RT convention & RWA conference 2011

So registration for RWA 2011 is opening up in a few weeks on January 18, 2011 and I was wondering, who was attending :) I will be for sure this year :)

When I started blogging and learned that there were books/readers/authors conferences/conventions, I told myself that I had to go to one at least once in my life. And this feeling was just reinforced after I met my fellow bloggers. I mean, as a fan, there's nothing quite like meeting authors... and as a reader, being surrounded by people who understand your love for romance books and your quirks, really, what more can you ask for?

Last year, I was able to attend the RT convention in Columbus and I had a blast. I loved getting together with Jill, Kristie, Mollie and many other wonderful ladies. However, meeting authors... that was special. I mean, there's nothing quite like meeting a favorite author and being like: "Wow. I can't believe I'm standing in front of you. Seeing you. Euh. I love your books!!!" LOL. I just makes you feel giddy and good LOL.

This year, the RWA conference is taking place in New York City and I've had my eyes on it for 2 years already LOL. First, I'll be able to get together with Hilcia and Christine once again... but more exciting is that New York City is in driving distance!! That means saving money on traveling, not worrying about shipping or how heavy my suitcases are, etc. It's just perfect :) At the same time, the RT convention is making its way to the West Coast for the first time in a couple of years and has chosen Los Angeles for 2011. Ugh. Los Angeles = California = SoCal bloggers! I have to admit that I was mighty tempted... Those SoCal bloggers are fun to hang out with!! Alas, I don't have the money to attend both conventions - but oh, how I wished! LOL. RWA was just the logical choice since I'm going to save a bundle on traveling. Plus, since I went to RT convention, I want to try out RWA conference :)

Anyway, I have a feeling that a lot of bloggers will be attending a conference/convention this year, considering that RT and RWA are taking place in blogger hotspots or at least, big cities that will attract a lot of people :) So I'm curious :P Anyone attending RT or/and RWA this year? Or perhaps RomCon in Denver?

RT 2010: The experience

So, this is likely my last post about my experience at RT 2010. I will still try to recap 3 of the panels I went to in the near future; however, I was going through my notes on Friday (yes, I took notes...) and realized it might me too late ^_^; For the YA panels, my notes weren't very complete, especially the first one, and I don't remember everything that was said. Still, I'll try to do it. In the meantime,I'm going to try to sum up my experience :)

I've been wanting to go to a convention for a few years already. I've seen other bloggers go and enjoy themselves so much that it just confirmed my wishes to go :) I have to admit that at first, I was leaning towards RWA. Next year, RWA is held in New York City and I'm definitively planning to go. However, I thought that since RWA would be in NY City, it would be like huge... so it'd be nice to attend RWA in a "smaller" city and experience the usual atmosphere :P

Then, Jill and I started talking and Jill was determined to go to RT 2010... I was a bit wary of the RT convention, because of all the brouhaha that occurred about 2 years ago in Pittsburgh. So while I was hesitating, we got an email from Kristie who has just found out that she had enough money to go to both RT and RWA this year... So it just seems like a sign for me to attend RT 2010 :)

Overall, I'm really glad I went to the RT convention. I think it was a good experience and if you are a book lover and have the chance to, try to attend it at least once. It's wonderful because you're surrounded with people who loves reading books just like you and everyone is so open and friendly. This is also a great opportunity to meet authors and talk to them or listen to what they have to say :) Like I mentioned many times, I really enjoyed the workshops and panels and I like that readers can attend to the writer track as well. There is not real segregation between readers and aspiring authors or published authors.

While I had a good time and enjoyed the experience, I'm simply not sure whether the RT convention really suits me or not. Basically, it has to do with the party atmosphere at the convention. I'm not a party girl. Going to a convention, attending workshops, meeting authors and getting free books, that's my fun. That's how I relax and basically, it  makes me happy and that's all I need. I understand that for other attendees however, this is their escape from reality, from their every day life and they want to enjoy it... and that's great for them, but it's just not me. The Mr. Romance competition, the Fairy Ball, Ellora Cave party, etc. those are activities that I didn't care for. As for the Mr Romance, I have nothing against it... but sometimes, I thought that the behaviors that it brought out from certain persons really didn't reflect well on romance readers...

Otherwise, the rest was fine and I had a great time :D I loved having Jill and Kristie as roommates :) And I think we were extremely lucky that RT took place in Columbus this year and we got to meet Mollie :D  Meeting Mary, Linda, Delilah Marville, CJ and Lisabea was another plus :D The bookfair signing was great and like a dream, LOL, and most of the activities organized for the readers were a lot of fun :D

RT 2010: Day 5 and 6

I'm almost done with the recaps :D Yay!! Since Sunday was quite uneventful, I've decided to combine both Day 5 and 6.

