RT 2013...Day Four...Speed-Pitching, Celeb-Spotting and Freaky Friday

Friday was busy!! It was the last day in Club RT, which by then had become a home away from home...away from home. Friday was also the phenomenon known at Pitch-a-Palooza, basically speed-dating for writers, where acquiring editors and agents from all over are gathered in one place, given one chair in front of them, and aspiring authors get in line with their faves to give them a 3 minute story pitch. And when I say three, I mean it. They had a stopwatch and everything! I was next to and across from NY agents, and that was very interesting, but didn't have much time to watch them since I had people throwing ideas at me left and right. Mostly paranormal for some reason, lol.


It was very cool doing that, and then we got to have more fun and draw the winner of our giveaway. The woman who won was a grandma from Tulsa, Oklahoma, who was sweet as pie. I walked over to the Westin to deliver the prizes and she just kept thanking me and offering me refreshments. :) Loved her!

Loved our giveaway winner!

After that, TA and I went to the one and only panel I hit--Broken Wings, Writing Damaged Characters--led by Amy Lane, ZA Maxfield, Belinda McBride and Kate Pearce. I love them all, but it was especially wonderful to meet Kate, who really inspired me as a writer and I've always credited for my first exposure, so to speak, to the MM genre!

With Kate Pearce...my big fangurl moment!

TA with HER fangurl moment with Amy Lane!

Ethan and ZAM

Once we headed back to the elevator, we noticed signs advertising a room party the Whispering Cove series authors had put together. Since it was right down the hall from us, we headed in and got a yummy drink called Sex At My House--Amaretto, raspberry liquor and pineapple juice. Sweet but refreshing. There were a couple dozen people in the room while we were there and we finally figured out that the dark haired woman getting mobbed was actually EL James, the 50 Shades lady. So Ranae Rose and I went up to meet her and get a pic, right before she had to go to another engagement.

Ranae Rose and I with 50 Shades author EL James.

I later tweeted that I'd had Sex At My House with EL James. Hmm... somehow that didn't quite come out right.

After that we were bored and wandered around to find something to do. LOL! Just kidding! Oh man, there is sooo much to do! I needed ten more of me! We went to Avon's Red Slipper Lounge where the authors were giving away and signing loads of books. I grabbed a couple of YA titles and had them signed to my daughter for gifts. :) I also did an interview there on camera with the folks from RT, so we'll see if they use any of my shot at fame in their video!


We headed back up to, yep, Spectators and gathered as many of the TEB authors as we could find for some drinks and nibbles. No photos were taken, but I remember seeing Marie Sexton, Stephani Hecht, Amber Kell, Simone Anderson, Marie Haynes, Daisy Harris, Suzanne Graham and TA.


Heather Graham's Freaky Friday party was next. I'd been forewarned that it was a good night to be late to the event since a family skit was always part of the act, so I took the opportunity to spend a bit more time catching up with Ethan, who we dragged up to our room so we could continue talking while we got ready.

TaTa and Devo ride again! Yes that is a leash.

Once he saw us in our outfits, we all couldn't stop laughing. Really, it was insane. New nicknames were born that night--Devo and TaTa for us girls. Jury's still out on Ethan's. My vote was Teeth. He said he'd never get date again. Nibbles?

Duck lips. Quack!

Yeah, that was about as straight as we could keep our faces.

Freaky indeed! Wow, there are some seriously repressed souls who bust out all over when they get to conferences, evidently! We had a lot of fun and still managed to get to bed at a reasonable time! Well, one of us anyway.

Awesome photobomb, TA!

With Demon and Blade (aka Damon and Scott)

Leigh's fallen angel caught between Francesca's vampiress and Damon's demon.

Surprised a real smile out of him with a surprise kiss. :)

One of my earrings. The other's a wooden stake.

Smiles!!

Dancing with Mitch... Okay, so it's Heidi Cullinan in drag. Pretty convincing!

Can you tell I spent a lot of time with Leigh Anne? With Len Gunn.

Groovin with Damon.

After we'd got comfy in our new matching T-shirts!

More photos and a write-up on RT Book Reviews' site HERE.

Tomorrow I'll have Day Five...Book Fair and FAN-Tastic Excuses to Wear a Cocktail Dress

RT 2013...Day Three...50 Shades of Surprise, Snow and the Ball

On Thursday, rumors started swirling around about how, in a panel somewhere at RT, someone had been talking about 50 Shades of Gray, and the author EL James had stood up in the back of the room and said something like, "Stop talking about my book that way." Most of us thought it was just a joke until we started hearing more details and then came the pictures. Yes, EL James had crashed RT under a different name, then switched to a badge with her real name. Evidently the panelist had been in on it with her and all was well, but it certainly caused a stir, lol. More on EL later.

Another thing that got people talking and actually even going outside was the fact that it started snowing. Now, the day before it had been up to about 80 degrees, so snow was pretty amazing. I spoke to one woman who had never seen snow before and was just giddy about it!

