So long 2010! I won't miss ya!

The end of the year creates an opportunity to look back and see what you've accomplished. I would rather look ahead than behind, but sometimes you need the behind to move ahead. So with only a few short hours left in 2010, I guess it’s time to take stock of the year.

Winter
I outlined this post before I started writing it, and I could see on paper what I already knew. Fall and winter are the hardest seasons for me. Some very practical concerns might explain this. Football season requires an enormous amount of energy, and my biggest work responsibilities fall during this time frame. However, I know a more fundamental, metaphysical reason exists. The cold gloomy weather of late fall and winter bring me down. Always have. The evidence would suggest I need to move to South Florida or a Caribbean Island.

While I’m waiting for the money fairy and the moving truck, I’ll keep on Jazzercising. I went to my first Jazzercise class January 25. Today’s class will be number 233 for the year. Jazzercise has been life-changing for me. The physical benefits are wonderful. My pants are a size smaller than they were 11 months ago. I don’t find myself breathing hard and sweating doing stupid things like carrying in groceries or climbing up and down the stairs. The real life changer, though, was in my mental and emotional health.

I weathered a particularly difficult personal storm last winter, and every time I thought I would fall into despair, I would go to Jazzercise and find the strength to get through another day. I had always heard about the endorphin high that comes with regular exercise, but I hated exercise so much, I’d never experienced it. I promise you, that high is real. I know because I’m addicted to it. I can actually identify the moment the extra oxygen hits my brain and those endorphins are released. And the benefits snowball. I can do actual push-ups now and hold a full plank. Feeling strong makes me feel confident which in turn makes me feel happy.

Beyond that, it’s just fun. I get to dance every day. This is how I feel when I dance.

Last winter was as cold and gloomy as winters get in Kentucky.


This pic was taken from my deck in January or February. I don’t remember exactly when, but there was a three-week stretch in which we only went to school for three days. Subsequently, we were in school until June 9th. You can read my philosophy on snow days here. Suffice it to say, I don’t love them.

The only positive thing about snow days is that I have more time to write. Last winter I finished my second novel, Crimson Crimes, during that long icy run with no school. It took me longer to write the second book than it did the first. I had cohesion problems with the second that have made me take a hard look at the way I approach plot. Sapphire Sins, my first, played out in my head like film rolling across a movie projector. The film broke midway through the sequel, and when I spliced it together, you could see the gap. The whole process was part of the learning experience. You have problems. You work through them. Your writing improves.

Of course, writing a sequel when you haven’t sold the first book is a mistake so common, it's a cliche. I know why writers do it…at least I know why I did it. It’s easier to keep writing characters you know than to invent new ones. I suppose if I was hell bent on making lots of writing mistakes, at least, they were all wrapped up in a book I feel quite confident will never sell. Only my beta reader has seen Crimson Crimes, and she was honest with me, thank goodness.

“It didn’t suck, but it didn’t keep me turning the pages like the first one did.”

Yeah, I know. That one will probably go in a box under the bed, never to see the light of day again. Unless…I sell Sapphire Sins, and then maybe I’ll rework the whole thing and who knows?

Spring
Spring brought exciting news on that front. I acquired a literary agent in March. Anyone who has queried knows it’s hard as hell to get an agent to even ask for pages, let alone offer representation. After 18 months of querying Sapphire Sins, I finally had both in one fell swoop. The day he called and offered was a glorious day. I was validated. I really could write. A professional in the shrinking publishing industry believed in my work.

I signed a contract. I made a few minor edits on his recommendation. I rewrote my synopsis, as well as a two paragraph back-cover blurb, and then he began submitting. Almost immediately, an editor at HarperCollins wanted to see it. That email ushered in another string of glorious days. I could already see the cover art in my head. I mentally ran my fingers across the raised letters of my name. I imagined the trip to Italy I would take with my fat advance. I dropped the new project I was working on and began tinkering with the broken sequel, thinking a two-book deal would really launch my career.

And then…the editor passed. The writing was good, but they were looking for the next big thing in paranormal romance. Vampires had seen their day and were on the way out. Honestly, this had been my problem in getting an agent. I was on the wrong side of the vampire curve. Timing is everything. We got several more bites, but traditional publishers didn’t want any more vampires, and the book is too long for most e-publishers. So it languished.

Then, in late October, my agent informed me he was getting out of the agenting business. Too hard to make money in a shrinking industry. Tomorrow, on January 1, all the rights to Sapphire Sins revert back to me. I’ve been thinking hard about what to do next, but I’m going to save those musings for another blog post.

