Category: RWA

I’m on vacation this week because, when I was planning my time off, I thought I would be going to the Romance Writer’s Association 2013 annual conference in Atlanta (July 17-20).

But I’m not going.

I’ve been trying to decide how I feel about that.  I’ve decided I feel ambivalent.

A part of me is sad I’m not there.  This conference is a big huge deal for romance writers, and it’s freaking awesome if you are a romance fan-girl like me.  Plus, it would have given me a chance to see people I met in 2011, and to meet new people.  I’d be able to talk to people I interact with all the time on Facebook and Twitter, and I really, really wish I was there with them.  Who knows when I’ll have a chance to see them in person again?

On the other hand, I’m pretty glad I decided not to go.  I’m feeling kind of fragile about my writing at the moment, and I’m just trying to get into a productive and professional routine with it.  You’d think it would help to attend a professional writer’s conference, but it doesn’t.  In fact, when I went in 2011 I found the conference to be a huge distraction that disrupted my writing production for months.  I’m not entirely sure why, except to say that when I’m writing – like today – I’m in a very private, interior space.  A dark, quiet place.  The conference shines bright lights into that place and it blinded me.

Understand that I’m talking about myself here.  There are people who totally thrive on the excitement of conferences.  I’m just not one of them.  I was pulled out of my comfort zone – both personally and professionally – and it took a long time to get my balance again.   But it was also a good experience.  Not only did I meet wonderful people, but eventually I was able to come to a better understanding of myself and my writing goals.

Will I go to the conference again?  Yes, I think I will.  There’s an awful lot to be gained by going – but you have to understand what’s being offered, and what you can expect to get out of it.  I’ll know more when I go the next time, and hopefully I’ll be able to manage myself and my time better.  But I’ll only go if I’m in a secure writing space.  The writing is what’s important.  The conference just supports that – no matter how big and glitzy and exciting it is.

If you’re going to the RWA conference – I hope you have fun!  And I’ll miss seeing all of you so very much.  But I’m kind of glad I’m here at home working on my book too.

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!

 

Shockingly enough, I did not get a phone call on Monday to tell me that my book was a finalist for the RITA awards.

For those of you who are not romance junkies (like me), the RITAs are the awards that the Romance Writers of America (RWA) gives out to published romance novels and novellas every year. Think of it as the Oscars of romance.

This year about 1200 books were entered in a number of categories. Those books were culled down to a handful of nominees. The winners in each category will be announced at the RWA’s national conference in the summer. Monday was the day the RWA called the nominees to let them know that their book had moved into the final round of judging and were up for the awards.

I did not receive a phone call. Neither did approximately 1,152 other people.

It didn’t especially surprise me that I wasn’t nominated. The competition is stiff and the writers are all excellent. In fact, if I’d actually gotten a call, I would have lost control of my bladder right there in my cubicle at work. That would have been a little awkward.

On the other hand, I did carry my cell phone around with me all day. Readiness is all.

Was I disappointed that I didn’t get that phone call? Maybe a little. Although opinions may vary, I love my book and the acknowledgment would have been wonderful. It would have been like a Cinderella story, or like Britain’s Got Talent. Without Simon.

On the other hand, I was actually able to enter the contest. How cool is that? I had a book published and I was able to enter it in the RITAs. Awesome, man.  Just frickin’ awesome.

I also had the extreme pleasure of seeing another Carina Press author get nominated. Fiona Lowe was nominated for Best Contemporary Romance for her book, Boomerang Bride. I was so happy for her that I about started crying.  However, I did retain control of my bladder.

Mostly.

I have to tell you how exciting it is for me to be involved with Carina at this time. After all,the imprint has only been “live” for about two years. And they’ve already had a book on the NY Times bestseller list with one of Shannon Stacy’s novels. Now Fiona has the first direct-to-digital nomination for a RITA. Wow. It’s fun to be at the beginning of things.

So, congratulations to all of the RITA nominees! Now I breathlessly await my letter telling me how my book scored with the judges. I’m both interested to see it, and a little nervous.

Maybe Simon is lurking out there after all…

 

Yes, yes. I know everyone is tired of hearing about RWA 2011. But this was kind of a big deal for me, so I thought I could get away with writing one more post about it.   I don’t get out much.

I wanted to share some of my personal takeaways from the conference. These are things I felt were most important for myself as a writer and, indeed, as a human being. So here they are, in no particular order.

