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RT Reflections

I had a blast in NOLA, but not without a few hiccups.

I made the mistake of not taking an exercise bra (sorry if TMI) and we walked all day Tuesday in New Orleans heat.  Yuck.  I also sunburned my shoulders that day, but not too horribly.

I never actually had Café DuMonde coffee.  We walked by…and just never went in (they were busy).  However, I did buy some coffee to bring home and try.

I misunderstood how the Samhain party was going to work and had the wrong kind of promo.  I went with quantity and so have a TON of beaded bookmarks left over that I had to find a way to bring home.  The hotel charged me $15 to retrieve my package — I wasn’t going to give them the opportunity to charge me again to ship it back home.  Many were lost in a tangled mess of my misunderstanding, but I crammed them into a baggie to bring home and cut apart so I can at least save the beads.  Ann helped me save the bulk of them, so not all is lost.  I just have way more bookmarks (for an ebook – the print won’t be released for 10 months) than I need but oh well.

The Giant Book Fair was named appropriately.  So Giant that few readers actually made it over to our side of the building.  I chose to sit on the ebook/indie side since my last print release was over a year old, and my next release isn’t out until June, so I really didn’t have anything to “sell.”  I hoped to give away lots of promo, but the way the event was set up, we had few browsers.  Readers were hurrying to find exactly who they wanted in two separate huge ballrooms, generally standing in long lines (Ann stood in line well over an hour just to check out and pay for her books), so I didn’t have many people stop by. Some, but not many.  That’s okay – I still had fun dressing up and chatting with Monica Burns.  She was hilarious.  “Get your BDSM here, Joey Hill approved!’  (Re: His Mistress) Trying to get the hurried people to stop by our table.

I honestly don’t know that I’d do the book fair again unless I just really hit it big and could sell a lot of print books.  Or if they split the event out or come up with some better way to run things to encourage browsing and general chatting with readers.  I sat there for four hours in a corset, crammed in like sardines, and didn’t get to connect with many readers.  Meanwhile I missed the opportunity to roam around and see MY favorite authors.  I didn’t even get one of the Sylvia Day wheeled bags.

The highlights:

I won a copy of Meljean Brook’s book at the Steampunk Carnivale and she signed it for me.  Even more, she said she recognized my name!  I was too stunned and shy to ask if that was a GOOD thing.  I hope it was.

I finally got to meet Stephanie Tyler and she hugged me twice!  I also got to see Larissa Ione again.  Shiloh Walker invited me to eat with her one night when I was alone.  Angela Knight and her husband also took Ann and I to lunch one day.  I was awed to meet and be in the company of so many of my favorite authors!

Near the end of the book fair, an agent went by.  I recognized her name and said hello.  She saw The Billionaire Submissive and recognized it.  She said she thought it was going to do well.  From her lips to God’s ears!  Then she asked if I was agented.  No, I’m not.  Nothing will probably come of it, but it was nice to be asked and recognized in some way.

Then Sat. night I had a really nice chat with my Samhain editor, Tera, and another editor, Christa.  We discussed timing for the next two billionaire books.  I’m going to write a proposal and we’ll go from there.

I also had an epiphany about what’s wrong with my PNR.  The heroine isn’t quite right.  Close, but not right.  I need more.  More experience, more darkness.  It’s tabled a bit while I switch gears to get the next billionaire book turned around as quickly as possible.

I used the travel time to read.  I finished two books and then read my entire Shanhasson series.  I needed a comfort read midweek and then I couldn’t stop.  I’m glad – reading that na’lanna series helped reaffirm what I want to write in my mind.  It reminded me of what I love, and that I need to just stop worrying and Shine with love as Our Blessed Lady desires.

I’m off work today and I’m going to plan out as far as I can with Billionaire #2.  I’m not going to tell you the title of book 2 and 3 – I want them to be a surprise.  They’re too hilarious and cool to risk sharing until I’m ready!

P.S. If you’re still reading, I have lots of goodies to give away from RT including print books, bookmarks, pens, buttons, etc.  I’m going to start by offering goodies to my newsletter followers.  So if you want the first shot at goodies, sign up!

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RT14

I made it to New Orleans for my third Romantic Times conference! My roomie, Ann Martin, and I had a blast touring around the Garden District and French Quarter today. We walked nearly five miles even though we also took the streetcar frequently (best $3 we spent all day).

The first place I wanted to visit was the Lafayette Cemetery. I was thinking Marie Laveau was buried there, but she’s actually in St Louis #1, so we crossed over there and then dropped down into the Quarter to have some beignets.

It was hot and humid – so bad I had to take a second shower before venturing out for dinner (and sunburned my shoulders since I forget sunscreen). Ann had a librarian event so I was on my own. I headed back to Daisy Duke’s since it was right across the street and familiar. Standing in the door waiting to be seated, I saw someone wave me over and ask if I was with RT. She invited me to eat with her party …. and then I realized she was Shiloh Walker! Talk about nice! We had a great dinner.

Now I’m already back to the room and trying not to dose off. I’m such a party animal! Even made a cup of crappy coffee but still can’t keep my eyes open.

Ann and I are planning to head to the Mississippi water front tomorrow morning since events don’t start until 10. Maybe we’ll hit Cafe DuMonde!

If you’d like to see pictures, head on over to Facebook. I posted a lot!