Day 5 started out fairly early because it was Jill's last day. So we went to eat breakfast at the hotel restaurant along with a friend of Jill and some acquaintances. It's kind of funny how after a couple of days, especially after the bookfair, you now recognize authors and can spot them more easily. So on the way to the restaurant, I saw Jim and Shannon K. Butcher with their suitcases, preparing to leave. Inside the restaurant, while I was cruising the buffet, I ran into Karen Rose and we even chatted a little. I saw Elizabeth Vaughan leaving the restaurant and I ran after her to ask when she was leaving (in case I could have gotten Destiny's Star and have it signed)... Also saw Kelley Armstrong :) It's kind of fun to be able to put faces to their names now :D

After breakfast, it was time to say goodbye to Jill... awww :( It's amazing how fast time can go by!! However, the most important is that we got to meet each other and spend time together! :D Afterward, Kristie and I went back to the hotel room and played on internet a little bit. I think that's when I finally caught Ames at home and so we video-chatted a little bit :) At the same time, I started packing LOL. Although it wasn't as bad as I thought it'd be. For some reasons, I had a lot less books than I expected... well not less books, but the weight was less than I expected. I had 2 suitcases, so a maximum of 100 pounds... and my 2 suitcases combined were 65 pounds. Not bad right? After I was done packing, I blogged. Meanwhile, Kristie has gone down to the bar to read... and I should have joined her! It's only when I went down later that I realized that instead of reading, she's been hanging out with Richelle Mead, Gennita Low and Mark Henry!!! The fun I've been missing!!! Oh and guess what? Ms Low told me she had gone to my blog! :D (Google alert sure is great LOL)

We were all heading to one of the last events of the convention: Title Search. This was hosted by Tori Carrington aka Tony & Lori Karayianni with several authors participating such as Richelle Mead, Gennita Low, Mark Henry, Carolyn Crane, Mario Acevedo, etc. courtesy of Avon publisher. Basically, each participant was handed a word puzzle/mystery word with a list of titles they had to find and those who finished rapidly won a bundle of 4 books from Avon. I have to say, I was quite excited because I knew my chances of winning were high - I'm pretty good at word puzzle :) For the first round, Gennita Low was sitting with us - did I tell you how funny she is? She cracks me up :D I was not the first one to finish in the first round, but I did win a bundle of books :) I have to say, Avon is pretty generous. For the second round, Richelle Mead was sitting with us :) This time around, I completed my word puzzle, but instead of claiming a prize, I offered it to anyone at the table... but no one took the offer. So I ended up helping Kristie to finish hers and she got a bundle of books as well :D Woohoo! For the third round, Mark Henry sat with us :) Overall, I thought this was a fun game and a good thing it was held on Sunday since there were less people remaining :) I also got the opportunity to say goodbye to CJ who was leaving in a few hours :) 

After the Title Search, Kristie and I made our way to the next room that held the Mix 'N' Match: A Booklovers' Memory Game, courtesy of Dorchester Publishing :) Basically, think of the game Concentration where we had to match the book cover card and author card, but also remember where the cards were. There were several different sets and it was really fun! :D Participants were divided into groups of 10 and were sit at different tables where an author was stationed by to play referee. Our author was Bobbi Smith :) There was going to be four rounds and the table that finished first won the round, i.e. all the participants at that table got a bundle of books :D The winners of the first round were really fast!! So we devised a strategy for the 2nd round - help each other (duh) and flip the cards in order instead of randomly... and it worked!! We were the 2nd round winners :D The third and fourth round weren't as fun because it was a set of cards we've already played, but still. Again, I thought this game was really fun - it was a good idea and very feasible with the amount of people who stayed over on Sunday... and free books! Who's going to complain? :P Some of the participants stayed back to play a couple of more rounds, even though there were no more prizes. I would have stayed; however, Kristie and I had a date with Mollie, so it was time to go get ready :)

The day before, after the signing, Kristie and I had arranged to go out for dinner with Mollie and then, to the bookstore of course :D So guess where we went to eat? Cheesecake Factory! :) We don't have Cheesecake Factory in Canada and Kristie had never had the opportunity to go during her previous visits to the States. Having heard Ames raved about it, as soon as she heard Cheesecake Factory in the options of where to go eat, the choice was made :D  So Mollie graciously indulged us :D And if you're wondering which cheesecake I had, well my answer will probably shock you: none. I just didn't feel that great that evening and so skipped dessert ^_^; However, Mollie and Kristie obviously didn't :P

