You Mean It Isn't That...?

Happy Monday All,

We're getting closer to Romance Writers of America's National Conference (aka "Nationals" or "RWA18"). It's interesting to me how the longer I'm in the genre, the more of the stereotypes and comments that come my way.

For instance, last year, I was in the elevator going up to get something from my hotel room, and this person who was attending another event said to me, "Oh, you're with that book thing."

Now, I played it off. I mean, technically it is a "book thing", but this illustrates some of what we romance novelists encounter. Nationals are so much more than just a "book thing". We have a ton of writers there, sure, but we also have people in other capacities. There are agents, editors, bloggers, sometimes cover artists/models, and well, it wouldn't shock me if someone from film showed up...oh wait, they already did...PassionFlix.

Darling readers, any of you who have followed me (or any other romance novelist) for any amount of time are also aware of the vastness of the genre. There are so many sub-genres (no, I haven't tallied them up, but I imagine they keep expanding). Romances sometimes even contain some kind of mystery--even murder (example, Christie Craig's The Cop Who Stole Christmas). I'd venture to say that if one looks hard enough there's bound to be something for everyone. In my novels, I've got adventure, romance, suspense, humor--you name it.

The point is, Romance writers don't encompass just one thing. They're NOT all like whatever is popular (for example, I've gotten "Oh you write Romance...like Fifty Shades Of Grey?" and I've also gotten, "Oh, like Twilight?") No, it's a vast, expansive--whatever adjective you want to use to say the word "big"--genre and industry.

And we love our readers. Romance writers are incredibly big on being good to their readers. Case in point: author Elizabeth Hunter often does "Five Friday"--a live Facebook video where she answers reader questions/comments and talks about her upcoming work. She also does giveaways. I've done several giveaways. I also carry around swag (bookmarks) for people that include information on how to find me so if they want to know more they can find that information.

I honestly think that no matter your gender or background, you probably can find a romance that suits your tastes (I've even seen little bits of romance in mid-grade...like Ella Enchanted by Gail Carson Levine or Betsy & Joe and Betsy's Wedding both by Maud Hart Lovelace). (P.S. If you have a kid 10 years or older who is interested in writing and you live near Brewster, NY, Gail Carson Levine is doing a 6-week workshop!)

In any case, the Romance genre is one of the biggest (if not the biggest) genres out there. And the comments I've mentioned don't really bother me; however, they do remind me that there are a lot of stereotypes and at one point, yes, there probably was something to them (when there weren't a lot of options) but the genre has come a LONG way since then.

So, go ahead, and enjoy the genre. I know I do!

Have A Magically Marvelous Monday!

Back & So Much To Tell...

Happy Monday Everyone!

Sorry I've been MIA for so long. A ton of things have been going on:

For one thing, I attended my first Romance Writers of America National Conference (RWA Nationals) in Orlando, Florida in July. While there, I got to go to Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom (my very first time going to Disney World and my first time going to Nationals since I joined RWA in 2009).

Nationals was an amazing experience. Normally I'm nervous when going to conferences, but for the first time, I wasn't. I'm not sure why. Maybe I had a lot of people praying for me, and sending me positive thoughts. Maybe I went in with the right attitude. Either way, or both, I am not sorry one bit that I went!

Arriving!

We--that is, the whole Averie clan--arrived in Orlando, Florida on Tuesday, July 25th. Everything went smoothly with getting our luggage, and despite a little issue at the rental car place, that even went smoothly.

Then came trying to find the hotel. Our GPS kept sending us in a circle, and we didn't quite understand the directions people gave us. It took circling the same

area FOUR TIMES before we managed to figure out what to do. And then, came finding the hotel itself. We got lost and had to call the hotel twice. So needless to say, either know your way around, have a reliable map or really good GPS. We finally managed to get to the hotel.

Raspberry Sorbet
Lemonade Smoothie
I had with dinner (yum!)

We got to our room without a hitch (and the hotel staff were super-nice). Soon after, we found a place to get dinner and felt much better afterwards. The Disney Boardwalk was just a short walk away, so we decided to go explore it. 

Juggler we saw while on the Disney Boardwalk

Disney Boardwalk was all lit up at night. It was so pretty!