• I need to drink more water than I think I need to drink.
• Romance might not kill, but Spanx sure can.
• If there is such a thing as a romance geek, it is I. (I am she?) I just about fainted when Malle Vallick actually looked at my blog and pronounced it “not bad.” And when I met the rest of the Harlequin digital team, I wanted to ask for their autographs (I didn’t, but I wanted to). Don’t even get me started on how excited I was about meeting authors at the book signings. I met Jenny Crusie! And Anne Stuart! Ahhh!
• I am a nerd. I loved the workshops. I enjoyed the parties, especially the smaller ones. I am uncomfortable wearing a dress. That’s just who I am.  And you have to be yourself, even when you’re at a conference with a bunch of strangers.
• Speaking of wearing dresses, it is not a good idea to slide across the seat of a cab, exiting with both feet sticking out the door, in the center of Times Square, while one is wearing a dress. Just saying. Grace and a show.
• With just a few exceptions, everyone is shorter than you think they’re going to be.
• Pretty much everyone else is nervous too.
• It is both delightful and nervewracking to meet people in person whom you’ve only met over the Internet. Now I have to obsess over whether or not they still like me. It’s so much easier to be liked when you’ve never really met.
• You can’t let the fact that you are afraid – no TERRIFIED – stop you from doing things you really want to do. You have to do them anyway because those things will be the most worthwhile.
• Romance authors with some degree of fame can be the most generous people in the world.  They can also be cool or bitchy. In other words, they’re human. And they tend to look for a convenient escape route when you go all “fan girl” on them.  How do I know? Um..no reason..
• The romance genre is vital and viable.  Readers love it.  Writers love it.  People are devoted to it.  I’m not alone in my love for it.
• I am an author. I write romance novels. And being an author who loves and writes romance novels is a pretty great thing.

And I promise – that’s my last post about RWA 2011.  For now.

The 2011 RWA National Conference is over and I’m back at home, disoriented.

The last day of the conference was all about workshops for me. I stuffed my head so full with knowledge that it still hurts. Other, braver, authors were making pitches to agents and editors. Since attending the conference, I now understand better what a pitch actually is. I thought I’d better not pitch until I knew how to do it. Smart.

Friday night was the Rita and Golden Heart award ceremony and everyone was dressed to the nine’s. Here is Bookseller Ann a/k/a Bookaholic Ann all glammed up to attend.

The Rita and Golden Heart awards ceremony was alternately moving and funny. Meg Cabot did a terrific job as Mistress of Ceremonies and a good time was had by all.

And now here I am, back at home, trying adjusting to normal, mortal life. So I’ve been spending a lot of time reflecting on the experience.

First, I was unprepared for the impact of being with so many women. By and large, all of the attendees, organizers, and presenters were women. There were women of every size, race, and ability. There were women of every personality type, and of every level of experience.

Most of the attendees and presenters were gracious, supportive and kind. There were a few who were rude and bitchy, but they were definitely the exceptions (and with over 2000 women attending, that’s saying something).

Most of the people at the conference loved the romance genre as much as I do. They understood how important it is. They “get” the influence the genre can have in everyday lives. Nobody mocked the romance genre, because we are the ones creating the genre. Nobody tried to put it down or denigrate it. Nobody suggested that writing romance was not “really writing”. The people at this conference respect the romance genre. Being with them was validating and empowering.

I also felt validated and empowered by the many workshops I was able to attend. In some cases the presenter’s points confirmed decisions I had made at various times regarding my career or my craft. In some cases a new perspective was brought forth. At all times I was treated with respect and camaraderie, even though I am at the beginning of my journey.

So the verdict? The RWA National conference was well worth the effort, money, and panic sweat. I got to meet so many lovely people. I got to actually greet friends I had only known from the Internet. I had the opportunity to talk about nothing but romance for four days in a row.

Priceless. Galvanizing.

Guess it’s time to get back to work. 😀

Bye, bye, NYC!  Annaheim in 2012!  Woohoo!

Thursday was the day of Glam for Betsy at the RWA Conference. It started out innocently enough with a workshop on sex (*wink, wink, nudge, nudge*), then a workshop on romantic suspense.

The luncheon today was the awards luncheon. One of the awards recipients was Amy Atwell, a fellow Carina Press author, so, as I cheered very loudly for her, I thought I would take pictures.

Hmmm…well, it was a good idea.  You just trust me. She’s there.

Sherrilyn Kenyon gave the luncheon speech, and she was awesome.  Plus, we got more free books!  Woohoo! 

More workshops and then it was time to get ready for the Carina Press party.  How sad am I that I don’t have a picture handy of me in my glamorous black dress. Ah, well.  By the way, while I was glamming myself up for the parties, Bookseller Ann, a/k/a Bookaholic Ann attended some publisher booksignings where the publishers gave away books for free. She now has quite a few books to lug home with her.  I’m glad I wasn’t there.  I have no control.

The Carina party was great, and I got to meet a lot of the authors I email.  Then we headed over to the Waldorf Astoria for the big Harlequin Black and White Ball. 

I shared a cab with two fellow Carina authors, Maureen Miller and Adrienne Giordano.

They look so elegant.  The Harlequin party was at the Starlight Roof Ballroom.  It was beautiful.

 The Harlequin authors just kept arriving until the place was packed with people dressed in black and white, or black, or white.

The dancing soon started, and omigosh it was crazy!  It was like a romance mosh pit! 

Then, eventually, it was back to Times Square and home at the hotel.

Good night, Times Square. Good night. Friday is the last day of the conference. Oh what wonders will await?