 Next to the Cheesecake Factory was this huge and brand new Barnes & Nobles :) I had a few books that I wanted to buy in the States either because of the price or availability issues; however, I was really out of luck and didn't find any that I was really looking for (Beyond the Night by Joss Ware, Stroke of Magic by Tracy Madison, etc.) :( Seems like it was someone's way to tell me I've already gotten enough books LOL. Of course, that doesn't mean I walked out empty-handed. Of course not. So I walked out with The Day I Fall by Lauren Oliver, Destiny's Star by Elizabeth Vaughan and Jaye Wells newest, Mage in Black. It was a good mini-haul, but not as good as Kristie - she was the real winner on that trip :)

Mollie then tried to tempt me with a trip to Half Price Books - apparently, an awesome UBS. However, I declined - I know, I know, shocker, but at this point, I was quite worried about the customs ^_^; So instead, Kristie and I were good girls and asked Mollie to drive us back to the hotel... where once again, I worked on my packing and made sure that I didn't leave anything behind. Then, it was an early night for the pair of us as my flight was at 10.30am and I wanted to be there a couple of hours early (just in case).

So we woke up at 6am and got ready. Then, we called a bellhop to come and help us carry our luggage :) Yep, that is all our bags in the picture :P We checked out and then, Kristie asked the valet to bring up her car. When her car arrived, I asked for a cab... and that is the official end of the RT convention :(

  
For those who are wondering, my traveling back to Montreal was quite uneventful. I did have a moment of panic when the kiosk couldn't retrieve my reservation!!! However, it was then taken care by a human - see, robots and machines will never replace humans. The greatest news is that he didn't charge me for my 2nd suitcase - score!! :) I got at the airport quite early, so I waited for about 2-3 hours. I thought I saw Charlaine Harris at one of the gates, but I'm not quite sure... The plane was once again the tiny kind, but the flight was much smoother this time! (Really good for me)

Once I got to Toronto, I had to go through the customs which had been one of my biggest worries even before leaving Montreal ^_^; It went as followed:

Custom Agent (CA): Where are coming from?

Me: Columbus.

CA: What are you bringing back?

Me: Books.

CA: Good day, m'am.

Big sigh of relief from me LOL. After that, I could finally relax and got some food. There was this nice couple sitting next to me in the restaurant and we chatted a little. Then, I still had a few hours to kill before my flight home, so I read Tales of the Otherworld by Kelley Armstrong.

The flight to Montreal was quite uneventful. I got my luggage (yay!!!) and then waited for my mother to pick me up :) Once I got home, I opened my emails and saw all the messages and it really  made my day :)

So that's pretty much it for the recap :D I'll probably do a post about the overall experience and there's a few panels I'd like to share with you all :) After that, I will revert to my usual posts :)

RT 2010: Day 4

Sorry for the long delay - coming back to work is really not something fun. Plus the dizziness is still here :( The good news though is that it seems to get better. It was really bad on Thursday and Friday; this week-end though, it's not so bad. However, now, I don't think it's due lack of sleep - so if it doesn't go away very soon, a visit to the doctor seems to be in the pictures soon. Sigh.


In some way, Saturday was more relaxed than the other days - the schedule was less busy; but it was also most exciting day because of the Book Fair and its hundreds of authors present!!! Although the schedule was less busy, there were some interesting activities going on at the same time and that was unfortunate. Around 8.45am, Kristi, Jill and I all went down to stand in line for the Street Party which was another morning mixer. I have to admit, the only reason I showed up to the Street Party was for the books ^_^; I mean, I would have stayed for the whole thing if a panel with Karen Rose, Heroes vs. Villains, hadn't been scheduled... but alas, it was. So my plan was to stay for about 30 minutes and then, make my way to the Heroes vs. Villains panel. However, the Street Party started late ^_^; and so I got my bag of books and made my way to Heroes vs. Villains. It was bad of me, but I really wanted to see Karen Rose... and well free books, it's hard to say no to that no? By the way, that's the event during which Kristie got the ARC for Waking the Witch by Kelley Armstrong... and as soon as I saw it, I begged for it LOL. Would have done pretty  much anything for Waking the Witch, but luckily, I didn't have to... since Kristie doesn't read that series *gasp*... but that just mean total score for me!!!! LOL.

