Celebrating RWA & Another Sale

Just back from conference and jazzed about life and writing.  Why?  So many wonderful things are happening to those I care about and that makes me Snoopy Dance. 

First, Jean and Stephanie have their very first publishing contract with Crimson Romance!  (Welcome to Crimson, ladies!)

Second, my oldest daughter found out she's having a baby boy!  (Making that grandson #3 for me and LTC.) 

And third, I was offered my third contract at Crimson Romance.  This one for my first contemporary, LOST TREASURE, CAPTIVE PRINCESS.  I had only known about it barely 5 minutes before Jean called me with her amazing news.  We squealed on the phone together.  Dreams do come true.  (Right, Jean and Stephanie?)

But numbers 1-3 aren't all.  Life had more surprises for Lesia and me.  During the RWA Conference, we had the great fortune to meet some fantastic people, and not only meet them but get the opportunity to chat with them.  Big difference!

I had the honor of sitting with Shana Galen, Sarah MacLean, Sara Ramsey, fellow Crimson author Nicole Flocton and about 3 other writers on Tuesday night.  (Thanks for the invitation and the drink, Shana!)

Let me start by saying the Cocktail Guru presentation was a hilarious success and our table was the liveliest table in the room!  There, we were joined by Daco Auffenorde and new friend, Katherine Matzen, as well as 3 other great ladies who helped to make our vodka tasting a blast.  I had to bow out early as I had to attend a Crimson Romance gathering for dinner, but before I left, our entire table had pictures made with the Van Gogh Vodka Guru, who made us the Honey Pom Pom, Dutch Chocolate Desire and Best Billini Ever vodka drinks.  (My fav... the Honey Pom Pom, a combination of Pomegranate and Vodka.  Yummy!)  Of course, since I had to leave, I didn't see Lesia and gang drink more than one each.  LOL!

Thanks to Mary Moore's gracious invitation, we attended Nora Roberts' pre-Rita party.  We got to shake her hand and thank her personally, drink champagne, eat fabulous hors d'oeuvres and talk to Kerrelyn Sparks, Pamela Palmer, Rhonda Nelson and Vicki Lewis Thompson, among others, as we gazed out upon Anaheim's mountainous landscape.  Oh, and we shared an elevator with Heather Graham too.)

Again, thanks go to Mary Moore for inviting us to the Avon party in Newport Beach, where we had great conversations with Lorraine Heath, Patrick Brown from Goodreads, Carla Swafford (our Heart of Dixie & Southern Magic chaptermate), imbibed smoking/bubbling Lemon Drops, ate tender Salmon and Prime Rib, and watched ice cream transform before our very eyes.  Oh, and lest I forget.  We had our pictures made with a buff fireman too.  (Cinderella got his info.  I'll let Lesia explain her new nickname and shoe.)

And then, after we gave Kerrelyn Sparks and her daughter our seats when no seats could be found for the 50 or so guests without a seat at the Rita's, we celebrated an after-party in the bar, where Christopher Keeslar and Michelle Klayman, editor and CEO of Boroughs Publishing, and Boroughs' authors Stacy Weber and Sara Dailey (Jean & Stephanie's friends), Joan Bird, Lyn Austin and Christie Craig joined us at our table.  Plenty of laughs and stories were passed around until 1 a.m., Sunday morning.  It was a fantastic night, one I will remember for the napkin parlor trick I perfected to the astoundment of all!

And here's the proof!  Oy!

Sunday morning, tired and sore-footed, Lesia and I arrived at the airport for our flight back home.  With time to spare, we hobbled in search of sustenance at the Starbucks counter.  Then, knowing we had a couple of hours to waste, we sat in a pizza area to eat.  Lo and behold, but who should we sit next to?  The one and the only, exceptionally gracious and generous Christina Dodd, and her daughter, Arwen.  Later, we were joined by Susan Andersen, who entertained with 50 Shades of Baby and a wickedly funny comment about a blurb from one of her books that consisted of misspelled "shifting thighs."  Muahahaha!

Have you ever been to a conference?  Have you ever met someone you admire?

What Challenges You?

We just finished the final touches on HOD's Annual Romance Readers' Luncheon. A lot of planning goes into this event every year and there are so many people involved. As luncheon coordinator, I'm always thrilled when another successful luncheon has seen its day. To pull this off, after such horrific weather and the loss of one of our dearest authors, took lots of determination this year. But we did it! HOD presented the best luncheon yet.

After such a whirlwind, what does one do with their time? Aha! The fact that there is time to spare is absolutely unheard of around here. ;)

I've actually been working on entering the Maggie's this year, a contest given by the Georgia Romance Writers. But instead of just entering one, I decided to enter four manuscripts. Ack! What grandiose goals took over my mind? I've been knee deep in luncheon business, the deadline is Friday and I've still got two entries to submit.

So, even though the luncheon is over, my life is still just as hectic these days. Apparently, I'm a glutton for punishment. I've entered contests before. Some brought me enlightenment, others disappointment and criticism. But who are we if we cannot learn and grow along the way to meeting our goals?

I've given a short craft corner on contests. Contests are tricky monsters. But when you final, as I finaled in the Romance Through the Ages contest in the Legend Award category this year, the rewards are bountiful.