I had my nails done before I left for Nationals. On my left thumb 

Right thumb with purple/pink
butterfly wings

Left thumb with blue
butterfly wings

was half a blue butterfly, and on my right half a purplish-pink one. The blue one represents my deceased friend, Sarah. Blue was her favorite color and butterflies were special to her. The other one represents my writing. On my business cards I have a purplish-pink butterfly. When I put the two thumbs together it made a whole butterfly. I don't have that on my nails anymore, but it was nice for Nationals...until I fell and broke the purple one! But oh well. I was okay. Mostly just embarrassed, but I can laugh about it, now.

Together the thumbs made a pretty butterfly

I have a ton of other pictures, so I'll have to do a whole series of blog posts because there is so much to tell and show you.

August isn't as busy despite Offspring being back and school and some of the other activities we have going on. They're doing well, and enjoyed going to Hollywood Studios, Animal Kingdom, Epcot, and Magic Kingdom. They also went to Legoland, which also looked like fun, but Real Life Hero (my husband) said Legoland was even hotter than Disney World. But our Offspring enjoyed it, so I call it a win.

I'm working on Book 5 in the Immortal Dreams series and some other thing that's been playing in my head for a long time now. I hope everyone who is reading Book 4, Perfect Love, is enjoying it. I've already had some readers say that they thought it was my best work so far, which made my day.

I'll do more posts talking about Nationals and my visit to the Magic Kingdom, but for now, let me assure you, I had a fantastic time. :-)

What's been going on with you? What are you reading? Have you had a good summer?

Have A Marvelously Magical Monday!

When Nationals Call...

Happy Tuesday All,

I skipped posting last week for two reasons. One, I wanted to give proper attention to the interview with Meg LeFauve after the hold up with the formatting, and two, I had several things going on.

Me (Maid of Honor), and
my deceased friend, Sarah,
on her wedding day in 2003

Monday marked 4 years since my friend, Sarah, died, and by the time I thought of doing a blog post it was late in the afternoon, so I decided to switch this week's post to today.

Recently the national organization I belong to, Romance Writers of America (RWA) opened up registration for its annual conference--dubbed "Nationals--which is being held in July, at a resort in Orlando, Florida this year. Talking with my family, it was decided for the first time since I joined in 2009, I would go. I'm all registered with a hotel room and have had a lot of outpouring of

Me at my chapter's conference in 2014

support from other RWA members both ones going and those who have been in the past. I'm excited to see what I'll learn and what connections I might make, but I'm also nervous. It's a lot of people and I feel sort of "lost in the crowd". Fortunately, I have people I know going and many others who have said they would like to see me there. It's wonderful how Romance novelists often stick together like this and encourage each other. It's really helpful!

I've been to my chapter's conferences and to other non-writer-related conferences, but I don't know if I've ever been to anything

Me at an author event, February 2015

as large as this one. I heard one year they had around 2,000 attendees! That's a lot of people. So, prayers and good thoughts for a wonderful experience would be great.

Have you ever been to a big conference? Let me know in the comments!

Have A Terrifically Thrilling Tuesday!

A-Conferencing We Will Go...

Happy Monday All,

I hope everyone is having a wonderful Summer. Down here in the Lone Star State we are melting, but that's not unusual. Heat + Humidity = Texas Summers. I'm surprised we're not in the triple digits (the week forecast looks like we're going to get close). It makes me very grateful for central air condition and car air conditioning.

This week is the week of RWA Nationals. RWA is Romance Writers of America. Nationals are the conference they host every year--generally in a different location each year. The Conference is open to members (and I believe non-members) alike. A huge number of industry professionals, as well as writers, attend Nationals every year. Although, I'm in the latter group--the group that doesn't attend. You have to budget for Nationals because typically it does cost more than the local ones. Given my family demands and my financial situation, it's not something I can do at this point. Maybe in the future. I would like to go once, just to gain the experience and see what it's like.

If you're interested in more information on RWA Nationals, please don't hesitate to look up their website here. RWA has a ton of information available, not just for Romance writers, but often writing in general. It does mostly cater to Romance writers, but I know some Non-Romance writers who have benefited from information RWA provided.