So I went to Heroes vs. Villains with Jill, Linda and Mary and we got to see Karen Rose!! Squuuuueeee!! :P It was a very fun session as it was very intimate. There were probably no more than 20 people when we started off. It wasn't really a panel or a workshop, but instead, a game session. Ms Rose had prepared all those little cards with either a hero, heroine or villain as the topic and filled the card with character info such as occupation, hobby, etc. Then, we had to make the others at our table guess which hero, heroine or villain we had either by drawing, miming or by words... think Pictionary, charade and Taboo :P It was very fun :) We also each received a chocolate rose and a mug... but the coolest prize was a bracelet with charms. Ms Rose is celebrating her 11th release, Silent Scream, and it's David Hunter book!! Yay!! Finally LOL. So she had 11 bracelets up for grab, unfortunately, I didn't win one :(  Still, it was really, really cool to meet Ms Rose... and she knows my blog! LOL. It's always special when an author (or actually, anyone :P) knows your blog :)

The session finished early, because Ms Rose had to be at the bookfair. I remember going back to the room to leave some stuff and to pick up some of the books I wanted signed (Something About You by Julie James, Warprize and Warlord by Elizabeth Vaughan, etc.). Then, I made my way down to the ballroom and woah... there was a lot, a lot, a lot of people!!! I have to admit that I was surprised at the number of people coming from the general public. I mean, it was pretty much a given that the convention attendees would all be there... but the general public, I had not idea what to expect. I also wasn't sure if the ballroom would be big enough, LOL... but it was, so that was a good thing :)

The Bookfair Signing was a lot of fun, despite the number of persons attending. I have to say, while waiting in line, I was getting giddy. Some people don't really get the concept of autographs... For me, getting a book signed, well it just makes it that much more special. Meeting someone you admire and having a memento of it, it's just awesome :D So I was all ready, I've made my list of authors I wanted to meet and that was my game plan :D

Here are some of the authors I've met...

From top to bottom, left to right: Laura Bickle aka Alayna Williams, Carolyn Crane, Julie James, Jennifer Estep, Delilah Marville, Samantha Kane, Lucy Monroe & husband, Susan Donovan, Sally MacKenzie & Ann Macela, Karen Rose, Elizabeth Vaughan and Dianne Castell. Of course, I met other authors as well and got other books signed... I got to meet Victoria Alexander, Ally Carter, Barry Eisler, Linda Robertson, Diana Rowland, Rachel Vincent, Joss Ware aka Colleen Gleason and Lisa Watson :)

Funniest story at the signing was while meeting Elizabeth Vaughan. I really love Ms Vaughan's Chronicles of Warlands. I mean, really love them... so I was so happy that Ms Vaughan was going to be at the signing and she was definitively one stop I was going to make :) It's too bad she didn't have her latest release, Destiny's Star :( Lucky for me though, I had brought Warprize and Warlord!! Anyway, I talked with her a little bit and then, asked if I could take a picture of her. Ms Vaughan then told me that if I didn't mind, I could crawl under the table and get on the same side as her to take a picture together! LOL. Of course I didn't mind!! And quickly made my way under the table :) I later found out that Jill was the initiator... she had reached Ms Vaughan before me and had asked if she could crawl under the table LOL.

All in all, going to the Bookfair was really an experience that I wish to repeat in the future LOL. The adrenaline you feel. Like I said, meeting these authors was wonderful, being able to talk to them... Everyone is just so nice! And the waiting time wasn't very long! I don't know, I imagined those long queues for each author, but it wasn't the case... The very popular authors were situated in strategic places in the ballroom and tickets were handed out. It was a very organized system and I thought it worked well. However, it must be very hard for authors - the waiting around, but I guess it's part of the job. Another thing that's pretty unfortunate is that the authors don't have a say of what books they're going to have at the signing or how many :( I know some who were bummed out not having their latest book available...

It didn't really take me that long to get all the books I wanted. I think about 90 minutes. I ran into Mollie as well - which was a good thing considering my cellphone was dead ^_^; Mollie opted to hang out with me and come back later to get her J.R. Ward book signed - considering how it was going, she had at least 90 minutes of waiting. We ran into Kristie and Jill in the lobby who have just come back from the post office and decided to go grab lunch. After that, we went back up to our room to hang out... and start packing. Well okay, Jill did the most packing, since she was leaving the next day. Me? I was tidying up my corner of the room... because let's face it, I'm messy LOL. I mean, don't you think it looks like my suitcase is spewing clothes? ^_^;

