RWA Day Four & Five: Lovely RITA

I'll be honest, the last day of conference is always a blur for me.  By this point exhaustion usually sets in, and any hope of memory retention is laughable.  I had every intention of getting up for the Kensington and NAL booksignings on Saturday morning.  Um, yeah.  My alarm went off and I so wasn't feeling it.  KristieJ, on the other hand, went.  I later saw what books she came back with and was happy to see that the ones she scored that I was also interested in?  Yeah, I had already purchased at the Literacy Signing.  So sleeping in until 9AM was the way to go for me.

Me and Sarah Morgan - Pre-RITAs

The one thing that stands out as far as the daylight hours is that I ran into Barbara Wallace - who was the last of the Harlequin Romance brigade I was really hoping to see.  She caught me as I was coming out of the elevator, so we were able to chat for a few moments.

I also, was as good as my word, and only shipped back one more box of books.  So that means Wendy hit an all-time best of shipping back only two boxes from conference.  They're getting delivered to my office - so all my coworkers can discover the depths of my addiction (too late).  In the end though it was the ebooks that did me in.  I just counted.  Yeah, 54 - between Avon and Samhain.  Brilliant.  Simply brilliant!

After shipping the last box it was time to get gussied up for the RITAs.  I had a cocktail party invite before hand, and after calling in reinforcements (Rosie - Kristie needed three hands to zip up my dress), I was ready to par-tay!  I finally ran into Smart Bitch Sarah and Angela James, and got my picture taken with the lovely Sarah Morgan, who later on in the evening scored her second RITA for the second year in a row!  She won for A Night Of No Return, which I read and enjoyed - and you all should read it too (says me).

I actually attended the RITAs with all my partners in crime - World Famous Authors, Carolyn Crane and LB Gregg, Rosie and Kristie.  We shared a table with Blythe and Lynn from All About Romance.  It was a good show, and I was so happy for Sarah Morgan and Karen Templeton for their wins (Karen has now won three RITAs in the same category so is officially in RWA's Hall Of Fame!).  

Party People!  Carolyn Crane, LB Gregg, Rosie, Kristie, and me.

Samhain had a post-RITA bash that I hear was off-the-chain, but I was beat - plus I needed to pack.  LB's flight was scheduled to leave about 30 minutes before mine and Rosie's - so we all shared an SUV to the airport.  Once at the airport, Rosie and I saw lots of other conference attendees milling about.  She ran into Sherry Thomas, and we actually shared a plane with Jill Shalvis.  

Our respective men arrived just as our luggage came down the conveyor belt, and we went our separate ways.  I managed to get unpacked (which, other than toiletries, was a simple matter of dumping my entire suitcase into the laundry basket!), and My Man, bless his soul, declared that we should order a pizza for dinner.

Since I have some brains in my head, I did take tomorrow off of work to recuperate, plus deal with minor details like laundry and grocery shopping.  It's back to the salt mines tomorrow, and bitter, bitter reality.

I had a great conference, met so many fantastic people, caught up with folks I had already "met" in previous years, and even learned a thing or two.  We're already talking about San Antonio next year. I figure by then I should be fully recovered from Atlanta.

RWA Day Two: I Should Probably Start Taking Notes

Ahhh, yes.  That moment at the conference where Wendy's mind completely wanders south and she has the memory retention of a toddler hopped up on Pixie Stix and Coca-Cola.  I really should consider taking notes while I'm at RWA (what with the sleep deprivation, not to mention any alcohol I consume....), but I figure that would just look odd.  Anyway, today started by KristieJ rising before me and hitting the continental breakfast.  I opted to stay in bed until 8:30AM.  Eventually I was suitably put together and went downstairs to find caffeine - The Giver Of Life.  It was standing in line at Starbucks that I chatted with Leigh Duncan - to which I inquired, "You're with Harlequin American, right?"  I swear she was so flabbergasted that I not only knew her name but that I knew she wrote for American.  She immediately whipped a book out of her purse and autographed to me on the spot, declaring that I had "made her conference."

