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?

Stick To The Code or Get Swabbed

RWA conference was such a blast! Special thanks to the staff of Romance Writers of America for putting on such a uber awesome weeklong writer fest, and a hearty thank you to The Guy for watching over the blog while Jean, Stephanie, and I were gone. ;)

Getting ready for conference is always a whirlwind affair. Of course, the ever needed packing list comes into play. You can always find a great one listed in the archives of The Writing Playground. Once an attendee prepares/purchases his/her wardrobe, pitches are readied, and bags are packed and loaded into the car for a quick, or long ride to the airport. Expectations abound and hearts begin to race. Bags are checked, tickets approved, and the scanners and tuperware bins, though a tedious affair, remind the eager traveler that the journey is underway.

I adore airport personel who monitor the scanners and screens that x-ray our belongings, and our bodies, ensuring that we arrive safely to our destinations. I'm just as eager as the next person to get through the line and to my gate. What I never expect to get is swabbed. Yes, my deck got swabbed.

Who would have known that after walking through scanners for almost all my airline travels to date, I would be taken out of line, told to extend my hands and get swabbed. Arrr! The ironic part is, though there was something detected on my hands, I had just washed them before coming out of the bathroom and getting into line. Powdery substance on hands after washing them? Who knew? (Notice I do not claim 'pirate' here. That would be very bad timing. ;)

Being a good sport and not wanting to hang from Tilbury Point until I rot, I stepped where I was told to go and offered my belongings for a thorough swabbing. The inspectors rose to the task.

"Would you prefer that we did this in an enclosed room," they asked.

Having nothing to hide, I exclaimed, "You can check anything you want to right here."

Jean and Stephanie's eyes were as big as full moons, and just as white as they waited for me off to the side. I could see the questions riddling their minds... "She's got our pens for the Goody Room. How will we get them back?" "Are we going to make our flight?"

I directed the last question to my airline operatives. A man continued to swab my backpack and carry-on. Two women stood nearby, prepared to take me into the room for further inspection. As I was guided into the room, I reached out to Jean and Stephanie psychically, pleading for them not to stick to the code. (It's more like guidelines anyway.)

Luckily, the two airline operatives were very nice and did their jobs while helping me maintain my dignity fully-clothed. Thank you, swabbettes!

As I stepped out of that room, bless their hearts (and I do mean this in the best possible way, not the way listed on one of Jean's lists), Jean and Stephanie were waiting for me with open arms. Like Joshamee Gibbs, they had used the code as a guideline and were prepared to redirect their journey, if need be, with me aboard. After all that, thank goodness, we were able to meet our gate on time and didn't have to deal with rescheduling issues. :D

Our direct flight with Delta was fantastic. We had the best stewardess you could ever ask for. And after my initial swabbing, I can assure you her eagerness to please was greatly appreciated.

I'll post more about our trip through the next few weeks. But today I want to know, what is your crazy travel story?

My Handy Dandy Conference Scheduler

I just got back from a wonderful trip to the beach. Gulf Shores in southern Alabama was fantastic! The beaches were beautiful this year, the weather was glorious and oh! how I basked in the sun, taking in all the sunshine I could get! There is something about the rhythmic soothing sound of waves, a cooling breeze fluttering a beach umbrella above your head, and a good book, like Lynn Raye Harris' BEHIND THE PALACE WALLS. (If you haven't read it yet, run, don't walk to your nearest bookstore!)

But as with every vacation, the relaxation and laziness must end. So it is that I've returned home, switching my attention to the main event that fills every romance writer with expectant bliss (expecially this one), RWA Conference.

Conference is coming almost a month early this year. I'm sure the date change has everyone running hither and yon. There is so much to do to get ready, packing lists to make, clothing to sort or buy, shoes (the ever incredible staple of life) to match those outfits day and night, shopping for practical things and most of all, referring to my Handy Dandy Conference Spreadsheet to keep me on task.

Yes, I know RWA has a really good agenda page up this year and I'm using it too, but I couldn't help plugging my spreadsheet. For me, there is something very linear about gazing upon the color-coordinated phases and blocked days that helps me figure out where I need to be when. At a glance, I'm able to tell what time an event begins, what that event is, and if there will be a conflict with any of the workshops I've chosen to attend. And, because I know spur of the moment ideas creep into my head, I've also got space for 3 choices of workshops. This always keeps me on task because if I find I really don't need one particular workshop, I can simply look at my spreadsheet and see where else I need to be at that time.

If I want to attend a booksigning or a spotlight on a particular publishing house, that information is on my spreadsheet too. If you'd like to use my spreadsheet at conference this year, I'm more than happy to share it with you. Everything is in Excel. Adjusting the spreadsheet can be easily done by copying the cells in one row and then pasting those copied cells into the right place. After that, you can adjust the typing, add your event, and so forth.

Send me a request at: kathybone@aol.com and I'll make sure you get a copy.

What tips do you have for going to conference or taking a trip to NYC?