Afterwards, we went to Regency Bingo with Jane Austen and Sabrina Jeffries. Obviously, this was hosted by Sabrina Jeffries, but she was joined by Leanne Renee Hieber dressed as Jane Austen. They did this really fun skit where Ms Jeffries was informing Jane Austen of all the spin-offs, sequels, etc. of Pride and Prejudice. Very fun stuff and Ms Hieber was awesome - she has a background in acting and it shows! :D Then, we played bingo :) Ms Jeffries' version of bingo was very cool :D Instead of numbers, she had words and instead of calling numbers, she read an excerpt of her latest book, The Truth about Lord Stoneville. The game was fun, but the excerpt was awesome as well :D Really made me want to read it once I got home :)

After the Bingo session, I have to admit I was pretty tired - adrenaline rush of the morning being gone. Instead of doing anything, I just relaxed and napped. Then, I got ready for the Dorchester Dance Party with a prom theme. Obviously, I wasn't the only one who was tired because not many attended in comparison to the other balls and parties. The funniest thing was that there was really a prom at the hotel!! LOL. However, the kids were all leaving and it was only 9pm - guess they had other plans... The Dorchester Dance Party was okay - basically, it was pretty much an opportunity to dance and free books :) I totally scored and got Breath of Magic by Tracy Madison! :) Yay! The only unfortunate thing is that no food was served beside snack... so I was really, really hungry! Kristie and I ended up joining Lisabea and her friend, Kate Davies, at the bar for a last night of drinks :) I don't drink alcohol, but I got some food LOL.

And that's pretty much the end of Day 4. We all called it an early  night and went back to our room :)

Only one more day to recap!

RT 2010: Haul... Spoils... Loot...

I'm not done with the recaps of RT and I'm going to continue writing them in the next few days... However, many have asked what I brought back home from this trip :) I figure you don't want to wait till the end to know, so I'm going to write a separate post :D

Not surprisingly, most of my suitcases was filled with books :) What is surprising though is that I didn't have much difficulty to pack them... it fit really well in 2 suitcases and I still had space to spare :) Okay, so here we go :P

Remember, the first night, I went to Borders? Well I went back to the bookstore on Sunday night with Kristie and Mollie. The second time around though, I was a better girl... Or more like, the books I wanted weren't there ^_^;

Here are the books I got from both signings :D Not bad right? I mean, I did go crazy, but not too crazy... if that makes sense.

Free books...

There were a few more books that I got, but exchanged or gave away, either because I already had them or I wouldn't read them... So the count was higher, but it didn't make sense to me to bring them home.

My absolute score though is the following...

I mean, seriously, getting this book just made me so happy and giddy!!  It was actually in Kristie's bag at the Street Party, but I immediately beg for it, LOL, knowing that Kristie didn't read this author. Then, I kept it in my purse the whole time till I got home. I haven't started reading it though because I need to decompress and relax so I can enjoy it to the max :P

Oh, as books go, I have a couple more that I got from Jill such as the new Julie James - Something About You, Gentlemen Prefer Succubi by Jill Myles and Provocative in Pearls by Madeline Hunter. I got the chance to get Something About You signed as well :D  In addition, I brought my tattered copies of Warprize and Warlord to be signed by Elizabeth Vaughan... and it's lucky for me too, since she only had Dagger Star and White Star at the signing.

In addition of books, well there was a lot of swag as well :P Authors can be very imaginative when it comes to promoting their books ;)

I mean, whatever you can think of, you name it :D My favorite though is this...

I got it from Laura Bickle when I got Embers at the signing :)

And voila...

RT 2010: Day 3

So I'm going to continue my little recaps of RT 2010 :) Hopefully, by the end of this week, I'll be done :P

It was kind of weird to be at the convention, because the first two days seemed to go by so slowly. Perhaps slowly is not the right word, but because so much has happened already, I was always surprised when I took a moment to think and realized it was only Thursday. So perhaps more like too much to do. Then, when Friday arrived, time really started going fast...

Friday was another early day. This time, we started off with the Kensington Morning Mixer where we were served these huge muffins, LOL. Many of their authors were present and they all came up on stage to introduce themselves and their upcoming books. Probably the best introduction was Mingmei Yip :) She was extremely funny and I hope her books do well :)

Then, the worshops and panels started. The first one I attended for the day was Top 10 Dead-Sexiest Hero Types by S.J. Day, Lucy Monroe, Erin McCarthy, Dianne Castell and LuAnn McLane (in that order in the pic). Ms Day arrived late, so we just chatted and played a little game where we were supposed to guess the authors' heroes (it isn't as easy to come up with clues as you think LOL). Also, each author introduced themselves and their books... Ms Castell new book, Hot Southern Nights, sounds extremely interesting by the way and I'll definitively be picking it up later this month :P Once Ms Day arrived, we started the panel. Each author chose 2 types of heroes they like writing about and talked about them and asked the audience if they had examples, etc. Ms Castell started off with the loner and family heroes, Ms Day - the reluctant and anti-hero types, Ms McCarthy - the wounded and vampire heroes, Ms McLane - small town and sport heroes and finally, Ms Monroe - the paramilitary and werewolf heroes. It was a fun and casual panel. One reason was that Ms Monroe's husband was present and so she'd stop herself to reassure her husband, kind of. You know, like: "Oh, this person is cute - but not as cute as you, honey" moments :P They definitively have a great chemistry and relationship and it was very heart-warming to see :D By the way, something interesting I learned was that the Fast-Track series by Erin McCarthy is going to have 6 books!