Spring brought other happy occasions. I love spring. As the weather warms, I feel lighter. Even the end-of-the-school-year deadlines don’t stress me too much. Light and warmth and lots of natural vitamin D make all the difference in the world.

My brother married his soul mate on May Day in Nashville. If you live in Nashville, I’m certain you remember that weekend. It started raining in the wee hours of the morning Saturday and didn’t stop until the city was underwater. But many waters cannot quench love. It was a great day for my family in spite of the natural disaster.



Another glorious spring day brought my son’s high school graduation.

He’s handsome isn’t he? He’s starting college this January. He worked through the fall at UPS and realized maybe he could stand to go back to school. I have faith that he’ll find his way, but I’ll worry constantly until he does.

Summer
Summer brought my bff, Pam, home from Iraq. Oh Happy Day! Life is so much more fun with her around. If there is a party, she will find it. If there’s not, she’ll create it. The girls’ weekend I blogged about recently? Totally her brainchild. And if you need someone to have your back, no one will have it better than Pam. I’m putting the U.S. Army on notice. I know she’s a damn good soldier, but you may not deploy her overseas again. I forbid it.

Yeah, I’m sure that will work. Speaking of patriotism, I felt it over the July 4th weekend in Ocean City. You can read about that here.

July was memorable in all sorts of ways, not the least of which was my first national writing convention. I attended RWA in Orlando. It was supposed to be in Nashville, but the Opryland Hotel had water halfway up the second floor on May Day weekend, so we went to Disney World instead. The experience was awesome, and you can read about each day's adventure here, here, here, and here. My after-the-conference post is here. As I reread my post conference goals, I realize I haven't done everything I said I would. I've got six months to do better. The 2011 convention in New York is one of my most anticipated plans for the coming year.

August brought a new school year. I love being a teacher. It is my second career, and I’ve never once regretted leaving the business world for the classroom. Teaching is a calling for me. Every school year has its ups and downs, and standing at the halfway point of this year, I’ve experienced both. I have some of the brightest kids I’ve ever taught this year, and they never fail to make me feel optimistic about the future. I also have some challenging students. That’s part and parcel of the job. I hope when the school year is over, I can say I reached these kids and enriched their lives.

Fall
Somewhere in the middle of football season, fall happens. It’s summer, and I’m carting my youngest to camps and practices, saying hello and goodbye to Bruce like ships passing in the night, and suddenly I realize the leaves have turned and it’s not hot anymore. Football season rules our world in the fall. Bruce’s team plays on Saturday (this year on Thursday night several times…what’s up with that?), and my youngest plays on Friday night. Being a sophomore, he also played JV on Monday nights. I logged a lot of hours on metal bleachers this year.

I’m not complaining (at least most of the time). A long season means you’re winning, and having been married to a football coach for 21 years, I can say with authority that winning is better than losing. My son’s team went all the way to the final four in the state tournament this year, and Bruce’s team made the playoffs again after a four year dry spell. Nope…not complaining about that at all.

I guess if I had a complaint about the fall, it would be that my writing stalled. I should qualify…my blogging and novel writing stalled. I’ve written several short stories. One, I posted on the blog and you can read it here. Others were more personal and therapeutic and not for public consumption. If you’re a writer, you know what I mean.

Winter has rolled around again, and I’m focused on not letting it get me down. The weather has already been crappy, and it’s only December. I’m hoping that means the worst is out of the way, and it’s smooth sailing from here on out. (Yeah, I’m delusional sometimes, but it gets me through.) If not, my stepmom. Patricia, bought me a happy light for my desk at work. I’ll let you know if it works.

I know Jazzercise works, and I know spending time with my friends and family works. I know that putting my butt in the chair and my fingers on the keyboard works. So I plan on doing all three as frequently as possible in 2011. I’m a no resolutions person. Don’t resolve to do something. Just freakin’ do it.

So long 2010. I won’t miss ya.

Bring it on 2011! I’m ready.

RWA -- After the Conference

My RWA experience ended when I checked out of the Swan at 3:30 am to make my shuttle to the airport. By the time I staggered onto the plane, any trepidation I had about the flight was overshadowed by delirious exhaustion. We were barely airborne before I passed out cold. I woke as we landed, groggy and with a crick in my neck.