So it is, with hope swelling my breast, that I submit these books to the Maggie's this week. Maybe my entries will cancel each other out. Maybe none of them will final. But if I don't try, I will never know.

Is there something you're willing to go out on a limb for these days? If so, let us know. We'd love to hear what challenges you!

A Time For Us: Remembering Beverly Barton

A time for us some day there'll be
When chains are torn by courage born
Of a love that's free
A time when dreams so long denied
Can flourish as we unveil
The love we now must hide

A time for us at last to see
A life worthwhile for you and me
And with our love through tears and thorns
We will endure as we pass surely
Through every storm
A time for us someday there'll be
A new world, a world of shining hope
For you and me

There are seasons for everything, spring, summer, autumn, and winter. There are food seasonings which make food eatable. There are rainy seasons, droughts, white-outs, tornados, earthquakes and hurricane seasons. And last, but not least, there are the seasons of life, creation, birth, teenager, adult, middle aged, and elderly. There is ultimately life and death, something we at Okay, Listen Here have experienced in the past week with one of our own beloved friends, Beverly Barton.

There is the knowing and a time to blog.

The earth tilts on axis, rotating like a top, spinning as it travels around the sun. We don’t know this is happening, though the gravitational pull experienced as a result keeps our feet on even ground and the tides on schedule. We DO know Darwin's Theory, if something drops, it will plummet, and if you trip you WILL fall. We know that atmosphere protects the earth from the universe and the sun. We KNOW these facts! Lately, however, I’m left wondering if the top isn’t spinning to tell me I’m in an alternate universe. As Leonardo D'Caprio did in the movie, Inception, the news of Beverly's passing has had a staggering affect on me. I can't help wondering if this is real.

In the knowing, one does not easily find acceptance.

I’m preparing for the Heart of Dixie’s 14th Annual Romance Readers’ Luncheon. This happens once every year. The event is the highlight of HOD’s calendar. I’ve worked on making sure everything is in place for HOD luncheons 4 years running. I KNOW how things work, when they’re supposed to be done, who needs to do them and why. A year’s worth of planning has gone accordingly. This year’s luncheon proved to be our most anticipated event. But then my axis spun off-kilter as if an asteroid hit, leaving a tremendous void.

In the knowing, one does not easily understand.

When my father died three years ago, I understood that I HAD to make a trip to Orlando just three days after his death. I don’t know how I did it, but I maintained decorum and kept my emotions under control so that my baby could perform at a national cheerleading competition and not see me fall to pieces. You see, if she had seen how much my father’s death hurt, she might not have performed to her utmost potential, which ultimately would then have endangered the entire team’s chances of making the final round. I did what I had to do then, while also planning my first luncheon. And I will do it again.

In the knowing, one does not easily function.

A top spins only as long as its rotation allows. People continue to work. Food continues to be cooked at fast food restaurants every day. And 174 people will be massing upon the convention center downtown expecting HOD will deliver another fun-filled event. How then, when we’ve lost one of our own most beloved authors, do I plan and prepare? We’ve initiated new things this year, Highland Warrior Simon Bade, a photographer and a romance book cover, and we’re raffling a Nook, not to mention over 40 raffle baskets, and 22 Door Prizes.

There is knowing loss even as life goes on.

How do you go on when your heart is breaking? How is it that people are laughing when you grieve? How is it that I can go outside and feel the wind in my hair and the sun on my skin and know that I’m alive, when I’m broken? I’m not alone. Heart of Dixie has over 70 members. RWA has over 10,000. Beverly’s books touched millions of readers. And yet, I feel her loss deeply.

You see, I cannot claim to have known Beverly Barton as well as others can. The two of us shared a special bond, a bond that began nearly 6 years ago, when I first joined Heart of Dixie. Beverly was one of the first to greet me. She understood right away that I’d sacrificed my dreams to raise my family. She had done the same. Family meant everything to Beverly, as so many others have said. And family history meant even more. She was a 6th generation southerner with a love for the south that, I dare say, went unmatched. The advice she has given me has made me a better person as well as a better writer. When I needed guidance, Beverly was there. When I had something to celebrate, she was one of the first to contact me. As newsletter editor of HOD’s monthly newsletter, The Heart Monitor, I kept in contact with her every month. Beverly loved HOD with a passion and sought ways to help members find the success she’d been lucky to achieve.

Vivacious, quirky, witty, sassy, loving and classy, friend, mentor, and proud southern belle, Beverly Barton, was all this and more. What an inspiration!

Beverly has left a legacy for us by lifting the bar higher than ever thought possible. You can be a published author, carry yourself with dignity, touch readers, mentor new blood, perceive the world to be inclusive, dare to live beyond your dreams, and share it all with those you love. How? By recognizing the seasons for what they are and becoming a starry guide to those around you. Life happens. Death is inevitable. What lies in between is the legacy that lives on in each of us.

I grew up listening to Donny Osmond sing, A Time For Us. I played it over and over again. The melody is haunting, the lyrics gripped my heart, and it is what I hear in my head as I remember Beverly, the woman with sparkling laughter and a contagious smile. I am a better woman, wife, mother, friend, writer, and mentor because I knew her and was blessed to have called her friend. Now it's time for me to pay it forward and keep her legacy alive.

What legacy do you want to leave behind?