Afterward, I rushed to the Urban Fantasy goes to Hollywood panel with Richelle Mead, Charlaine Harris, Jim Butcher, Holly Black and Melissa Marr and moderated by our own and unique CarolynJean!! :D  With such a line-up, I had to hurry to get a good place. Unfortunately, I didn't have a good view enough to take a picture of the table and panelists. The panel went very well and was very interesting - CJ did a great job as the moderator. Okay, so we all know that Charlaine Harris' Sookie Stackhouse series has been adapted on TV by HBO - True Blood. For those who are interested, IIRC, there will be a season 4 for sure :P Jim Butcher's The Dresden Files series has been adapted on TV as well and the show ran for 2 seasons on Sci-Fi. Holly Black is co-author of The Spiderwick Chronicles which has been adapted into a movie. Meanwhile, Fox has just bought the rights to Richelle Mead's Georginna Kincaid series and Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr has been optioned, but I don't remember which company. All in all, I really enjoyed the panel and just listening to what the authors have to say... especially when it comes to adaptations. I'm going to summarize this panel in another post, so I can share what I heard with you all :) But this was definitively a turning point in the convention, because 1) my first sighting of Elizabeth Vaughan!!, 2) got to see Jim Butcher and Changes signed (yay!), 3) encouraged Carolyn by being there and 4) picture with Richelle Mead :P


Then it was kind of lunch time, but didn't really have time to go get lunch. Luckily, it was the Carina Press Launch Party and they had a mashed potatoes martini bar. I've never seen this, but I thought it was a good idea :P Basically, they put out three different kind of mashed potatoes (white cheddar, garlic and wasabi) and the dressings (sour cream, chives, onions, cheese, etc) and so you filled your martini glass as you wanted :) Like I said, I thought it was a clever idea and at the same time, there was enough for second and third servings and it was filling LOL. By the way, don't you think it looks yummy? Almost, almost like a sundae LOL.


The next panel was a Young Adult Authors Chat with Holly Black, Ally Carter, Kelley Armstrong and Melissa Marr :) I was surprised at the turn out, because I was expecting the room to be full, but it wasn't. I'm not complaining - it's better for the people who attend :P There was no moderator in this session, so the authors answered the audience's questions. Again, very relax and casual :) I liked that atmosphere. Personally, whatever the authors have to say, whether it's related to their books, characters, writing process, etc. I'm interested in hearing. This panel was aimed at readers, but I thought it was pretty much the same in the workshops for writers... I don't know how constructive and helpful they were for writers, but as a reader, I enjoyed them :D Anyway, this was another panel I enjoyed and I discovered a new author that I'm definitively going to try out - Ally Carter. I was happy also because I was able to get Tales of the Otherworld signed by Kelley Armstrong and I got a free copy of Melissa Marr newest, Radiant Shadows. 

It was followed by the Vamps & Scamps Reader Party. Of the Vamps & Scamps, Jules Bennett, Toni Blake, Dianne Castell, Donna MacMeans, LuAnn McLane, Patricia Sargeant and Shiloh Walker were the ones present at the party. I'm going to go on a tangent here, but do you know what amazed me the most during this convention? The authors generosity!! Most of these parties and games are organized by the authors with their own money. The food, the prizes and the books provided for the readers all come from the authors for most part, not the publishers. So I really need to thank them for this wonderful convention! Okay, back to the Vamps & Scamps Reader Party :) Most of the hour was spent with authors reading some funny questions and multiple choices they came up with and readers answering them. Those who answered got a prize... and there was also a raffle with many prizes. I won Broken by Shiloh Walker - wooohooo!!  I was quite happy because when we were at Borders on Day 1, Kristie had mentioned it... plus, it's been getting good reviews :) Curiously enough, Jill and Kristie both won something also, so it was fun that all three roommates got something :)