I would say the ball was over, and I had turned back into a pumpkin, but there was no glass slipper, no prince, and I never was Cinderella. And in truth, as exciting as the conference was, the good stuff is just getting started. I have opportunities to explore, new writer friends already touching base with me, 43 new romances to read, and most importantly, new stories to write. We are each responsible for our own happily ever after, and I'm chasing mine.

Here's what I'm going to do.

I will set a strict writing schedule. School is starting next week, and I'm carving time out of every day to write. I'm setting a writing goal for each day, and no matter what else is going on, I'm laying down words. Cause I don't need no stinkin' muse.

I will continue to study my craft. I've barely begun to explore the resources I acquired. The conference flash drive has the handouts from every session, plus the audio is available online.

I will post new content on this blog on a regular basis.

I will foster the contacts I've made with other writers. I met so many accomplished women from all walks of life who write extraordinary stories. I want to be in that sorority.

I will continue to read widely. Every good writer is a reader first.

I will remain positive and soldier on in the face of rejection. The common denominator for every published writer I met was perseverance.

This is the big one...

I will never again hide the cover of whatever romance novel I'm currently reading.

I admit it. I've done this my whole life. For a while, I bought into the popular notion that romance novels are somehow sub-par to other works of fiction and that a serious reader should read serious books. I've been over that prejudice for a while now. Do crappy romances exist? Sure. No genre has a license on bad writing. If a book doesn't grab me in the first ten or twenty pages, I put it down, whether it's a too-cliched romance or a dense, pretentious, stick-up-your-ass piece of literary fiction. I just want a good story, well-written.

So if you see me at a ballgame, in line at Wal-Mart, or waiting to pick up my kid, and I have a book in my hand, I won't be hiding the cover...no matter how hot the sculpted man or how flushed the bosomy woman.

These are the two I'm reading now.

Jessica Andersen and Claudia Dain are amazing writers and amazing women. They are established bestsellers. They don't need to present writer workshops to sell books, and yet they are committed to helping other writers hone their craft.

Hiding the cover of their books would mean I'm embarrassed to be reading them.

I'm not. In fact, I recommend that you read them. You can borrow them when I'm done.

Next year's conference is in New York, the center of the publishing universe. I'm already excited about it. This year, my conference badge had a ribbon attached that said "first timer." My goal for next year is to have the ribbon that says "first sale."

RWA Day Four

My RWA adventure ended with a bang today. I had a great pitch session with an editor, attended three more information-packed workshops, got more free books (after shipping 35 home), and attended my first ever red carpet event (not counting FROM).

I've acquired a new respect for anyone who auditions for American Idol because that's what the editor pitch sessions reminded me of. An unpretentious sign points the way to an escalator. I'm not sure what I imagined in my head, but it wasn't the cavernous exhibition hall that opened up dramatically in front of me about halfway down. The hall was full of tables spread out at regular intervals with a chair on each side. The editor or agent sat on one side, and the hot seat on the other was for the pitching author.

RWA is nothing if not efficient. They had a system in place that kept the appointments on-time and moving. Once I checked in, they herded me over to a designated holding area. Have you watched the Idol audition shows? The holding area looked just like that. Instead of nervous singers practicing or rocking back and forth, you had nervous authors practicing or rocking back and forth.

I was okay until I sat down in that holding area. I thought I had a zen attitude about the whole thing. "I've had a great conference. This will be good practice. This editor is just a person who is looking for good content."

I don't know if it was the intimidating setup, the nervous energy in the holding area, or the lady practicing her pitch in what can only be described as a sort of whispering moan, but suddenly I was scared shitless. My friend, Linda, told me to tell myself that nobody there was smarter than me and to imagine them in their underwear. Yeah, Linda...that didn't work.

Five minutes before go-time, they lined us up in alphabetical order by who we were pitching. Then a tone sounded, signaling time was up for the previous appointments, and we were led to our person. You know the really bad singer on Idol they put in front of the judges just for entertainment value? Or even worse, the good singer who forgets the lyrics? I will NEVER make fun of those people again. I marched across the hall in a panic, trying to remember what my book was about. I had spent months writing, editing, revising, polishing, querying, blurbing, and breathing that book, and for a moment I had no clue.

Then I sat down, shook the lady's hand, and started talking. I'm pretty sure I babbled at first. At least, that's how I remember it. But at a certain point, she started nodding her head, and then instead of me giving a speech, we were having a conversation. I can pinpoint the moment in the pitch where I became Kathy again. I'm glad I found myself. I'm not a fan of scared, babbling girl. The pitch ended on a very positive note, so we'll see what happens.

