I Am Not In Anaheim

I am not in Anaheim. Nora Roberts is. But, wait. Am I telling you the truth? After all, have you ever seen me and Nora Roberts in the same place at the same time? Could it be…. Hmmmm….

Oh, okay. We’re not the same person, although Nora does envy me my adventure-filled life.

So, you may wonder why I care that I’m not in Anaheim. And why Nora is there, along with a bajillion other romance authors and would-be romance authors. It can only be because it’s RWA National conference week.

Last year was the first year I attended the big RWA national conference and I enjoyed it more than I thought I would. I thought it would be like high school, with the popular kids on one side of the room and the rest of us sitting on the other side. It all goes back to my theory that everything in life can be understood as tables in the high school cafeteria. Fortunately, I was wrong (although I did still feel a bit like a dork).

After having experienced nationals, there are two main reasons why I am very sad that I’m not in Anaheim this week.

1) The books. The. Books. Boooooksssss. There are books everywhere. Everywhere you turn. Everywhere you go. And best yet? They are all ROMANCE books. Billions and billions of romance books. Just call me a pig and ROLL me in the mud. I was in hog heaven. I stew in my own envious juices thinking about the books. Wait! Flashback! Ahhh.

2) Everyone there – EVERYONE – was talking about writing. And not only that, they were talking about ROMANCE writing. They were talking about the act of writing, the process of writing, the lifestyle of writing, the sale and publishing of writing. And they were giving importance to romance writing. It wasn’t just a sidelight. It wasn’t just something to be snickered at. It was important. And it is to me.

To top it all off, many of my beloved Carina Press editors and authors are there…without me! *sob*

So although I am not in Anaheim, I am wishing that I was. And tonight I will go to sleep and dream dreams of Atlanta in 2013.

And BOOOOOOOOKKKKKKKSSSSSSSSS….

PS – good luck to Carina Press author Fiona Lowe, who is up for a Rita award this year. I’ve got my fingers crossed!