I'd like to say that the rest of the day was more relaxed, but it wasn't really. There was the E-Book, Indie Pub, Multimedia & Graphic Fiction Expo which was basically a signing with all the authors involved in the above media. I wanted to go for L.B. Gregg (our own Lisabea!) and Jim Butcher again. Of course, seeing Kelley Armstrong once again was a bonus LOL. Plus, I kept Delilah Marville company :) I really love that gal, she's awesome! So I went around and found Lisabea and got Gobsmacked, this cool little poster (that Delilah is holding)... and three copies of Welcome to the Jungle by Jim Butcher - it's the graphic novel prequel to the Dresden Files. And yes, three copies: one for me and one for each of my co-worker. It's a good thing I got my stuff signed by Kelley Armstrong and Jim Butcher that day, because at the bookfair signing, their lines were long!! It was fun and gave me a preview of what to expect the next day :P 


Then, there was the Avon's Dusk To Dark Mixer. Wow, the line to this was looooong!!! I think it was the longest line I've seen during the whole convention and it's probably because of all the free books. Basically, this was a signing session with Kelley Armstrong, Jocelynn Drake, Jeaniene Forst, Melissa Marr, Pamela Palmer, Vicki Pettersson, Jaime Rush, Kerrelyn Sparks and Joss Ware and the books were free from the publisher. There were also some snacks (crackers, cheese, fruits, liquid chocolate and caramel) and I was so happy because I was getting hungry. It was a bit chaotic as you have people waiting in line to get all the books, people going to the authors they want and get their books and people who just go from table to table and grab the book ^_^; I was part of the 2nd group, because there were some authors I already had the books and others that I just don't read. The author I was looking forward to was Joss Ware aka Colleen Gleason. I wanted her book because once again, I've heard a lot of great things from Kristie :D At the end of the session, I was able to chat with her and Kristie a little bit. Now, mind you, I didn't remember that Joss Ware and Collen Gleason were the same person - she's changed her hair color and style, so it didn't click either. We're talking and she sees my name tag and she's like: Oh, I know you! Then, she sees my family name and asks me where I come from... and she asks if I have a sister or not, because she remembers sending something to someone to Canada with my last name. And I'm like: Nope, not me... until I realized, that actually, it IS me!! ^_^; It was just funny... and amazing that she remembered :P


Finally, the last event of the night was Heather Graham & Helen A. Rosburg's Dinner & Dance Ball. People were invited to dress as vampires and again, there were some amazing costumes. There was also a "play" by the participating authors and Heather Graham's family :D I really enjoyed the songs that were sang! :) There was also food at the ball! Yay! Once again, the dessert was served before the main meal - really weird, but hey, at least, this time, nobody panicked LOL. I had a good time, but once again, I didn't stay long. Seriously, I don't know how people did, staying up so late and starting so early the next day... but I just couldn't. Needed my sleep. Even now, I'm not completely recovered ^_^;

So that was it for Day 3 :D

RT 2010: Day 2

Let see if I can make this short and sweet :P (Especially since Jill is leaving in a few hours and off the laptop goes with her LOL).

Day 2 started off early again. Seriously, I haven't really slept in at all this week... although, I mean, it's not surprising to me, cos I rarely sleep in. Anyway. It started with the Mystery Chix & Private Dix morning mixer where they serve bagels, yogurts and coffee. There were many authors present: Lori Armstrong, Brett Battles, Juliet Blackwell (aka Hailey Lind), Robert Gregory Browne, Carole Nelson Douglas, Harley Jane Kozak, Julie Kramer, CJ Lyons, Rick Mofina, Brad Parks and Diana Rowland. While we were eating, they each introduced themselves and talked a little bit about their books. Some really sound interesting and I'm planning to check them out :P (I already bought 2 CJ Lyons and 1 Harley Jane Kozak at the pre-signing :P)

Then, Kristie and I made our way to the Read A Book, Save an Author with Toni Blake and Dakota Cassidy (last minute replacement for Julie Anne Long) along with their PR person/assistant. Tessa Dare was also in audience and Sarah dropped by. It was very casual and intimate as there was about 10 persons in the audience... and we simply chat. Basically, the most important is word of mouth. Good reaction or bad reaction, it's better than no reaction. Also talked a bit about Twitter and Facebook, etc. We also talked about how authors should react to bad reviews or even good ones, etc. By the way, Dakota Cassidy has an amazing voice LOL. (Dakota Cassidy is on the far left and Toni Blake, on far right)