I rode back up the escalator in a daze. It was almost time for the first workshop I had marked, so I went in and sat down. The session was called "Mad, Bad, and Dangerous to Know." The presenter, whose name I did not write down, but who has a PhD in English lit, traced the characteristics of the Gothic Villain Hero...you know, the bad boys to whom women are perpetually attracted. I took a bunch of notes and it was interesting, but the adrenaline was still pumping, so that session is a bit of a blur.

The part that did stick was her theory that all bad boy heroes trace their roots to Prometheus (the over-reacher who does good through rebellious acts, but is chained inside himself), Lord Byron (aristocratic, suave, moody, sexually dangerous, secret wound), or Satan (from the Romantics misreading of Paradise Lost...obsessive, brooding, egotistical, flirts with the dark side). Most romance heroes are Byronic. My Raphael is Byronic. A pop culture example of a Promethean hero would be Batman, and a Satanic hero would be Anakin Skywalker. Interesting stuff, but like I said, I spent a good bit of that workshop replaying my pitch session in my head.

I skipped the next group of sessions to ship my books. I had to lug 35 books, weighing 20 pounds, all the way from my room in the Swan to the conference shipping center in the Dolphin. Thank god for Jazzercise, or I never would have made it. As soon as I sent my package off, I got in line for the NAL/Signet book signing. Yeah, I know, I'm a lost cause. I did exercise some self-discipline and only helped myself to 8 more books, bringing my grand total to 43. I paid for 5 of them and spent $20 shipping them home, so I'm thinking I came out ahead. Factor in the autographs on over half of them, and I really did come out on top.

The coolest part of the autograph session was meeting Jessica Andersen. She writes the NightKeepers, a paranormal series about the Mayan 2012 myth. I already had the book she was giving away at home, but I took another copy because I wanted her autograph. I gushed like the fangirl I am and asked specific questions about the book. I knew Jessica was a good writer, but I didn't know she was a freakin' rock star. Seriously, she looks like Joan Jett, but prettier.

I was more impressed when I went to her workshop called "Crime Scene Imagination." Jessica has a PhD in molecular genetics. She is not only a rock star, but she can run a DNA test. The heading I wrote across the top of my notes said "Cool. As. Hell." And oh my god, she is. My Jessica story gets even better. At the Rita Awards, I discovered I was sitting next to her publicist. Jessica stopped by and we talked again.

I'm willing to put this not-so-great picture of me out here because she just rocked. I wish you could see the pants she was wearing. Cut-outs ran all the way up both legs. A molecular geneticist who writes steaming hot paranormals and dresses like a rock star...freakin' awesome!

Jessica did the crime scene workshop with her best friend's daughter who is a senior at Sam Houston State. She is a biology/criminal justice major and works on the body farm there, one of only four in the U.S. A body farm is where scientists study how the human body decomposes in a variety of situations. So we learned tons about decomp and DNA. Guess what? CSI is a pack of lies. They get almost everything wrong. On some level, I knew it wasn't realistic, but I didn't realize how wrong they got it.

My last workshop of the conference was on point of view...ten pages of notes. It's not a sexy subject, but if you screw it up, you screw the whole book up. The session made me feel good about choosing third person, limited for my book.

The Rita and Golden Heart Awards closed the conference. I knew it was a dressy event, but I didn't realize just how dressy. About half the attendees wore ball gowns. I didn't really feel out of place in my regular ole dress because that's what the other half of the attendees were wearing. I wouldn't have gone out and bought a ball gown anyway.

It was quite the fashion show. I played a game in my head where I guessed who wrote big sweeping historicals and who wrote gothic paranormals by what they were wearing. I'd like to know what my accuracy rate was.

My table was fun. I was with Jessica Andersen's publicist after all. Her name is Leann Lessard, and she's Canadian. I also had a good conversation with a writer from Chicago named Elizabeth Harmon. She is a journalist, but currently unpubbed in fiction. She had a successful pitch session as well. It was interesting to compare notes.

So that's my conference. I'll probably do a wrap-up blog in the next couple of days. There is so much I haven't said because these blogs have already been long. Tomorrow (actually later today at this point), I have to get back on a plane. I'm not fired up about that after my near-death experience on Wednesday. Say a little prayer for me, and I'll see you on the other side.

RWA Day Three

I am tired with a capital T. It's a good tired, though...a satisfied tired. I've learned tons, met new people, reconnected with some people I met yesterday, had casual conversations with best-selling authors, been wowed by Jayne Ann Krentz, and acquired enough autographed books to start my own romance library.

