By Saturday my butt was dragging. The wake-up call came at 7AM, and my first thought was "how badly do I want to get up to attend the NAL and Ballantine booksignings?" Seriously. Exhausted. But I wanted to get my hands on Tessa Dare's debut novel, Goddess Of The Hunt, and I had heard she was going to be signing some copies at the Ballantine signing. I was in luck! She did have copies, along with more of her cute promo pins for her trilogy. Rosie had been coveting mine, and since she was running a little late, I swiped a set for her.
Next up was my video debut. Romantic Times is apparently looking to revamp their web site around the first of the year, and they're shooting video interviews to be posted. They asked me if I would consider interviewing an author. Carrie Lofty and I both jumped at the chance! It went fairly well. Carrie and I didn't have spinach stuck in our teeth, and hopefully we made enough coherent sense that when they go through the editing process we'll come out looking mighty fine. It's going to be a long time before it's posted though! Not until sometime around the launch of Carrie's second novel, Scoundrel's Kiss, which won't be released until January 2010. I'll keep y'all posted!
Carrie and I were on such a high after that shoot that we briefly hit the Sourcebooks publisher signing (which was jammed!), then got a drink at the bar to celebrate. She hadn't eaten all day and one more panel discussion to attend, so after downing my cosmopolitan, I left her to mail my final box of books and goodies before FedEx closed.
Then it was time to beautify for the RITAs! I attended a cocktail party beforehand (the joys of being a librarian who orders a crap-load of books for a living), so I found myself getting all fancied-up before the others. I went up, schmoozed, and left the party around 7:30PM to connect with the other bloggers so we could sit together at the award ceremony.
By now the RITA winners have been posted. I was so happy to see Karen Templeton win. I was sad that Janice Kay Johnson didn't win for the most awesome The Man Behind The Cop, but I did think she was a bit of a dark horse in the Suspense/Adventure category. The biggest shock of the evening (I thought) was a YA novel winning the best first book category. Note to self: have Lil' Sis check book out. Might be good to add to her classroom.
There was a small gathering of bloggers after the RITAs, but as detailed in previous posts, I was dog-tired from lack of sleep. Plus I had to get up early the next day to catch my flight. So I made an appearance, then went back to the room to get some sleep.
Rosie, Kristie and I shared a cab to the airport. Our flights home were uneventful, although the flight to Dallas found us sharing a plane with several other conference attendees. Among them? Stephanie Feagan (RWA Treasurer and writer), Sharon Lathan (Sourcebooks author) and Sharon Sala. Yeah, Sharon Sala. We really only chatted with Sharon Lathan, since she was literally sitting right behind me and Rosie!
Our flights home were just as uneventful as our flights to D.C. My Man met me at the airport, we got my luggage, and he promptly informed me we would be ordering a pizza for dinner (yeah, I looked that good). I was in bed by 7PM last night....and slept the whole night though. Seriously. That tired. It's a full rich day today with laundry and errands. Then it's back to work tomorrow. Coming up? Pictures! Look for an entire post devoted to them tomorrow.
18 comments:
My head is still spinning. It was such a great time. So glad we got to hang out. :D
Ooh I'm excited to see Oh My Gods win for best new book! I read it and thought it was very cute. I'm a big YA novel reader even though I'm 27 lol.
That is so cool that RT asked you you interview an author. I have noticed that RT has really stepped up their game. Their magazine has gotten an overhaul and they are embracing the digital/internet/blogger/twitter world. I think it is a smart move on their part.
Glad to see that you had such a fabulous time!
Katie: I slept for 12 hours last night. 12. Hours.
Alie: I'm really curious about it now. My Lil' Sis is a high school English teacher and is always looking for books for her classroom.
Jill: They filmed several interviews at the conference, and I can't wait to see them.
Your blog is dangerous to my bank account. I came over here for a RWA report and ended up ordering the Janice Kay Johnson book.
My debit card hates you.
(But I don't! Keep 'em coming. :D)
JenB: I live to serve.
Saw your comment on TGTBTU. Glad you enjoyed the Carrie Alexander HSR!
I'm shot. I slept 12 hours last night, lol. It was so great to finally meet you Wendy. I had a blast. I couldn't have asked for better roommates.
LOL, seriously, sounds like you need more than a day of sleep to catch up! :)
That is so great about RT!! Very exciting!! :)
LOL, so how many boxes did you mail home? :)
You'll have to take a pic of the Tessa Dare pins!! I want to see them now LOL :)
and you're soooo lucky!! Sharon Sala!!! OMG!
It was great to meet you in person at the conference. I am so in envy of your beautiful light-up tiara!
Good luck getting back on west coast time~
It was a super awesome time at RWA. Holy cow. And the RITAs! So cool! Now I have to go and read Anne Stuart's books because she's so cool!
Did laundry. Did lab appt and mammo. Opened a mountain of mail and sorted it. Did NOT get enough sleep. But, I'm high from the trip so I guess there won't be any blood letting. Any word on when your video will be up at RT?
Barbara: Weren't you the lucky gal rooming with the two coolest people at the conference? Ha! And you are one awesome hair wrangler. Kristie looked fab-u-lous at the RITA ceremony.
Nath: Three boxes. According to the tracking numbers I should hopefully have two of them by the Wednesday. I mailed them to my office.
Anthea: It was great to meet you too! My light-up tiara was courtesy of the Harlequin SuperRomance authors. I have a picture of it I plan on posting tomorrow.
AnimeJune: I get such a kick out of Anne Stuart. Her personality is so "fun" and "wacky" but her books feature these dark themes and uber-Alpha heroes.
Rosie: Probably not until closer to the release date of Scoundrel's Kiss, which comes out in January. Once the video is posted you can count on me and Carrie shouting it from the roof-tops.
I did get bunches of sleep last night, but I'm still a bit run-down. And I'm still working on my laundry. Sigh.
So do you get rushed by people who know who you are? I know, it's one of those questions that sit in my brain. I could totally see you, Kristie and Rosie getting rushed because we get to see your pics and if you see three people who look like you guys the odds are it is you guys. I know RWA is for authors but there is a rel pull for a little blogger like me to come and meet all the other bloggers.
And Anne Stuart.
CindyS
Thanks for the heads up on the book - but might be too "white bread" for my kids. We'll see though. :)
Thanks for all of the reports about RWA. They're always fascinating to read. Glad you made it home safely and had such a good time!
Glad you arrived home safely! And can't wait for your picture post. :P
Cindy: Nah. I'm a wee little fish in a big pond.
Lil' Sis: Yeah. You be teachin' in da hood now.
Phyl: And I'm glad you're home safe now. Sounds like you had a fab vacation!
Ames: Pictures are up! With more on my Flickr account.
Oh! I am so thankful for Google Alerts! I have been up to my eyeballs in unpacking and then packing again for another trip, so have had no time to wade through the massive pile of cards I acquired while at Nationals. Meeting Rosie and Wendy on the plane home was an added bonus I did not anticipate. Thanks to you both for being so kind. And Rosie, if you read this, I have not forgotten to pass on your positive remarks to Danielle! She will love it! Glad you both made it home safe.
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