Tuesday Comings and Goings

Spent the weekend at the New Jersey Romance Writers conference. Other than signing books at the author book signing and giving a workshop on Writing with Someone Else (Not Already Talking in Your Head) I enjoyed meeting up with writing friends and attending workshops.

Victorian Alexander is one funny lady! I've heard her speak before and it's well worth it. If you ever get the chance to hear her, do it.

Over all, if you're a writer (or want to be or even just want to understand the behind-the-scenes-of-writing) attending writing conference. Local ones are better or at least less crowded and gives you a chance to meet more authors, listen to more of them answer your questions, and really get to know some of the other writers (and readers!) attending.

Conference workshop

Now that my brain is no longer fried from the great weekend at the NJRW conference, I can honestly say that the workshops I managed to get to were worth it. I met a lot of great people and had a blast.

I also got to pitch to some wonderful editors and will be sending them my stuff ASAP. (Except that 1920s story I have to cut by 10,000 words and edit since I finished it and shoved it aside months and months ago.)

Workshops

Tomorrow starts the conference and while I don't really know what workshops I'm going to, (mostly because I haven't looked) I do know I'm going to the published author round table stuff. (Very coherent there, wasn't that. Yes. Yes I am a writer!)

Looking forward to hearing what other authors have to say about the state of the publishing world, and the agents and editors take on that as well. Not that it means much, there's always the break out whatever or the out of the box whoever, but it's nice to hear these things. Makes me feel as if I'm keeping up on important stuff.

Conferences

The end of this week is another conference I'm going to. No speaking at workshops, but I'm looking forward to the published author events and the keynote speakers. Especially the networking, getting to know online friends, having drinks...and possibly more drinks!

I can't stress this enough: conferences, despite the cost, are worth going to. You learn about writing, marketing, meet people, and talk about books. Yours, your favorite authors, the one you just finished, everything.

What are you waiting for? Have you signed up for a writer's conference yet?

And it's Friday!

This has been an incredibly busy week. Work, work work, flight, sign in for conference, crash in room. It's been a great week, though, and I'm really glad I came.

Did I mention that I'm an iPhone App?

Today I'm at Whipped Cream Reviews!

Dark Desires of the Druids: Sex & Subterfuge on sale now at your favorite bookstore. And don't forget my free Dark Desires of the Druids: Choose Your Own Adventure!

Workshops

Why I like workshops.

I don't like all the workshops I attend, and have been known to walk out of them. It doesn't mean the speakers didn't go a good job on their topic, it just means that either I A) had to choose between two (or more) workshops and want to catch the end of another or B) thought it might help in my writing and then realized the speaker and I were coming from two different starting points.

But overall, I respect the people who get in front of others and talk about anything!

The best thing I ever learned in my writing was in a workshop: Every scene must count toward the overall plot. You'd think that, sure, but honestly at the time of hearing that I was still a fan of writing scenes I wanted to write. No longer! I was going to write to the plot, to the end, to the Happily Ever After!

Seriously, it was a revelation.

So even if I only go to a handful or workshops, they all have what I want. To learn more to further my writing. It's an evolving experience!

Dark Desires of the Druids: Sex & Subterfuge on sale now at your favorite bookstore. And don't forget my free Dark Desires of the Druids: Choose Your Own Adventure!

Why I do RWA

There are reasons for and against it, but I'm being positive so will list the reasons why I am doing RWA this year. (In no particular order)

• Meet online friends!
• Have a drink with these online friends that you now know what they look like.
• Meet other writers in various stages of their career and get to know how they're doing, what they're doing, and what their career plans/goals are.
• 
  
• Pitch to an editor or agent! You never know who's going to like your book, it only takes one.

• Workshops-these are the best reason. Other conferences have them, too, so if RWA is too expensive or too far for you, try to go to any writing conferences and workshops. They're worth it.

More on workshops tomorrow as I travel to Orlando.

Today the blog tour is taking me to D. Renee Bagby Presents First Chapters! Want to read Chapter One of Sex & Subterfuge? Stop on by!

Tuesday Coming and Goings

Taking it easy blog hopping this week. Thursday I'll be over at Lana Griffin's blog talking about my Druids. A favorite topic. :) Stop by and check it out.

I'm focusing on updating my website, I have a graphic artist doing a banner for it, I think it'll come out really nice. Trying to simplify it and really work on the whole collapsible columns on the sidebar. I'm also toying with bookmark designs.

I was interviewed in Suspense Magazine's February issue! It's a great article about romantic suspense and the women who write it. OK, they really focus on best selling authors, but I'm listed as an new author. And that's the most exciting part.

I'm heading to the Bay to Ocean Writers Conference on Saturday with a friend who's tentatively delving into the screen writer's world. I'm there for moral support mostly, but I also plan on using my time to take a workshop or two. Am lugging my laptop there so I can write, too.

Then on Sunday I'm heading to Puerto Rico for a week. I look forward to sun and sleep. I mean uninterrupted time to write! Yes that's what I meant. And will probably accomplish much, but wow will it be nice to be warm and not snowed in! Can I tel you how tired I am of the snow? This is the snowman I made with a friend from work. We call him Dude. Actually his head looks a little like Darth Vader, but Dude is better. (Dude, Darth Dude...check out Eddie Izzard's Death Star Cantina for the reference.)

What's on your agenda for the week?

NJRW Conference

I'm bummed I won't be going this year. It's a great conference with lots of wonderful workshops, authors, a ton of agents and editors to meet and greet, but this year didn't work out. I was going to go. Signed up and everything. But it's a week after my surgery and there's no way I want to jeopardize my recovery with the drive and energy it takes to actually do the conference. So, I had to cancel.

It'll leave me with more time to write, though! And since I have several stories contracted with Ravenous Romance, I better get to getting!

Recap

The NJRW Conference was great! I didn't get to do everything, there were just too many workshops to attend and of course they all conflicted. Hopefully some fellow conference friends will eventually share their notes, as I eventually intend to share with them. I left Saturday afternoon before the bookseller's bit and the after party. I was exhausted and had other plans for the weekend.

Karen Robards was the Saturday breakfast speaker, and she's just hilarious. Funny, down to earth, and very personable. It's no wonder her stories are bestsellers! Sherrilyn Kenyon was our lunch speaker. I enjoyed her talk, but it wasn't as off the cuff or hysterical as Karen's. Different styles and all. Still, listening to her trials to get published was inspirational. not in the spiritual sense (and if you've ever read her books, you know what I mean!) but in the keep at it sense. Which I plan on doing.

What else. Workshops! Learned lots, and tomorrow I'll post more about them, once I have the chance to look over everything again and remember them in something other than a jumble of people and talks.

Conference

I admit to being really excited about tomorrow. And I'm going to socialize and talk to people. Specifically talk to people outside my little group. By 'little', I mean little; I really know about 4 people that I talk to instead of politely nod at. Not the point!

I'm socializing and talking up both myself and my writing. Yup. I am. And I will not hyperventilate, blank, or stutter. :breathe:

Here I go...

NJRW Conference

The New Jersey Romance Writer's annual conference is this weekend. This is not the first time I'm going, but it is the first time I'll already have something at a publisher (who hopefully hasn't trashed it and never wants to see my name again) and am not pitching anything to anyone.

I can't tell you the relief in that!

I can enjoy all the workshops, lunches, people, and stuff I couldn't last year because I was so worried about what I was going to say, how to remember to breathe, please stop trembling, and oh, what was my story about?

Lots of great authors with cool ideas are going to be there, and I can't wait.