The workshops I've attended have been packed with valuable information. I took so many notes this morning, my hand cramped up. I'm eyeing the netbooks many of my colleagues are using. They appear to be uber-portable and easy to use. The iPad is shiny and cool, but for what I need, not practical. One writer sitting close to me in a session seemed to be struggling to type on the touch screen.

I attended three workshops before lunch. "We Don't Need no Stinkin' Muse" with Elizabeth Hoyt, "Doing it with Dialogue" with Karen Rose and "Humor, Heat, and Hooks" with Katy Madison. All three focused on craft, and all three provided a wealth of information. I leafed through my notes and counted 23 pages from those three sessions alone.

Elizabeth Hoyt's session was about developing sound writing habits that will keep you moving and finding strategies for those times you get stuck. She reminded us that the Muse is, in fact, a myth, and if you wait for her arrival, you'll never get anything written. Her strategies fell into two categories: practical stuff and woo woo (her words, not mine). The practical stuff was geared toward Pavlovian habits...a routine that informs your brain it's time to write. The woo woo involved techniques to put your brain in an active writing state during non-writing activities. Interestingly, I already do a lot of the woo woo, my daydreaming during Jazzercise being a case in point. It's the practical I need to focus on.

I have eight pages of dense notes from the dialogue session. Karen Rose is a former teacher, and it showed. She had that teacher skill set going for her as she walked us through the information. She writes romantic suspense, a sub-genre that requires intense pacing. She had great tips on using dialogue to control the pace of your story.

The most interesting thing Karen said, "The way a character sounds is more important to a reader than what he/she looks like."

Katy Madison did the "Humor, Heat, and Hooks" session. She writes under the name Karen L. King. I don't know her books, and I'm guessing they're good, but I think the woman could have a career in non-fiction if she chose. Her session focused on using humor and heat (sexual tension) to keep the reader hooked. She spent half the session on each of those elements and turned them into a science. We looked at both the physiology and psychology of humor and heat and why they keep a reader hooked. People like funny and sexy. That's no secret, but understanding the why helps a writer use them effectively in her story. Good stuff.

After three intense workshops, I was ready for lunch. I met a couple of charming Canadian ladies who write historicals, and as I was chatting with them, my friend Suzanne from dinner last night sat down. It was nice to talk to someone without starting from zero. I ran into my Australian friend, Vanessa, later that afternoon and we chatted like long, lost friends. It's always nice to see a friendly, familiar face.

Jayne Ann Krentz spoke after lunch. She writes under three different names, each in a different sub-genre. She told us about her journey and then distilled it down to the three things each writer should do.

• Identify your core story...the timeless conflicts and themes we keep returning to and adapting.
• Know the market. How can you fit your core story into a different landscape.
• Understand how different fictional landscapes speak to different readers. Readers will not follow you anywhere. She learned this through bitter experience. Hence, the three pen names.

I have read numerous times that there are only twenty plots in existence. Writers just keep adapting them to make them seem fresh and new. Example: Romeo and Juliet and Titanic have the same core story. I've thought about this as a teacher and a reader, but I hadn't thought about it in terms of my writing. I love it when someone helps me think about something in a different way.

After lunch and an hour time-out in my room, I went back to the convention hall, intending to check out Linda Howard's session on the twelve steps to intimacy. Yes...a lot of sessions focus on sexual tension, but this is romance after all. I felt like I had already gotten the info in Katy Madison's session, but I was going because I'm a Linda Howard fangirl.

I never made it to that session. I was waylaid by free books. I know...I need more books to carry home like I need a hole in the head. But check this out. Throughout the conference, different publishers have signing sessions in which they bring in their authors, cases of books which the authors sign while talking to you....this is the best part...and then they GIVE them to you. When a guy in line (the first male author I've met) explained the process to me, I looked at him like Eddie Murphy in Beverly Hills Cop. I wanted to say, "Get the **** out of here!"

He was not lying. I acquired 13 more personally autographed books, including another Claudia Dain. Talking to her was just as much fun as listening to her in the workshop yesterday. I told her about immediately buying her book when the session was over, and she hugged me. I officially love her. The give-away book at the autograph session was different, so now I have two of her books. I also have brand new signed hardcovers from Kelley Armstrong and Jayne Ann Krentz, although I had the Jayne Ann book signed to someone else...Patricia, I'm looking at you!

