Let's get this out of the way up front - no, I didn't take pictures. Yeah, yeah - I suck. We all know this, so there's no need to dwell on it. Also, I didn't take copious notes during the day. So instead I'm just going to give you the quick hit, bullet-point highlights.
- For an inaugural event, I think it went well. The room we were in at the hotel was pretty much full. My table did have one empty seat, but turn out looked good. Check-in got a little bogged down at times, but it ran fairly smoothly in my experience, as did the book selling and autograph signings.
- M.G. Lord, an academic and non-fiction writer, served as moderator. She was funny, interesting, and didn't "talk down" to her audience. I know there are a number of academics who don't sneer at genre readers, but honestly - y'all are still a minority. Just sayin'.
- Gail Carriger is a tea drinker. I am also a tea drinker so this made me happy. However she lost me when she practically started foaming at the mouth over her loathing of Earl Grey. Dude. If there had been a mud wrestling pit in the room I would have thrown down! (tongue in cheek folks, tongue in cheek. I still think Carriger is way off-base but hey - that just means more Earl Grey for me!)
- The Breathless Reads panel was very lively and it just makes me want to read more YA. Seriously, I need to find me a sugar daddy so I can quit my job and have time to read all the books I want to read.
- I have a bit of a girl crush on Meg Cabot. I don't know, she's just funny and quirky and I wish she was my bestest girlfriend so I could have coffee (or tea) with her on a regular basis.
- So great to see Zoe Archer, Christine Cody/Chris Marie Green/Crystal Green, Tessa Dare, HelenKay Dimon, Judy Duarte, Jennifer Haymore, Linda O. Johnston, Kara Lennox, Sylvia Day, Debra Mullins, Judith Stacy/Dorothy Howell, and Laura Wright again.
- I finally met Jill Sorenson in person!
- Woot! I met Sara Ramsey who is my contact for my upcoming San Francisco RWA trip!
- Shayera! Only my most favoritest librarian in southern Cali (sorry coworkers - she just is).
- Zuri Day has 1) a great accent (Caribbean of some sort - Jamaican maybe?) and 2) the best hair on the planet. It's a big, beautiful mass of curls. But I tend to covet naturally curly hair. I've got this wavy underneath, stick-straight on top nonsense that is just a pain in the butt now that perms have been out of vogue for oh.....more than a decade.
- Lunch! We got grilled cheese and yummy tomato soup. I'm sure it kept the cost down as well, but man - it was a great lunch! Everyone just raved about it and honestly? No rubber chicken = good thing.
- We got ice cream sundaes for dessert! Seriously, ice cream sundaes. I somehow managed to restrain myself and not lick the bowl clean.
