettable. They read sex scenes from male and female writers after which the audience guessed and then gave reasons why. Well. Let me tell you that Barry Eisler has a sexay reading voice, and if you weren't there, you won't soon forget the way he put on that cowboy twang and growled out, "Down on your knees" from Victoria Dahl's sex scene. There was much giggling, but brave Barry masterfully kept right on ;-).

The discussion that followed was very interesting, with over 90 % of the audience being right at guessing the gender of the writer of each excerpt. Word choices, body positions, and aracter POV focus all gave clues, and there was much laughter again when a reader yelled out, "A woman would never write "he touched her pubic mound."" Barry nodded. "No pubic mound," he said, then, after a pause, he added, "I can't believe I used the word "pubic mound" in public."

I was much entertained.

I also spent a lot of time hugging people. Quick count of friends I've been eating, drinking, and chatting with: Brenda Jackson, Lauren Dane, Cindy Gerard, Cheyenne McCray, Shiloh Walker, Heather Graham, Mary Stella, Kathy Love, so many, many more, and this is still early afternoon, and I still had to attend some publisher spotlights and author get-togethers!

By evening, I was ready to fall on my face, but nope, the Ellora's Cave Fantasy Ball was on. This year's theme was "your sexiest red dress." Everyone looked fabulous, showing some red. I danced my feet off with Lauren Dane, Ann Aguirre, Anya Bast, Megan Hart, Cindy Gerard, and Victoria Dahl. Then, after a few drinks, I headed back to my room because my old bones were threatening war in the morning if I don't get off my feet.

Yes, yes, I left all those pretty male models behind in favor of bed. I must be getting old.

P/S Pictures when I get time to resize them. Solly.

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Write On

An interesting video made at the NBA (National Book Awards) ceremony by Galley Cat (http://www.mediabistro.com/) of finalists' giving advice on surviving the bad economy. Most of them say the same thing I do: "We're poor anyway!" ;-)

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Yesterday's signing went really well--the mall was crowded and Barnes and Nobles and the coordinators from CFRWA did a wonderful job making sure everything ran like clockwork.

You can see two pages of event and author photos at Terry Odell's Website and also at Lucienne Diver's blog. I was yakking away with readers, shoppers and my table-partner, Pamela Labud, who writes paranormal historical and fantasy romance. It was also great seeing good buddies Bonnie Vanak, Linnea Sinclair, and Lucienne Diver.

I haven't been to the mall in a long time so it was interesting to people-watch as well as converse with interested and curious passers-by. CFRWA was giving out goodie bags--one's choice of naughty and nice--and I'm not surprised that the naughty ones disappeared a lot faster ;-). There was much laughter among the ladies when they were asked "naughty or nice," I tell you. Good times, good times.

When I got home, there was an email with the awesome news that Virtually Hers could be pre-ordered at Amazon!

Perfect end to a great day!

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RWA Quote of the Night: "I Can Give Ten Orgasms Too."

Since it's going to take me a few days to reach home (stopping at sis' place and a leisurely drive home), I'll be uploading photos haphazardly and out of sequence. It's hard to find time to resize the photos while my nieces are around! ;-)


The grounds at the Marriott Wardman-Park Hotel are very beautiful. This is part of a glorious landscape that you could view from your window or while walking down to Connecticut Av. to catch the metro. Of course, many of us were wandering the hotel in between workshops and book signings and barely made it out into the sunshine.

And oh, yeah, the bar. It was very, very popular. I bumped into many editors and agents in between drinks and managed to exchange a card or two.

Quick bar story: There were some Marines staying at the hotel/hanging out at the bar. I heard quite a bit about them, and obviously, they quickly figured out from the attendees what those books they toted all over the hotel were all about. One of them said to a pretty romance reader, an earnest look on his face, "I can give ten orgasms too."

Heehee. Nope, I didn't, so you can scrub those naughty thoughts out of your head. I was too busy sleeping with someone else:


And yes, I'd go bi- for RITA. She was heavy, much heavier than I thought she would be, and laid in my arms all night till Cindy Gerard snatched her earlier this morning to take her home, sniff. That Cindy is such an insensitive, stingy bi-otch.

Finally, after saying goodbye to all, and sharing a delicious lunch with Rosemary Potter, the Bookseller of the Year (all the way from Australia!!!), I waved goodbye and drove off in my carful of books.

More pictures coming...but I need to decompress!