I did finally pull myself out of there, mostly because I couldn't carry anything else, and went to my last workshop of the day. This was a session about maintaining an online presence. Jill Salvis and Teresa Medeiros were on the panel, and the session was moderated by Sarah Wendell of the Smart Bitches, Trashy Books blog. Sarah was as funny in person as she is on her blog, and all three of the ladies had practical information. The key is to find the social media that works for you...blogging, Facebook, Twitter, etc. No one can do everything. If you tried, you would never get any writing done. I feel pretty good about what I'm doing here on the blog. (Although, I do need to be vigilant in getting new content up more often.) I also got another free autographed book from Teresa Medeiros for asking a question.

I ran into Roxanne St. Claire in the bathroom and had a conversation with her about her session from yesterday. She was concerned she had used too many examples. I told her I've learned the more models you use in teaching, the better. Having a NYT bestseller ask your opinion on something in the bathroom is a surreal experience.

Tomorrow morning, I pitch my book to an editor. I'm viewing it as practice because my book isn't exactly what she publishes. Word on the street is that these editors are pretty personable, so I'm hoping she will be amenable to conversation. This conference has been such an amazing learning experience, that I can't be disappointed, no matter what happens.

RWA Day Two

There are times in life when you need to stop, take a deep breath, and appreciate that you're in a moment you need to savor. I had one of those moments walking back from dinner tonight.

The sun was starting to set, gleaming over the palm trees and across the water. The Swan and Dolphin Hotels rose majestically on both sides of the wide walkway. I was basking in the glow of an overpriced glass of Chardonnay and an excellent dinner with two fellow writers.

Life, my friends, is good.

This conference has been amazing...a revelation. Writing is a solitary pursuit. You can network with other writers on blogs and twitter and such, but when the rubber meets the road, it's just you, plugging away at the keyboard for hours at a time, filling that blank screen with words you hope someone else wants to read. Those hours alternate between adrenaline filled highs and frustrating lows, and at the end you may have to trash them all and start over.

I have spent the last 24 hours with people who understand that experience. Better yet, these are people who want to fill the blank screen with romance...happy endings...heroes and heroines who overcome all the odds and find their one true soulmate.

Life isn't just good. It's freakin' awesome. (No really, I only had one glass of chardonnay. This is Disney. It was insanely overpriced.)

I started the day in the "Goody Room." This is where authors leave free stuff, hoping to attract new readers. Some authors even leave free books. I got all kinds of cool stuff...lots of trinkets that represent an author's book in one way or another. My two favorites are little glycerin soaps in the shape of animals and the button that says "do you love Hawt Scots?" The text overlays a sculpted man clad only in a kilt.

I started a bookmark collection in the Goody Room as well. I'm only picking up the most outrageous titles or cover art. My favorite titles are Rock Hard (about a rock star of course) and Eat Prey Love, a vampire romance. Some of the titles sound innocent enough, but whoa Nelly, you should see the cover art!!

I left the Goody Room reluctantly, and got in line early for the Keynote Luncheon. I wanted to have a good seat for Nora. I met several interesting writers in the line, including a lovely lady named Grace who gave me some great information about some of the more specialized groups within the larger RWA organization.

The ballroom was enormous, but I was in the front quarter of the room. I found myself sitting between two Golden Heart finalists and across from an RWA board member. The Golden Heart is RWA's contest for non-published writers. Barbara Binns sat to my right. She finaled in the YA category and writes stories with male protagonists. We had a great conversation about the dearth of books that attract boys. She sold her book after she finaled in the contest, and her publisher is marketing it as a romance because they sell better. She thinks it's really a coming of age story. We discussed a possible visit to my classroom to talk to my students about her book and about writing in general. How awesome is that?

The other ladies at my table were also friendly. Really, everyone has been friendly. I haven't sat down anywhere without being pulled into the conversation. Without a doubt, the writer connections I'm making at this conference are the best part.

As we finished off our key lime pie, the lights went down and Nora was introduced. Oh. My. God. She was such an incredible speaker. I took two pages of notes. She talked about the writing journey and about being positive. She had us all laughing, telling the story of going to a nursing home to promote her book and having an old man tell her how disappointed he was. He thought Oral Roberts was coming to speak. She is a master of pacing because at the end, she gave me chills and then brought tears to my eyes. (I've already established on this blog that I'm a sap, so quit rolling your eyes.)

Nora acknowledged that writing a novel is hard. But hard is what makes it special. It's what makes us special. She knows something about special. She's had 165 books on the NYT best seller list since 1979. It's hard to argue with that kind of success.