So, for those of us who can't attend Nationals and would like to go to a writer's conference, what are our options?

Many RWA chapters have conferences throughout the year that cost less. They're smaller, and generally only offer one or two topics, but sometimes that's what's best for a writer (every writer is different and they have to decide what works for them in terms of conference options).

My RWA chapter--NWHRWA has an annual Fall conference every year that takes place the first Saturday in October. The nice thing is, this is usually when the weather is getting cooler in Texas so you're not as likely to melt (you're welcome) and we generally have one or two topics, so it's focused, and sometimes intense--but gives you more opportunity to use your energy to learning one thing at a time and soak it up. (If that's your preference).

I'm excited for my chapter, NWHRWA, Lone Star Writer's Conference this year. We have a great line up planned:

 

Lone Star Conference

Saturday, Oct. 1, 2016

Location:  Hilton Garden Inn -- Houston Cypress Station

160 Wagon Point Houston, TX 77090  Room Rates:

 $92 plus tax (reservation link coming soon!)

from a while back
me, author Kerrelyn Sparks,
and author Christie Craig
at one of Christie's book signings

Conference Fee:

 $120 chapter members/$130 non-members (registration link soon)

Speakers Include:

NYT Best-Selling Author, Kerrelyn Sparks, and 

Jennifer Fusco, author and marketing wiz of Market Or Die

Publishing Houses: Casablanca (by Sourcebook), TBA

Agencies: SBR Media

Conference Features:

Morning pitch appointments, Afternoon Pitch "speed dating"

Raffle Baskets (items to be raffled off)

2016 Lone Star Contest Awards

We will have a meet & greet at the hotel on Friday evening at 6pm.

Saturday's event will include a full breakfast and lunch, with snacks. 

Morning pitch appointments with publisher and agent.

In the afternoon it will be done "speed-dating" style.

Please watch the NWHRWA website for information.

The information will be on the website soon including the registration code

for the hotel and link to register for the conference itself.

We welcome Romance writers, as well as Non-Romance writers to 

this conference, so if you're not a Romance writer, don't let the 

Romance part stop you from coming!

Have A Marvelously Merry Monday!

You-Whooo, Writers!

Happy Thursday All,

So sorry I've been away--there's been a lot going on over here, so I've been very busy. Allergies are a little better--thank you to everyone for your good thoughts/wishes/prayers.

The other day I mentioned my RWA (Romance Writers' of America) chapter, the Northwest Houston Romance Writers of America is having its annual Lone Star Contest for writers. There are several categories to enter, everybody. There's great prizes available and an opportunity to get your work in front of editors and agents.

One year I was a coordinator for one of the categories and I saw some really talented writers come through. This is a chance to show people what you're doing with your work. It's fairly easy to enter, and it's not real expensive either.

Please go to the contest web page and check out further details. The category chairs (coordinators) are all really nice people and the person who heads it up is so helpful.

Have A Thrilling Thursday!

Zombies, RWA Twitters, Paperback, and It's Friday!

Happy Friday All,

It's been a rather quiet week with RWA Nationals going on (catch up on RWA Conference news by way of Twitter). I'm not there--wasn't in the cards for this year, but I've seen pictures from a couple of chapter mates of mine.

But wait! Maybe it's not as quiet as I thought...

This just in...Suzan Harden has released the second novel in her Bloodlines series (this release is the next one after Blood Magick) The new release is entitled Zombie Love. It's available now on Amazon Kindle It's also available on Smashwords, and XinXii. (Should be available on Barnes & Noble Nook soon).  Gotta say, I don't envy Suzan's heroine, Samatha "Sam" Rideway. Although, Sam sounds like she can handle anything thrown at her.

 

Also, yesterday Will Graham's book, Street Heat went in-print through Amazon. It's been available on Kindle and Barnes & Noble Nook for awhile now, but now you can also get it in print.

I hope everyone has a great weekend, I'll see you Monday (yes, I know that's the 4th of July, but I'm still planning to post on here) For those in the USA, do you have big plans for the 4th of July? 

Have A Fascinating Friday!