Such is the life of a category romance nerd.

Kristie and I eventually made our way to the keynote luncheon and sat with the lovely ladies from All About Romance - Lynn and Blythe.  Cathy Maxwell was the keynote speaker and gave a wonderful, rah-rah, inspirational speech that had people either weeping or wanting to stand up and shout "Amen!"

There were two publisher booksignings this afternoon, and Kristie and I hit up both of them.  I grabbed several titles at the Ballantine/Bantam Dell signing - which also included a number of Loveswept authors.  Then we moved on to RWA's first ever Indie signing, which included established names (like Barbara Freethy and Courtney Milan) that have gone self-publishing, to newer writers who chose that route out of the gate.  It was very well attended, and I'm sure much will be made of it in the coming days.  I'm not coherent enough, at the moment, to offer up any of my theories on this - but it was nice to see so many authors participating and so many people attending.  I think it was a nice success and I hope that RWA will stick with it for future conferences.

After that I had enough books (sigh) to ship my first box home - which will arrive at the office sometime next week.  Then it was time for the Blogger Bar Bash!  Many folks stopped by including Rosie, World Famous Author LB Gregg, Growly Cub (of Twitter fame), Limecello, Liza, Blythe and Lynn from All About Romance, authors Lorelie Brown, Jeffe Kennedy and Carolyn Crane.  I'm sure I'm forgetting someone, because I suck like that.  Also, I really am brain-dead at the moment.

Tomorrow is a big day for me.  It starts with a breakfast date and ends with some party invites.  Which means, you know - I probably should think about getting some sleep and not typing blog posts after midnight.

Silly Wendy

RWA 2013: Hitting The Ground Running

I landed in steamy Atlanta in the early evening, and somehow managed to beat KristieJ (my roommate) here.  She arrived shortly thereafter however, and after a brief settling in that including hugs and much squee'ing - we hit the bar to hook up with Rosie and World Famous Author, L.B. Gregg.

Talk was talked, drinks were consumed, and I ate dinner at an unreasonable hour.  Then it was back to the room where at 1:00AM, and still on Pacific Standard Time and I thought to myself, "Gee, I need to get up to get ready for Librarians Day at 6:30AM.  I might, oh, want to try to force myself to go to sleep."

So yeah, I started RWA off right by not getting enough sleep!  A growing trend sure to last the rest of the week.

Librarians Day was a big success.  There were several good panels and Jennifer Lohmann (another World Famous Author AND a librarian!) and myself got a lot of nice compliments from attendees about our panel on romance-related programming for libraries.  Jill Shalvis was a really good luncheon speaker, and I was able to track down author Vivien Arend thanks to her omnipresent cowboy hat.

The Librarian Goodie Room was, once again, off the chain.  I had a full bag of books, and that was me holding back.  Oh silly Wendy.  It's really time to consider decluttering the ol' TBR pile.  I still have books lying around on my desk from, oh, last year's RWA.  Sigh.

Then it was off to the Literacy Signing where I stood in line with Rosie and Kristie.  I told both of them that I probably wasn't going to buy much, and $136 later we know Wendy is a big fat liar.  Here's the thing though, I bought a hard cover book for a coworker, and ended up with three trade paperbacks - so there you have it.  Hey, it's only money - and it went to charity - so it's all good.  Here are some photos that I snapped from last night:

Giant lumbering Wendy (who lumbers over everybody) next to JUDE MOTHER-EFFIN' DEVERAUX!  I only babbled like a moron a little bit.

Carrie Lofty (whose historicals I lover) signing copies of her new Lindsey Piper paranormals for me.

Bronwyn Parry who came all the way from Australia (well via the UK) signing a copy of her latest (and RITA nominated) Romantic Suspense title for me.  

Jennifer Lohmann, my copresenter at Librarians Day and author for Harlequin SuperRomance.