I left that luncheon feeling great and thinking the day couldn't get better. Then I landed in a workshop called "Pantsers, Plotters, and Plotsers." The panel was made up of Claudia Dain, Sabrina Jeffries, and Deb Marlowe, a pantser, plotter, and plotser respectively.

For those of you who don't know those terms, a pantser is someone who writes by the seat of her pants. She forges ahead without really knowing what's going to come next. A plotter has to to have everything planned before she starts, and a plotser is somewhere in the middle of that continuum. Excellent information about the advantages and pitfalls of each and about how to make your style work for you. Claudia Dain was such a dynamic, compelling speaker that I marched across the lobby to the Barnes and Noble book fair and bought her book as soon as the session was over.

(I now have 19 books to get home somehow, and there's still two days of conference left.)

Also, at that session, I sat with two Aussies. Vanessa Kendrick is an unpubbed paranormal writer like me, and Elizabeth Rolls has a published historical called Lord Braybrook's Penniless Bride. I liked her enough that I will go looking for it, but maybe not until I get home. (19 books...on an airplane!) They were both fascinating to talk to. Elizabeth is friends with Keri Arthur who writes the Riley Jenson series set in Melbourne. I'm a Keri Arthur fangirl. Elizabeth promised to send my regards, and I'm sure Keri will be pleased. Well maybe not, but I was. Vanessa and I traded blog addresses. (Hi Vanessa!)

The next workshop I attended was called "How Do You Mend a Broken Scene" led by Roxanne St. Clair. This was the most valuable information I got all day. She went through three levels of broken scenes. She showed us first draft scenes from her books and walked us through the problems and the subsequent fixes. Really powerful stuff. She told us one of the biggest mistakes writers make is to pull back from the emotion in a scene too early, and then she showed us an example. The first draft didn't suck, even though she thought it did, but wow, the revised version was so much stronger. I want read her book Hunt her Down now. (19 books...)

My favorite thing she said, "The worst thing you can do is imply sexual tension. Don't imply it. Hit your audience over the head with it." Words to live by.

I met another interesting writer at this session. Denise Pulman lives in Atlanta via Wilmington, Ohio and writes Sci-fi romance. She was surprised that I knew where Wilmington was, and then we discovered we are both Laurell K. Hamilton fans. That was the clincher...friends for life!

My last workshop of the day was a panel of paranormal writers. It was fun to see Kelley Armstrong and Jeanine Frost on stage, but I didn't take anything away from that one that I didn't already know. The session was driven by audience questions, and the audience mostly asked questions that have answers easily found on the Internet.

I returned to my room tired, but happy, and lazed around a little bit, putting off dinner because I didn't have anyone to go with. I needn't have worried. When I finally sat down at the Cabana Bar and Grill with my new Claudia Dain book, I was immediately collected by two writers who saw me sitting alone. Suzanne Solomon writes romantic comedy and Jessica Trap has published several medieval romances. Jessica and I really hit it off. She had her teenage son with her, so we had two immediate points of connection.

More workshops tomorrow, a luncheon with Jayne Ann Krentz, and my agent arrives...so another packed day. Also looming large is my editor pitch session Saturday morning. I'm not going to stress over those things. Today was a good day, and I'm going to savor it.

RWA Day One

Today has been a long, amazing day that started with my life flashing before my eyes and ended with several fangirl moments. I'll save the story of my flight down for another day and give you the short version here: Big storm, angry piece of atmosphere, plane dropped 100 feet in altitude causing even the flight attendant to gasp, I held hands with an Asian woman and nodded vigorously as she prayed (or cursed) in a language I didn't understand.

Her prayers must have worked because I am sitting in the lovely Swan Hotel in Walt Disney World listening to fireworks in the distance. I'm here for my very first RWA convention. I've only been here five hours and already I've met some of my favorite authors and made a couple of new friends.

RWA is the only place I've ever been where people introduce themselves with two names. "Hi I'm Jane Doe, but I write under the name Jezebel Desire." I kind of felt inadequate when I answered, "Nice to meet you. I'm Kathy Owens, and I write under the name Katherine Owens."

Okay, I didn't really answer that way, and not everybody had two names, but a lot of folks did. Actually, my first interaction with other convention goers occurred on the shuttle ride from the airport. I was still considering kissing the ground and maybe renting a car for the drive home on Sunday when a large, gregarious woman waiting in the shuttle line with me asked if I was going to the convention. I told her I was and that it was my first time.

