Well, it’s about time I finally wrapped up my RWA report…
Saturday: this was a day for workshops. Of note I attended one that was being presented by my agent laura Bradford and Jen Schober (sp?) of Spencerhill Associates….it was about how being a professional, nice and easy to work with author would better you in the end, help to further your career (well, ya gotta be talented too!).
It was about how to conduct yourself both when working with agents and editors, but as well in the online forum. This stuff is true. I’ve seen so many authors bite themselves in the foot in various online threads, just being very, very, meanspirited toward other authors that I’ve decided for myself these are people whose books I will never buy.
And please note, when an agent or editor is interested, in this day and age they WILL google you. Look for any info that they can. So, bottom line, please treat everyone you work with in the exact same way you want to be treated. Take this seriously, finish your work on time and make your deadlines. Be open to suggestions…afterall, these agents and editors know their shit (well, for the most part!)
this workshop was interrupted however when the firealarm went off and we all had to exit the building. Yep, thousands of people, so Laura never got to finish her workshop and there wasn’t time for an answer period but it was a great workshop.
I also attended another book signing, St. Martin’s but it was lame. Sorry, lame…there were hardly any authors and not a lot of books so Amanda and I bailed and decided to finally see Washington, DC.
We decided to take a trolley tour and it was a lovely way to see everything. We drove through Embassy row, past Ford’s theater where lincoln got shot, saw the house across the street where he died. got off near “the mall”. saw the halocaust museum, and capital hill, the white house, lincoln memorial……alas our bus never showed up to pick us up, so we hopped onto another one-after we waiting an hour and finding out the bus stopped touring at 5:30. (dude told us to tip him, which, um, we never did now that i think about it). We rode that bus for another hour and finally got off at Union Station where, country chica that i am, I rode the subway for the first time in my life. It was fun!
Well, I still have stuff to talk about, so I’m gonna save the rest for a few days from now. I have news…..and other stuff……but I need to get writing……..so, have a good one all and I’ll do the final wrap up in a few!
This is from dinner with my agent Laura Bradford. I’m in green and behind me is Lauren Dane, Ann Aguirre. Laura Bradford is in front of me, Jess Granger, Cynthia Eden, Beth Williamson, Shelli Stevens, Joan Goodman, What a beautiful bunch of ladies!
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This next pic is of my lovely editor Esi Sogah. She’s on the right and with her is another editor from Avon, Tessa Woodward. Amazing ladies, the both of them, but well, I’m kinda partial to Esi!
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that’s all for now….I have to get my words in, but I will have a post tomorrow to wrap things up!
OKay, I’ve been home from DC for two days and I’m still sluggish with a sore throat, thick head and runny nose. Yay me. Good thing these symptoms aren’t indicative of the conference, because truthfully it rocked! This is only my second one, but I have to say it really surpassed my first on so many levels.
Quick rundown:
Monday: met up with Toronto authors, Michelle Rowen and Maureen McGowan. Maureen was nice enough to drive us over the border into Buffalo where we had a great meal at the “Quaker Lube”. I kid you not. We settled into a hotel for the evening and tried to get some sleep.
Tuesday: Got a bit of a sleep in as we didnt’ have to leave for the airport until 10. Our trip there was interesting to say the least, the driver skills were a little, um, questionable I should say. But it was smooth sailing through the airport and the flight was only an hour. I hooked up at the airport with Amanda Vyne, a fellow siren and one of my crit partners and the four of us cabbed it to the airport. I have to say the drive there was lovely. Washington is a beautiful city, not what I’d expected and I enjoyed the lush greenery, stone bridges and old homes.
Amanda and I checked into our rooms, enjoyed a great lunch on the patio while we waited for Lauren Hawkeye to arrive. Dara Lee Snow was our fourth. That night we hung out in the bar and were joined by Lauren Dane, Ann Aguirre, Laura Bradford and a few others…oh, and another Siren made the trip up, Nini. It was a great night to kick back, enjoy a lot of laughs and just hang.
I can now say honestly, I was a good girl and only had a couple beers….some of the others however, indulged in Lemond Drop martinis and um, muff diver shooters…… haha….
Wednesday: Was a busy one for sure. After a bit of a lazy morning and lunch, I made it to the Bookseller meet and greet where I met several lovely ladies who sell Romance. Of note, Rosemary from down under was a total sweetheart and I look forward to corresponding with her when my book arrives next spring. After the meet and greet the Literacy signing took place and once again, it was a zoo! Hundreds of authors signing books and all the profits went to a literacy program! I saw Eve Silver, Beth Williamson, Ann Aguirre, Jeaniene Frost…the list goes on and on. It was wonderful.
Next up my amazing agent Laura Bradford took all her girls out to dinner. It was a great chance to meet everyone and chat (and the food was awesome). Lastly, on this busy Wednesday Ann Aguirre had a pj party. I met Aztec Lady there. It’s very cool to meet people you’ve talked to online in person. Jess Granger, Cynthia Eden were also present! Ann was a great host, cupcakes galore…..was a great way to end the night.
so, that’s about it for now…..I will finish up my recap and try to find some pictures tomorrow!
Hey All, Just a quick post. I’m getting all the loose ends tied up today. Heading out to Buffalo with authors Michelle Rowen and Maureen McGowan, we’ll have a relaxed evening and then fly out to DC tomorrow.
This is my second RWA and I’m so pumped to go. I can’t wait. It’s so gonna rock. Last year I was a newbie. I was newly signed with an agent but really, didn’t know much else about publishing at all. I got to meet my crit partners in the flesh, Amanda Vyne and Lauren Hawkeye, Grace Conley. That was amazing. I attended a lot of workshops that I enjoyed. I walked around looking at everyones badges and had several squeeee, moments when I recognized names of authors I’d gotten to know online. Way cool.