Yes, snow. Yes, it was 80 degrees yesterday. Yes, it's the Midwest.

 I spent most of that day in Club RT, so the first event I went to (other than the disco night and my spotlight) was Romance Pride. It was a cool event with lots of swag and books and costumes, since you were to come dressed as your favorite sub-genre. TA and I went out on a limb and chose Contemporary. *nods* Not sure why we didn't win, but some of the outfits were awesome!

Steampunk! Francesca, Marie and Leigh Anne rocking it!

Kissy-face with "Mitch", aka Heidi Cullinan

We didn't leave empty-handed though! Dreamspinner handed out T-shirts that said, "The only women who don't like gay romance are those who haven't read it!"

TA and I with our consolation prizes!

Time for the E-book Expo!! We moved the display table down then took turns wandering through finding some of our favorite authors!

Damon holding court as usual

Yay! Finally got to meet Mary Calmes in person!

Marie still in her eye-popping steampunk outfit!

Amber Kell giving away dragons.

The beautiful Marie Harte!

Stephani Hecht looking gorgeous as always!

Then came the Samhain Safari. We actually got there a bit late since we'd stopped off on the Club level for some hot wings, lol, then found that they'd served food at the safari. Ah well, we still found room for the fruit tarts, which were so freaking good. Not sure I ever figured out why Damon was a demon on safari, but it was a cool outfit.

Wild Man Damon Suede

After that it was time for bed. No, wait! It was time for an espresso then to get ready for the 30th Anniversary Formal Ball. They really pulled out all the stops, and served a plated dinner, though we were really full by then. They walked us through 30 years of romance through dinner topped off by a partial striptease by the top guy at Amazon. Once again, the outfits were a lot of fun, and dressed to the nines was the style of the night!

A sampling of the styles!

Damon before changing...

...and after changing!

TA, JP Barnaby and moi

 Figured this was as good a place as any to insert the requisite photo opps with the Mr Romance and cover guys. Photo thanks (and all the posing too, for that matter!) to Leigh Anne!

With 2009 Mr Romance Charles Paz (whose flashy suit matched his personality!) and the super nice Scott Nova

2011 Mr Romance Len Gunn looked like he wore a suit every day.

Oh no! This guy turned into a big purple floral arrangement!

Harvey Stables (Mr Romance 1999!) and Scott Nova..sharp dressed men!

DeLonn Donovan, me, Scott and Harvey

Okay, sheesh, one more and that's it, Leigh! Harvey is really tall, btw.

Back tomorrow for Day Four...Speed-Pitching, Celeb-Spotting and Freaky Friday.

RT 2013...Day Two...Kicking It Off and Disco Inferno

At Club RT...There's no place like home...

Sometimes it's amazing to me that more packages and letters don't go astray, especially when you think of the logistics and sheer number of them criss-crossing all over. Most of the time, we all take for granted that things will end up where they should. Silly us. LOL.

TA Chase and Stephani Hecht wo-manning the table

Wednesday started out with Club RT in mind. For those of you who haven't been, think of it as a sort of market slash meet-n-greet. There are dozens of gift baskets lined up along one wall with fun baskets to enter to win. Around the edges of the rest of the room are vendors, including publishers (like me) and booksellers, sellers of everything from jewelry and costumes, to wine and trinkets. In the middle of the room are round tables where authors can sit and meet readers.

Steph looks mesmerized by the way our banner is upright.

We were having a giveaway of a Kindle, ebooks and a Wizard of Oz themed basket. All of which I had in my possession that morning. Only thing I was missing was the freestanding banners. I had a dozen people from both the hotel and the convention roped into trying to find the suckers. After at least two hours of searching they turned up...right where they should have been all along. Hmm. Guess they'd been hiding the first time they looked there! O.o

Just another ordinary person signing up for our drawing (cover model Scott Nova)

Then came the fun of trying to remember how to put them up. LOL. I won't describe it to you in detail. Suffice to say hilarity ensued and six of us were standing around scratching our heads for a lot of it. I finally got it figured out and viola! we were ready about 15 minutes before opening.

Ethan and his ever-present Diet Coke came to visit.

TA and I manned the table together and in turns, and also had lots of help from Daisy Harris, Steph Hecht, Marie Sexton and Ranae Rose. It was great getting to talk to the convention goers in a more relaxed atmosphere.

There are events, panels and spotlights going on all day, every day. I didn't get to many this year since I was in Club RT most of the time, but I heard some great things about them! I had to give a spotlight in front of a room of people interested in publishing with us, and since I'm sooo comfortable in front of groups, that was fun! But I got through it and that brought us to the big evening event of Wednesday...

The entertainment...Ellora's Cavemen plus a girl lol.

Yes, it was Disco night! Or more properly, Ellora's Cave Bad Girls of Romance Disco Inferno.

Boogy-oogy-oogying with TA Chase, readers/reviewers Leigh and Francesca and Daisy Harris.

