I had a lovely time in Ottawa. The weather was a bit chilly, but it was wonderful to meet with one of my many awesome online friends, Diane. It was great to put a face to a name and share some time talking about books and writing!
The chill melted quickly with the warmth of friendship. The snow didn’t melt so quickly, LOL! When I arrived there were a few inches and we had flurries virtually every day.
For this Fun Friday, I decided to share with you this blinged up version of the Ottawa Winter Wonderland. If you can’t see the image below, you can click here.
I was recently at a conference in Philadelphia and wanted to share some photos with you. I had a nice time meeting both old and new friends and Philly was so much fun. The hotel was in Center City and the weather was great, so it was not a problem walking around. We were able to share the city with friends who had never been there before which was cool. I love Philly. It’s a great city.
I am so sorry that I haven’t posted the last two days, but I was having issues getting a clean Internet connection as I am on the road again . . .
This time I am in lovely Columbus, Ohio at the 2010 RT BookReview Convention. Having a wonderful time meeting both new and old friends. You can see me here with my lovely editor Selina Mclemore and some of those friends.
Seriously though, those are some of the fabulous Ellora’s Cave Men at the Wednesday night ball.
I’ve been busy doing a number of panels and also taking the time to interview some of favorite authors and friends. Take a moment to watch this interview with USA Today Bestselling paranormal romance author Angela Knight as she chats about her current and upcoming releases. Look for more interviews over the next few days!
I know it’s Wicked Wednesday, which usually means an excerpt, but I wanted to get a headstart on the Thanksgiving holiday and share those things for which I am thankful. I hope you’ll forgive me this indulgence. Here are those things for which I am thankful:
My Family: To my hubby who always makes me laugh and my beautiful daughter who is the light of my heart, I am thankful. I am also thankful for my sister, brother, in-laws and all my nieces, nephews and cousins who bring such joy into my life.
Our Military and their families: Thank you for the sacrifices you make so that we can continue to be safe and enjoy the many freedoms which we enjoy.
My Friends: Where would you be without friends? I want to thank all of them for always being supportive and I want to thank all of you, my cyber friends, for always visiting and writing.
The Liberty States Fiction Writers: After a year of darkness, a bright light emerged. You are that bright light, filled with optimism, good will, diversity and innovation. I thank you for our first wonderful year together and give a big WOO HOO that we’ve reached 150 members in our inaugural year.
Last, but never ever least . . .
The United States of America: You opened your doors to me and provided me the opportunity to live the American Dream. You gave me Liberty and allowed me to pursue through hard work those things that have made me happy and which I hope have contributed to the overall good of this Nation. I am forever indebted and thankful.
What about you? What are the things for which you are thankful this Thanksgiving season?
Since I’m headed off to the RWA National conference like many other writers, I thought I’d offer up some tips on networking!
Conferences are one of the best ways of not only improving your craft skills, but also provide wonderful opportunities for meeting new people and expanding your contacts. That kind of networking is invaluable in today’s publishing climate.
So what are some things you can do to accomplish that kind of networking?
1. Get out of your room and down into the common areas. Mingle and don’t be afraid to strike up a conversation with someone who is sitting beside you or standing alone in the lobby if they seem open to communication.
2. Know when not to approach. If two people are standing there talking, heads close together or directly facing one another, they probably don’t want to be interrupted. Also, don’t hover by expectantly. Step away and approach only when they are ready to invite another into the discussion. How do you know that? Look at their body posture. People standing side-by-side or not directly facing one another have not closed themselves off to others.
3. Make sure you have business cards. If you’re a published author, have one card for business contacts and another for fans and readers. The first should have detailed contact information and the latter should have info on your books as well as your website.
4. If you’re published, have bookmarks available to hand to fans and readers, but not to publishing people. They don’t need your goodies, but do need your business card.
5. If you want to submit to someone, see if they are attending and wait for a good time to approach them. In the few minutes before their workshop is not a good time! Also, remember they are people as well. They likely will appreciate some general talk and getting to know you first. Let the conversation segue naturally into talk about what you do and your submission.
6. Be positive! Negative talk is a total turn off so always try to look on the bright side of things and always offer a smile and a thanks. Positive vibes are always welcome.
7. Last, but most importantly, have a good time! Meet new people and reinforce old friendships.
I hope you enjoyed today’s Tuesday Tips. We’ll be traveling tomorrow, so look for some photos and updates on Thursday.
As you know, I was away this week at the 2009 RT Convention in Orlando, Florida. I had a wonderful time participating in panels, meeting with old friends and fans and also making new friends and fans! This Guilty Pleasure Monday I’m going to share some of my adventures and photos.