I got to meet my agent in person as well and it was really nice to sit and talk to her.
I crashed the Harlequin party with Lauren and we watched authors like Heather Graham, Nora Roberts and Gina Showalter dancing up a storm. Way cool. Oh yeah, there were men walking around in kilts…..this year the theme is firefighters….hmm, could be interesting I’m thinking!
Oh yeah, I also had dinner with Brenda Novak and Christine Feehan! Woot, sat right in between them!
so, this year I’m returning but it’s different. I can shout out that I’m published! I have books coming out with Avon and Samhain next year and that is pretty amazing. I am so looking forward to meeting my editors, Esi and Lindsey, attending all the fabulous parties, meeting up with all the Bradford Babes that are attending, going to a pj party, crashing Harlequin and …..sheesh, gonna be busy!
I will try to post a few things and maybe I’ll have some pics too! Have a good week all, I know that I will!
Today’s Snippet theme is prologue. Some writers love them, some not so much. I myself enjoy a good one. They can help to set the tone, lend a little backstory to help set the main premise up. I’ve chosen a prologue that is for my YA book, Ravyn’s Fall. I hope you enjoy. Please don’t forget to read the others that are participating. They are listed below the excerpt:
Ephesians 6:12: “For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world,
against spiritual wickedness in high places.”
Prologue
The child had been swept into the small town of Kings Crossing on the heels of a fantastic thunderstorm; one that had drenched the entire area in torrents of rain, hail and lightening. Days later it was referred to as a “hundred year rain”, meaning the swollen storm drains, sewers and rivers were unprecedented.
The residents were grateful no one had been killed. They claimed it was a miracle.
But Hank Creed knew better.
He held the miracle in his arms.
“Keep her safe until I come for her on the night of her birth, seventeen years hence.”
He’d been charged with the newborn’s protection, and as the other, the one who stood in the shadows, swept up and was away into the angry night sky, Hank made a vow that he would give his very life to do just that.
Sadly, he had no way of knowing his future. No way to know that his fate was shadowed in darkness, one that would touch the angel child he held so tenderly.
First off, I need to tout the debut release of author Anna Hackett. Her very first book, a Nocturne Bite is available from eharlequin. This is the cover and Blurb:
An implacable knight of the Order of the Dragon, holders of the ancient magic of Earth, Metal, Fire, Wood and Water, Rordan Sarkany is a legendary hunter of dragons gone wild. Burdened by years spent hunting friends who’ve let their magic, and the lure of immortality, change them into the untamed beast inside, he fears he’s close to succumbing to the darkness himself. Until, on the hunt for a vicious wild, he collides with tough female knight, Kira Bethlen.
A woman torn by sorrow and an irresistible fascination…
Wild with grief at the loss of her beloved brother, Kira Bethlen will not believe he turned and blames his death on the Order’s most merciless knight. All her life she has been drawn to Rordan, feels her dragon yearn for him, but she refuses to be attracted to her brother’s killer. As they reluctantly unite to bring down the wild, Kira is forced to see beyond her hatred, and Rordan’s fearsome reputation, to the man beneath. Trapped by their deadly foe, they will both learn what it takes to tame the Savage Dragon.
A bit of info landed in my lap yesterday and I pretty much had a silly grin on my face for like, the entire day. My first book, HIS DARKEST HUNGER, is available for preorder already!
All Righty everyone. The villian, the nasty dude who is such an integral part to a story. I love me a good one, and I had so much fun writing about my big bad dude, Cormac. He’s nasty, has no soul, feelings. In other words, for a villian, he’s delicious. I’m sharing an excerpt from the first Jaguar Warrior book, HIS DARKEST HUNGER, and it’s the first time that Libby comes face to face with him, that she can remember! I hope you enjoy, and don’t forget to click on the link below for the rest of the authors who’re taking part!
The passage narrowed and she had to slow her pace, but the need to flee was all consuming. Something was here, with her. The hair on the back of her neck began to vibrate and tingle, as if reacting to an electrical charge and sharp edges of pain began to radiate inside her brain.
The pressure intensified to the point that it brought her to her knees, and Libby was truly afraid her head would burst, so raw and intense were the feelings.
Anguish lit her chest on fire and her hands cupped her cranium. She tried to get up but it was no use.
Everything else dulled and the ache between her ears was constant. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried to count, and as panic began to nip at her heels, she struggled to breathe. It was then that she became aware of him. She could see two feet planted in front of her, and they belonged to a large man judging by the size of his boots. Expensive, leather boots from what she could see.
He crouched down in front of her and she flinched as a large, warm hand extended down and cupped her chin, forcing her eyes upwards.
He was handsome, of that there was no doubt. Devastatingly so. Dark hair shot through with silver, crowned his head. But his eyes were dead, completely devoid of any emotion. She blinked slowly, feeling her brain liquefy as a thousand memories rushed through her. They left her breathless and her chest constricted in an effort to draw air into her lungs. The world shrank away into the rock face at her back, until there was nothing in existence except the man who held her so gently.
A man whose long, well manicured fingers were strangely familiar. She focused on them, and felt the last part of her shattered memory shift into place. Like the final piece of a puzzle.
He continued to regard her in silence for what seemed like ages and when he spoke, his voice washed over her like broken glass.
A quick reminder to drop by my blog this coming Saturday for a Snippet about villians. The theme is first meeting and I’ve got a delicous sample of the first real glimpse of the evil Cormac, from my first Jaguar Warrior book, His Darkest Hunger.