Next was the Author Chat with Jennifer Crusie, Lani Diane Rich and Anne Stuart which I attended with Jill. Unfortunately, Ms Crusie was unable to attend due to sickness - bummer. Still had a great time though. I have to say, Anne Stuart is a hoot and she doesn't hold back at all!! You can also see the friendship and connection between Ms Rich and Ms Stuart - they are most certainly best of friends. LOL, I think Lani Diane Rich almost choked one or twice on her water at some of Ms Stuart's comments and she was certainly mortified once or twice as well... especially when Ms Stuart talked about Good Vibrations - or something like that. Basically, Ms Stuart and Ms Rich were asked about the fairy tales collaboration (kind of in the same style as Dogs and Goddesses). Ms Stuart indicated that she along with Ms Rich and Ms Crusie were hoping to get together before the RWA and work on the first draft. In the meantime, she's been doing research by watching Good Vibrations (again, not sure of the title... but from what I understood, it's a porn movie...). LOL, Ms Stuart was so candid about it :P It was definitively awesome to hear her talk. Ms Rich was also great, giving advices on writing - you shouldn't let anyone sway you from writing what you want and do not follow trends - and was very open about the divorce she's going through. She's currently blogging about it on her Lucy March blog. All in all, it was a very nice and entertaining hour :P For those who are interested, Ms Stuart has a new historical trilogy coming out in back to back months this summer, starting in August. Each book will cover a generation, with a free prequel available on e-Harlequin. When she was asked why she was going back to historicals, Ms Stuart answered that she didn't have much choice as it was requested by her publisher - the Ice series haven't "sold" that well. She'll also have a new series (with New American Library IIRC) about blood-sucking angels :P Interesting twist, right? As for Ms Rich, well going through a divorce is not very inspirational when writing romance; however, she'll be back in 2011 with a new release - A Little Night Magic which is a fun, light contemporary romance with magic. By the way, during the whole session, I just couldn't stop thinking how much Cindy would enjoy this talk and how good they'd get along :P

After this, I went to get an ice cream given away during the Red Sage Ice Cream Social. Then, went to have lunch with Kristie - because, well I was starving! LOL. Then, I didn't realize how much time has gone by, I had to rush to the Special Autographing session - many authors had to leave before Saturday so a special signing was organized. There wasn't many people, so it went really fast. I was going to get a book for Cindy, but then the only Anne Stuart book available was Tangled Lies and I think you got that one autographed already, right Cindy? However, I got to get a picture of me standing next to Anne Stuart!! Anyone who's familiar with photoshop and who could put Cindy in there instead of me? :P

Then, I made my way to Bad Boy Bingo hosted by Victoria Dahl, Alyssa Day and Cindy Holby (there might have been a few more authors as hosts, but I can't remember). Sarah from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books was calling out the numbers: Bitches, Indecent, Nipple, Groping and Orgasm. Strangely enough, Orgasm 69 seemed to be called at every game... Coincidental? :P By the way, Sarah did an excellent job, but boy was she fast calling them out!! Oh and Bingo winners had to read hot scenes from selected passages in the authors' books :P Luckily for me, I won the last game when we were running out of time - phew! :P (In the right picture: Sherry Thomas, Carrie Lofty, Courtney Milan, Zoe Archer, Sarah and Kristie)

There was then a little down time - or perhaps not, but I can't remember what I did ^_^; I think Kristie and I and probably Jill went back to the room for a break. Then, I got ready - all dressed up (well not in a costume, but just nice top and jeans) for the Mullet rendez-vous. Yes, at 4.30pm, it was time for Kristie to honor her lost bet... and it was all recorded by a woman who is making a documentary about romance!! But don't worry, you don't have to wait for so long - I have pictures and videos. Also, Kristie had a little surprise for Sarah...

We then attended the RT Book Reviews.com Launch Party - yep, they have a whole new website. There were some prizes drawing and OMG, those baskets were huge and filled of books!! Unfortunately, I did not win... but it was nice. Also ran into Lisabea and Jane again.

Then, at 8.30pm, there was the Faery Dinner & Dance Ball... and wow, some of the costumes were amazing!!! Some of these ladies really go all out!! It's really incredible... My favorites were Delilah Marville and Richelle Mead... and there was food!! Food!! LOL. Although for some reasons, they serve the salad and then brought out dessert... and everyone kind of started freaking out, because we thought: That's it?!?!? Luckily, the main course came out and so we were happy campers :D And I pretty much turned in after dinner, because I was getting a headache... I'm not much of a dancer either. LOL, I was so soundly asleep that I didn't hear Kristie come in... but I did wake up when Jill climbed into bed :P We also talked a little before going to bed, but yeah, I quickly drifted back to sleep. I need my sleep :P

So that's it for Day 2. I'll try to put in the pictures later tonight... or when I get back home. For now, I gotta run!! Later!!