I arrived late on Tuesday, but got to share a plane ride with a totally interesting gentleman who was a gun collector. Talked him into answering some questions for the Liberty States Fiction Writers since he is an expert on all kinds of guns.
Wednesday I hit the ground running, starting with a mixer to honor the bookseller of the year. Here’s a photo of me with some of the wonderful performers at the mixer.
As I was heading out of the mixer, I had a big WOW as I noticed the Grand Central Promotion and saw the cover for SINS OF THE FLESH. Check it out! It’s gorgeous. I’m going to try and get a cleaner version for you.
Then I hit the ground running for the first of my many vampire, multicultural and series panels (over the course of the next few days). Check out me, LA Banks, AC Arthur, Kimberly Raye Terry and Megahn Hart on one panel.
Also got to savor the jungle-themed Ellora’s Cave party. Here’s a photo of the Ellora’s Cavemen doing a dance at the party.
Harlequin held a great mashed potatoes martini bar luncheon to celebrate its 60th anniversary and had samples of its covers from over the years as well as some great contests for bags filled with books and some SONY E-readers. Here’s Vivi Anna and me hamming it up in front of one of the covers.
From there it was more panels, more nightly festivities and an unexpected adventure which I must share.
My friends and I returned from one of the workshops and decided to take a break by partaking of a single glass of wine on the balcony of our room. First problem, a security bar that wouldn’t go up. Being independent and strong women (and determined to enjoy a beautiful spring day), we got the bar up and opened the sliding glass door. We went out onto the balcony to take a break, but to avoid bugs in the room, decided to close the door.
My friends warned me the door was hard to close, but with one easy push (those weight training sessions must be working better than I thought), the door slid closed.
Just one problem – that sticky security bar. In slow motion it came down and landed perfectly in its little receptacle, locking us out on the balcony door!
What to do? A hotel staff member drove by on the path by our room in a little golf cart and we shouted and waved to him. He waved back and grinned broadly. What else did we expect when 3 lovely women were so enthusiastically beckoning him?
Realizing we would not be freed at that moment, we imagined ourselves to be the heroines in our books who would take the bull by the horns and do something. So we formed a human chain, eased over the railing and made it to the ground.
NOT!! Luckily a gentleman came by and we caught his attention. He quickly phoned security and even came back to check if we needed anything, like more wine. LOL!
Did I mention that in addition to the security bar the door to the room was double-locked and the bar was in place?
Luckily, security did not delay too much and two of them – a man and a woman – arrived to open the door to the room and then, laughing quite uproariously, pick up the pesky security bar so we could open the sliding door.
A happy ending so we could head to the RT Awards where I cheered on my friends Vivi Anna, Anna DeStefano and Debra Webb, all winners of RT Reviewers Choice Awards this year. Anna and Debra are also Dangerous Women Writing group!
I missed the Faery Ball that night as I had a wonderful dinner with my publisher and fellow Grand Central authors, including Rita Herron, another of the Dangerous Women Writing group.
The Vampire Ball the next night was a blast. Ran into some women babysitting a ghoulish baby!
Also ran into a former Mr. Romance at the book fair who was kind enough to pose with me. What a smile! (Okay, the rest is pretty good also!)
Had lots of fun and am already thinking about heading to next year’s conference in Columbus, Ohio.
Here’s some more photos for you from the conference!
You’ve probably guessed it from past posts and blogs, but I’m a Type AAA personality, always on the go and with every minute of every day planned. Why? It’s the only way I can get everything done!
Of course, that kind of constantly being on the go can be really draining at times, so I was so looking forward to my writing retreat with my friends! We met in Las Vegas and it was wonderful!
Long mornings and late nights working on our books, talking about possible plots, synopses, you name it. Breaks for luscious dinners and some shows. Even a trip to a spa that’s already going to make it into a book, along with the whole Vegas locale.
The change of pace and the focus on just a few things – namely writing and my friends – really helped to recharge my batteries and I feel totally ready to tackle both some old and new projects that I had been struggling with for a few weeks.
So, if you’re feeling like you’re in a rut or can’t seem to get past an obstacle, take a moment and try something different. Take some time off and do something you would never think to do – like a few hours at a spa! Or visit with some friends and share ideas, like we did. I know it worked wonders for me and I hope it will work wonders for you!
Since I’m headed off to the RWA National conference like many other writers, I thought I’d offer up some tips on networking!
You’ve probably guessed it from past posts and blogs, but I’m a Type AAA personality, always on the go and with every minute of every day planned. Why? It’s the only way I can get everything done!