After the Literacy Signing I decided to skip the Smart Bitches party - mostly because I had been going non-stop since 7AM and boy howdy my feet were shot!  Rosie, LB Gregg and I hit the bar, met up with Ally Blue and Jet Mykles and grabbed some food.  Then, naturally, has can happen at RWA - when I was all set to head back to my room I ran into friends (online friends I've known longer than I've been blogging!) in the bar.  I chatted with Sandi and Mo - and then I really, really had to get back to the room where, of course, I found KristieJ and of course we had to share our bounty from the Literacy Signing.

And you know, I went to bed at 1AM.

Go Team Wendy.

Off To Atlanta!

Today is the day I'm taking off to Atlanta, Georgia for the annual Romance Writers of America conference.  Just like every year for the past (mumble, mumble) I'm going to shoot to blog (and tweet) while I'm there.  Since I have a tendency to blog at 2AM during conference week (sleep, who needs sleep?), I can't promise how pretty, coherent, or frankly interesting my posts will be.

Although, hello?  Are you new around here?  My posts are rarely any of the above even when I am working on a good eight hours of shut-eye.

Anywho, posts will probably be pithy, picture-filled, and full of even more atrocious spelling and grammatical errors than usual (wowzers, this could get ugly).

Remember kids - Wednesday is not only TBR Challenge Day, but also Librarians Day.  I'll be speaking at that event with the lovely Jennifer Lohmann on romance-related library programming.  If you're planning on attending that particular event, please pull me aside to say howdy.

Thursday night will be the annual Blogger Bar Bash - so if you've got nothing better to do, why not come on down to the hotel bar and get your drink on with me, hopefully KristieJ (my fantabulous roommate again this year) and whomever else decides to show up.  This is a pretty loosey-goosey affair, so plan to mix, mingle and crash other gatherings going on in the bar that night.

Safe travels to all of you heading to Atlanta.  See y'all on the east coast!

RWA 2013 Blogger Bar Bash!

RWA 2013 in Atlanta is now a mere two weeks away, which means it's time for Wendy to really start putting her dance card together.  I got an e-mail yesterday inquiring if there was going to be a Blogger Bar Bash this year, and oh hey - what the hell?  Yes, yes there will be!

The Smart Bitches are hosting a wing-ding Wednesday evening after the Literacy Signing, so to avoid creating conflict - the Blogger Bar Bash will be Thursday, June 18 at 7PM in the conference hotel bar (Atlanta Marriott Marquis).  And it will last.....for as long as it lasts. 

For those of you unfamiliar, the Blogger Bar Bash is so named because I'm a librarian and I like alliteration.  Everyone, absolutely everyone, is welcome to stop and by, have a drink, say hello, and chat about books.  This is not a blogger-exclusive affair.  Navy SEALs, secret babies, cowboys, amnesiac billionaires and even Fabio are all welcome.

So if your dance card isn't already booked solid for Thursday evening, I hope you'll swing on by - even if it's just for a quick hello.  See you all in Atlanta!

RWA Librarians Day 2013

Dear Lord above, it's almost June.  Which means the Romance Writers of America (RWA) conference is right around the corner.  Once again, I will be in attending in all my awesome-sauce librarian finery (ha!) and presenting a workshop as part of Librarians Day on Wednesday, July 17.  This year's conference is in Atlanta, Georgia and if you're a librarian in the area I cannot strongly recommend this day enough.  The workshops are always entertaining (I learn something new every year!), everyone from RWA staff to authors are super-duper nice and treat you like a rock star.  Oh, and the librarians get their own goodie room.  Yes, we have our own goodie room.  It's also shockingly and absurdly cheap for librarians to attend (only $25, which besides the freebies includes lunch!).  Seriously, how can you not afford to attend this?  Here's a rundown of the schedule, complete with commentary that only I could possibly provide. 

Registration is capped at the first 100 attendees, so get thee on over to the RWA web site to sign up!