 We discoed and hustled and danced to a rather eclectic mix of music (pretty sure half of it wasn't from the 70's, disco's heyday, and I would know...I was alive practically the whole decade!). Energy was high and lots of people really enjoyed dressing the part.

 

 After we danced the last dance, we headed to... Guesses anyone? Yes! You're right! Spectators, lol. We ran into a couple of the Cavemen there--Nick and David--and since someone had left their calendar behind that everyone had got as giveaways, they were nice enough to talk to us and pose with their photos.

 And so closed the first full day of RT. Tomorrow we'll visit Day Three...50 Shades of Surprise, Snow and the Ball.

RT 2013...Day One...An RT Virgin Arrives

RT--it's the big Kahuna of Romance cons and for good reason. Between the publisher representation and the attendance, it definitely takes top prize. So of course, I'd never been to it. LOL. My schedule had conspired against me and I had to wonder, was it worth it?

This year, though, I had the perfect excuse to go--my editing day job. I was there to rep my pub, so a bit of the pressure was off to make a good showing as either Devon or Stacey Lynn, and I could scope it out while experiencing the whole thing. Yes, I was a virgin this year!

Devon and TA--roomies forevah!! :)

TA Chase--my partner in crime and all things con-related (and now my writing partner for that matter...we'll get back to that later)--was my roommate. Of course! Once having met her, she spoiled me for any other roomie. She's as anally neat as I am, she's quiet, doesn't mind when I'm up late working, and is a totally positive person. Awesome vibes to share a room with for 5 days. She also got the dubious honor of being "TA the PA", my personal assistant for the con. She remembered people's names, knew what to do when, and of course reminded me to grab my key every single time I left the room. She only forgot hers once (booya!).

We both got in separately on Tuesday and met up at the Sheraton. I had a nonstop from Portland to KC with two free checked bags (guess which airline), and that was a good thing since it seems every conference I pack more shoes. TA and Marie Sexton are a bad influence on me!

Disco Baby!!

We didn't have anything specific planned for Tuesday, but there was enough to do unpacking, orienting ourselves and rounding up the publisher stuff that had been shipped to me there. At least most of it. The banners wanted to play hide and seek with us, so finding them ended up getting put off until Wednesday.

So Tuesday night we ended up catching up with old friends, readers and authors we knew. It wasn't hard to run into them considering how many attendees there were (thousands? anyone know exactly?). The hotel only had two options for food/drinks, and they were never open at the same time. Spectators, a rather small and somewhat lacksidasically staffed sports bar, was the only show in town during evening hours, yet wasn't open for lunch? And stopped serving food before midnight. So much missed revenue! (Shakes head) If people weren't congregated either in the lobby or along the mezzanine, they were in Spectators. Became the place to find people.

Ranae Rose, Daisy Harris, TA Chase, me, Marie Sexton and Alanna Coca at Spectators.

We'd paid the negligible expense to upgrade to Club level, so had access to the hot evening snacks and breakfast. That the pretty much all we existed on for the first couple of days. :) There was a great view from both our room on 37th and the Club level 4 stories up.

Amazing Club level views, especially at night.

That night was the very inventive and fun Cinema Craptastique, hosted by several authors and MC'ed by Damon Suede. He gave a hilarious running commentary on a screening of The Covenant, a film hardly anyone had ever heard of...not surprisingly, though TA had seen it!

Back with Day Two tomorrow--Kicking It Off and Disco Inferno!

Happy Release Day for A Sticky Wicket in Bollywood!

 

A Sticky Wicket in Bollywood is available for immediate download at a 10% discount over at Total-E-Bound starting today! :) 

This is the first book in the new series I'm writing with TA Chase, International Men of Sports, and we're very excited about our first release! It's set in India and tells the story of a cricket player and a Bollywood actor.

Here's the blurb, and you can follow the link above for an excerpt at TEB:

A handsome Bollywood actor must choose between his career and a rugged cricket player from his past, who he’s fallen in love with…again.

Rajan Malik has the world of Bollywood in the palm of his hand…a beautiful girlfriend, starring roles, adoring fans…He should be happy, but behind the façade lies a man conflicted and exhausted by the pressure placed on him by his ill mother, his agent and society. His life is not his own, and all he wants to do is escape.

Indian Premier League cricketer Ajay Singh can’t believe how bad his university roommate Rajan looks when he spots his picture in the paper. They had parted on bad terms. Still, he’s moved to offer Rajan his support by renewing their friendship.

But friendship was not all they shared back then. Though Ajay is out, Rajan isn’t willing to give up his carefully cultivated Bollywood image to be with him publicly. And with very little privacy, it won’t take long for someone to find out they are more than friends.

Their renewed secret affair is fraught with difficulties as they deal with the death of Rajan’s mother, the secret of Rajan’s till-now absent father, a jealous friend, intrusive social media, and threatening notes from someone who seems to know all about their private lives.

It’s a bit of a sticky wicket they find themselves in. Will it be too late when both men finally realise that they’ll need to compromise, or stand to lose everything?

Currently available at Total-E-Bound.