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RWA Quote of the Day: "My feet are killing me"

I'm still recovering from yesterday, especially last night. Who knew dancing all night like that would hurt a roofer's thighs? I must remember NOT to do that split again...;-)

Tonight is the gala so many of the authors will be taking it a bit easier during the day, but there are still workshops and booksignings for the brave and willing. I spotted Jim and Sharon Butcher and got some books. I squeed when I caught Joanna Bourne alone for a few minutes. I pouted because Ann Aguirre ran out of books. I am also totally knocked over when attendees came up to me and told me they were impressed with my moderating skillz. That caught me by surprise. First, most of the time, one remembers the workshop, not the moderator. Second, I always think I suck at public speaking. Must have gotten better at it since my first disaster when I announced a workshop as "The UNconscious Writer" instead of the "The SUBconscious Writer." LOL. Man. Yeah, that one was embarrassing.

I know. I'm babbling and no pics. I'll download those later, when my feet stop hurting. I kept telling myself that I really should go downtown to DC to look at the White House, which I heard was kind of an important place. But my feet. They not happy. They're bitching. And, there's an opening at the spa for a massage. It's such a tough, tough decision. Spa...White House...pamperation...walkwalkwalkathon...work on my foot...more footwork. I just don't know.

Anyway, last night was super fun, even though no trees fell on any romance authors. The Conga Line started early and then everyone did Thriller. Like the deejay yelled out, "Show your claws!" We romance authors knew how to do zombie very well, it seemed.

I rubbed shoulders with La Nora, Jacquie D'Alessandro, Jill St. John, Kylie Brant, Liz Maverick, and so many others. I laughed so hard at Jade Lee leading the Time Warp I fell off my perch by the bar. I was also part of the Hair Brigade with agent Lucienne Diver, who could shake and swing her hair better than Cher in her heyday.

Okay, trudging around the White House is looking less and less attractive.

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Romance Quote For The Day

I have meetings and cocktails from noon to midnight. Honest.

So dwell on the Goddess, Ann Stuart's, wise words from her workshop yesterday:

"It's stupid to make love against the wall and on the floor when the couple is in a bedroom. The bed is default if it's two feet away, 'kay?"

"Killing from far away can be sexy."

"I don't know why handsome, sexy heros warm the cockles of my heart."

"Are they (the dark heros) tamed after the HEA?" (Think Viggo Mortensen in The History of Violence)

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RWA Quote of the Week: Cows Are The Devil's Handmaidens

Hee. Moooo.

That's a classic quote straight from Linda Howard's keynote speech at lunch. It sums up La Linda's great sense of humor and her ability to tell a great a story. She had the whole luncheon crowd guffawing at her anecdotes about her family, whom she called "nuts." Basically, her message is about "hanging on out there," even during nutty times in your life. I can only wish for the same funny outlook in life to keep me going during my times of frustration ;-). Now, if only I could write a story around that wonderful title....

If you are in the DC area and want to take a little side trip, be sure to take one to Monticello, home of Thomas Jefferson. It's a 7000 acre estate and visiting it gives one a sense of history and an intimate inside look at one of our founding fathers. It's also a beautiful place, like stepping into the world of Gone With The Wind's Tara, and it made the writer in me want to try her hand at a historical suspense.



That Jefferson dude was six foot two. He was kinda smart. Owned a big estate. Great sense of humor. Hmm. Good romance hero stock ;-).

Back at RWA, everything is in full swing. Authors, authors, everywhere. Editors and agents too. I was able to bump into my former editor from MIRA books to give her a hug (I really enjoyed working with her and am relieved that we're still friends), connect with some other editors, and basically network with people in the business. Gossip, advice, pointers in abundance. Romance authors are the most generous writers in the world and I'm so fortunate to have such good friends.

A friend's daughter, Emily, posing with Cindy Gerard and me.

Sylvia Day, Cindy Gerard, and Kylie Brant happily networking ;-).

Lauren Dane and Ann Aguirre laughing it up.

The always-angelic Victoria Dahl.

The impeccable Alison Hart and the irrepressible Goddess Anne Stuart (ck out the little horns on her head)

Off I go to ck out some workshops and signings. Need I also say: BOOKS, BOOKS, EVERYWHERE?!

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Quick RWA Yay

I know, I know, Rooferauthor has been bad, but seriously, I haven't been able to find a block of time to play with the puter at all since RWA started. It takes half-an-hour to an hour to get back to the room (bumping into buddies on the way and then waiting for the elevators) and by the time I get back there, it's time to be off somewhere again!

But I wanted to tell you about a special encounter that put a big smile on my face since last night. At the big RWA signing, I approached the Goddess, the Queen, the One Whom I Worship, Linda Howard. I wanted to say "hi" and mention about my friend, Maria, who had just met her on a previous signing. It's always such a pleasure to listen to Linda's Southern accent and laugh.

When she was ready to sign a book for me, I presented my badge so she would know how to spell my name and she said, "You're Gennita Low?"

I nodded and smiled, "Yes," thinking Maria must have told her some silly story about me.

Linda gave me a big smile and exclaimed, "I love your books!"

See my jaw. See jaw fall on floor. No longer there. Still looking for it. I was speechless. Linda Howard read my books! And loved them! SQUEEEEEEEeeeee.