8:00 – 9:00 a.m. Let's Talk: Young Adult, New Adult, "Adult" Romance
Presenters: Roxanne St. Claire, Christie Craig (a.k.a. C.C. Hunter), and Molly McAdams

Join three authors as they discuss young adult romance, new adult romance, and “adult” romance. What is the difference between them? What makes YA romance unique? What makes new adult romance different from other contemporary romances written for adults? What is the crossover appeal for adults reading YA romance? Why is new adult romance suddenly so popular?

Librarians, we want to talk to you, too! We’ll give out prizes to those who can answer our questions on shelving and reading recommendations for each of these areas.

Wendy Says: WooHoo!  A chance to win prizes!  Which means I probably shouldn't stand up and deliver my dissertation on how I think the term "New Adult" was coined as part of a massive publishing conspiracy to drive librarians batshit insane.  

9:00 – 10:00 a.m. Romance Programming: Book Groups and Beyond
Presenters: Wendy Crutcher and Jennifer Lohmann

RWA Librarians of the Year Jennifer Lohmann and Wendy Crutcher will talk about library programming for fans of the the romance genre, from the small (book clubs) to the large (romance author panels during literary festivals). They will address everything from good authors/titles for discussion to partnering with your local RWA chapter.

Wendy Says: What is sure to be the best panel of the morning!  Me!  Jennifer Lohmann!  Librarians Of The Year 2010 and 2011!  I love Harlequin SuperRomance!  Jennifer writes for Harlequin SuperRomance!  What's not to love here folks?

10:00 – 10:30 a.m. Refreshment Break Sponsored by Sabrina Jeffries

Wendy Says: If she serves the terrible lemonade from Almack's I am so starting a food fight.

10:30 – 11:30 a.m. From Sweet to Steamy: Exploring Diversity in Romance Fiction
Presenters: Sylvia Day, Eileen Dreyer, Rachel Gibson, and Shirley Jump. Moderated by: Jeannie Moon

Some readers like their romances very sweet, while others like them very steamy. Some readers like small town contemporaries, and others love traditional regencies. Attend this session to explore the different sides of romance. Bring your ideas, because we will all work together to make some reading lists you can use in your library!

Wendy Says: I just want to say that I suggested a panel of this ilk.  No really, I did!  Which means RWA thought it was a good idea or else they were really desperate for ideas.  Really great line-up of authors for this panel.  Looking forward to this one.

11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Have Faith
Presenters: John Charles, Shelley Shepard Gray, Tina James, Kristin Ramsdell, and Regina Scott

Inspirational romances are one of the hottest (well not "hot" but you know what we mean) of all subgenres with readers yet there still seems to be some common misperceptions about this subgenre. Join a panel of librarians, authors, and an editor as they discuss inspirational romances and why readers love them.

Wendy Says: Not unlike the romance genre, I really feel like the inspirational marketplace has come a long way in, say, just the last ten years.  There's more diversity now, savvier marketing, and frankly?  Better writing.  There's some really great writers working within inspirational these days. Hoping to score some recommendations from this panel.

12:30 – 2:00 p.m. Librarians Day Luncheon Featuring New York Times Bestselling Author Jill Shalvis

Wendy:  WooHoo!  Lunch!  And Jill Shalvis!

2:00 – 4:00 p.m. Librarian/Bookseller Networking Event
Come to this fun, informal meet-and-greet with romance authors!

Wendy: This would be the infamous Librarian Goodie Room.  It's also a chance to chit-chat with authors, and even a few publishing types (In years past, I've run into some editors).  

5:30 – 7:30 p.m. "Readers for Life" Literacy Autographing
Don’t forget to come to RWA’s “Readers for Life” Literacy Autographing from 5:30 – 7:30 p.m., where hundreds of romance authors will be signing copies of their novels. Proceeds from book sales go to ProLiteracy Worldwide.

Wendy: Every romance fan, I think, should experience this event at least once in their lives.  A list of authors participating can be found on the RWA web site.  I've got two words for you all: Jude Deveraux.  OK, make that four words: Jude-Mutha-Effing-Deveraux! The small corner of my brain where I keep Emo Teenager Wendy bound and gagged just let out a muffled squee!