When we climbed into the shuttle, and it was apparent that almost everyone was going to the convention, my new friend announces, "This is Kathy! She's a virgin!"

Everyone looked at me expectantly, or at least it seemed like they did, so I responded with the first thing that popped into my head.

"Well...I guess it depends on how you're using that word."

The one guy on the van choked, and all the women laughed uproariously. I wondered if they had been on the same flight as me and had hit the booze as soon as they landed. The atmosphere in the shuttle was giddy. One woman regaled us with her story of riding with the SWAT team as research for her new book. Someone asked what sub-genre of romance she writes. Romantic suspense? Paranormal? Contemporary? Nope...none of those. She writes erotic romance. I wonder if she told the SWAT team before she went riding with them. She was so funny, they probably wouldn't have cared. I kinda want to read that book when it's finished.

I have lots of other books to keep me busy in the meantime. When I checked in at the registration booth, I was handed a bag full of books...yes, my friends, free books, including Meg Cabot's new hardcover. The bag also contained a flash drive with all the handouts from the conference and MORE books. You could tell who the newbies were because we all had the same incredulous looks on our faces.

The first big event of the conference was the literacy signing. Over 500 authors were in a giant ballroom signing copies of their books. In this case, attendees had to pay for the books as it was a fundraiser for several organizations that promote literacy, including local groups in Orlando and Nashville where the conference was originally supposed to be.

I bought another four books. I rationalized that I could cut back somewhere else...skip a meal or something. It was for a good cause, right? Plus, I got to meet several very cool authors.

The first author I talked to was Lori Handeland. She writes a series called the Nightcreature novels. I've read several of those. What pulled me over to her table was the display of her new book called Shakespeare Undead. The cover sports Shakespeare with vampire teeth and a zombie standing over him. The back cover talks about the Dark Lady of the Sonnets and something being rotten in the state of Denmark. How could I not buy that book? Especially when I got to talk to the author, who was awesome, and have it autographed.

I thought about standing in Linda Howard's considerable line, but I already have the book she was selling, and I didn't want to buy it again. Nora's line curled all the way around the hall. She's the keynote speaker tomorrow, and rumor has it there will be free copies of her book at the luncheon.

Heather Graham's line was kinda long too, but I really like her books. I have a ton of them, but lo and behold, neither of the ones on her table. I chose the paperback over the hardcover, so I could keep shopping. It's called Ghost Shadow. She was so incredibly gracious. She asked questions about where I was from and what I wrote while she signed. We talked about her dress, and then she took a picture of me. I'm taking a lesson from her. I will now buy everything that woman writes because she took two minutes to interact with me.



My next stop was Christina Dodd's table. She was sold out of her books, but that was okay. I have Chains of Ice on my bedside table at home, and I didn't need to buy it again. She signed a page in the nifty conference planner that came in our big registration bag. I'll make a bookplate out of it or something. She also took a few minutes to talk to me. She's written an article in this month's "Romance Writer's Report," the RWA's monthly magazine. The article was about cliches and why we like them...really good stuff. She was pleased I had read it. I was pleased to talk to someone who says you should always write "balls to the wall." She also took a picture with me.

I bought a book by Shiloh Walker called The Missing. She's from the Louisville area, and I like supporting Kentucky authors. We talked about places we both knew.

My last stop was at a debut author's table. Her name is Therese Walsh. She's a finalist for a Rita in the Best First Book category. Ritas are like the Oscars for romance novels. I read a blurb in that same issue of RWR about her book and it sounded fascinating. It's called The Last Will of Moira Leahy. There's a mystery about a dead twin sister and an ancient Javanese artifact involved. She isn't very well known yet and didn't have a line at her table. If the book lives up to its billing, I'm guessing that will change. She was sweet and wrote a long note when she signed the book.

I made myself stop at four books. I was tempted to get copies of Simone Elkeles' and Kelley Armstrong's new YA's for the library at school. Autographed copies are always cool. The event was open to the public and both authors had long lines of teenage girls. The wait gave me time to decide I didn't want to spend the money. Sorry kids.

The last event of the day was orientation for first time attendees. I got lots of good information and met a couple of interesting writers. Sandy from Bismark, South Dakota writes romantic comedy, and Tracy, didn't get where she was from, writes contemporaries. Tracy and I realized we were on the same shuttle from the airport with the erotic SWAT lady.

A good first day all in all. Tomorrow, lunch with Nora Roberts and several workshops I'm excited about. Now, if the adrenaline will dissipate, I'm going to try to get some sleep.