I'm not sure what I mumbled after that. I must have looked like some dazed fool standing there going, "thank you, thank you, thank you!" Yikes.

I've had this big smile on my face since the signing last night. Big, big, BIG smile. This morning I woke up all my roommates by yelling out, "LINDA HOWARD SAID SHE LOVED MY BOOKS, BY GOD!"

I'm sure my roommates are getting tired of the grin.

Got to go. Lunch and keynote speaker is...Linda Howard! I promise pictures of signings and more author talk later. BTW, you can see how fair she is compared to me in the pic above!

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RT Book Fair Pics

That was one super busy signing for me. So many booksellers and readers came up to me asking for Virtually Hers and Jed! I was really touched by all the encouragement as well as excitement that the Virtual series has found a new home. You know, after what happened last year, a little bit of my writing spirit died, but this convention has given me back my groove. Part of the reason was knowing that so many of you came looking for me to ask about my books.

Thank you to those of you who drop by my table to get Big Bad Wolf and all the other books. Thank you especially for asking about Virtually Hers and Virtually One because THAT makes me know that Jed and Hell's books are wanted. Thank you for letting me share my good news with you.

Here are some pics from the signing. I have more coming from friends, so hopefully I can pose them another time.

Mr. Romance Contestant and a future Mr. Romance. I thought they looked cute.

RT Virgin Robert Gregory Browne signed his "least scariest" book for me.

Added another Barry Eisler book to my collection.

Very excited I got to meet the great Piers Anthony

Didn't get to hang out with my very good buddy Liz Maverick but I managed to zoom in during her signing. Love her books. BUY.

On a baby. Soooo cute.

Mark Henry wants to eat some brains

Ilona Andrews. When taking pics with her, watch for sneaky rabbit ears on you.

J.A. Konrath. He of the many faces. Very funny man.

And here's me. BBW was a popular book! The next most popular one--Facing Fear. I think there was only one copy of that left. The best part was having readers who attended the romantic suspense panel I moderated came by to pick up my books because they enjoyed my discussion. Yay me!

***********

Met many, many more authors and a good time was had by all. The noise level of that place was incredible. My bookseller friend brought some of her customers along and boy, were they in heaven. Such excitement at seeing so many authors and books ;-).

I scored two boxes of books at RT. Will I have time to read them? Only if I clone myself several times. What are you girls reading now? Maybe I can look in my pile of new books and put them on top for my next read.

Next: Vampire Ball, Musical Chairs like you've never seen, and Mr. Romance contest pics.

That's it for now. I must to bed (been writing) because in 3 hours...it's time for the hellacious commute to and from work.

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More RT Quickies

I'm home but haven't found time to upload any of the pics yet. This morning--back to the 6 hour commute to hell and back. That's the time suck that takes away every free moment of my life, it seems. And of course, my nemesis the cement mixer was standing there smiling at me and saying, "Hello, lady, it's time to suffer again. Come along."

So I hope you don't mind if I just give "quickies" of my RT memories. I promise to let you see the pics soon. I had the best time at RT this year--good news, great friends, wonderful weather. Simply perfect.

More random memories:

1) My motto: Why walk when you can convertible?

2) Barry Eisler's favorite line at RT: So, see you at the Vampire Ball tonight? Are you going to the Pajamas Party afterwards?

3) Listening to Mark Henry read some love scenes out loud.

4) Hearing the term "mangeant" used for the Mr. Romance contest.

5) Laughing ourselves sick at the He Sex She Sex workshop when the conversation expanded into inventions such as floppy balls hammock (please don't ask me to explain; you have to be there).

6) Meeting new RT virgins such as J.A. Konrath (who is PERFECT for RT) and Robert Gregory Browne. RT gave out pins for newcomers that said "Be gentle with me, I'm a virgin." Cute.

7) Jeaniene Frost was signing the ARCs of her next Night Huntress book and I nabbed one!

8) Great to see Mario Acevedo here too (Virgin!). Try his vampire books, girls--so funny and snarky, and with great titles: X-Rated Blood Suckers and The Nymphos of Rocky Flats. They're one of a kind! ;-)

9) The horrible economy has also touched the lives of our romance models...most of them were only sponsored for a few days instead of the full week.

10) My most memorable line of the convention: "I'm sorry I mushed your package." You fill in the story line for me ;-).

That's it for now. I still have to finish unpacking! And I promise my new editor that I'll get the Virtually One proposal done so that we can start getting serious about publishing dates, etc. I am so psyched!

And finally, THANK YOU FOR THE CONGRATS about Virtually Hers and Virtually One. I'm so happy they've found a good home that will promote them and reach for the readers who have been looking for them. I feel refreshed and invigorated. I feel powerful and eager to conquer my writing. I feel very, very, very, very awesome.

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