Sally MacKenzie's Blog, page 15
May 2, 2011
Note to self--things to bring to conferences
I love the WRW retreat. Yes, we have typical conference stuff like inspiring speakers and great workshops, but to me the retreat is different from any other conference. In some ways it reminds me of a big sleepover party. I love seeing all my WRW pals--I don't tend to go to meetings, so this is my once a year meet-up with many of them. And I always meet new friends.
The retreat is conference-y enough, though, that I need to bring a few items to make my experience more pleasant. Here's my partial packing list:
1. A watch. This time I left my watch at home, and it was a big mistake. I don't tend to wear one normally. I used to, but it annoys me while I'm typing, and shedding it was sort of a symbolic way to disengage from day-to-day reality and enter my story world. But at a conference--even a retreat--I need to stay on reality's schedule if I want to get to things on time. Relying only on my cell phone wasn't a great choice.
2. A water bottle. I find the air in hotels incredibly drying. I tend to drink gallons of decaf tea during the day anyway, so even if the air wasn't so dry my body would probably complain if I suddenly cut the fluids. And if I use the workout room, it's good to have water at hand.
3. A good tote bag. I'm still working on this. I hauled around a purse part of the time at the retreat when I wanted to have my smart phone with me. When I didn't care, I ditched the purse and just used one of those neck wallets. The best kind of bag, though, has a handy place for the cell, note pad, schedule, and water bottle.
4. A jacket of some kind. I thought the weather was going to be warm this weekend, but fortunately I grabbed a shawl at the last minute. (One of the beauties of being able to drive to a conference--your car can become an extended suitcase.) Even if the weather had been warm, hotels can be chilly or, in this case, chilly in some parts. I hate being cold.
5. Drugs. No, nothing crazy. A pain reliever just in case all the excitement of being out of my writerly cave amongst real, live people brings on a headache. And I always pack Benadryl for my seasonal allergies, but also because I seem to have a bad reaction to hotel bedding.
So that's my partial must-have list. Anyone want to add anything? RWA National is less than two months away!
April 25, 2011
Looking ahead
Signings at Turn the Page are not like any others. The store is small--it's in a pre-Civil War townhouse. There are so many people, everyone has to take a ticket to get a place in line--and they start handing tickets out an hour and a half before the signing starts! I hope plenty of Regency readers come, but they may be bleary-eyed from getting up early to see the royal wedding. I've decided I'll have to catch the vows on reruns--Thursday is a late night at the swimming pool for me, and then I'll have to get up early to get organized and drive out to Boonsboro.
After the signing I'm off to Leesburg for the WRW--my local RWA chapter--retreat. I look forward to this event every year. It's tons of fun, and I love catching up with friends.
But now I have to put my nose to the grindstone. I'm hoping to get another chapter written on the current book before I leave.
April 18, 2011
Seven things about RT11
As promised, here are seven things about RT11, again in no particular order.
1. Glass elevators! I LOVE glass elevators, and the RT hotel had them. You could get on at the lobby and ride up through the lobby roof all the way to the 35th floor. I stood as close to the windows as I could. (No, I didn't press my nose against the glass. I have some class.) I felt like I was on an amusement park ride. I even allowed myself a little "whee" or two if no one but my husband was riding with me. My husband is not a fan, though--he stood by the doors and looked a little green.
2. Saucy Sirens. I co-hosted a social Wednesday night--Saucy Sirens through History. Here are a few of the sirens, but I have to apologize for the quality of this picture. My camera's battery died, so I had only my phone and I don't know how to manipulate those pictures. I promise no one was possessed by evil spirits, though some of the eyes might look like it.
From left to right, the sirens are: Sahara Kelly, Sabrina Jeffries, Mia Marlowe, Victoria Alexander, Sharon Page, and Kieran Kramer. There were other sirens I didn't catch on "film"—how 20th century is that concept?
My friend, Kim Lowe, took a picture of me with a reader.
Can you guess which siren of the silver screen I was? Well, it helps to have the list of names to choose from. Most of the attendees could figure out who I was by looking at the matching game—I'm supposed to be Audrey Hepburn in Breakfast at Tiffany's.
3. The Faery Ball. I'm not one for costumes, as you may have guessed from the picture above--I had all the Audrey Hepburn items except the hat (borrowed from Pat the Hat Lady) in my closet or drawers. So I didn't go to the Faery Ball dressed in anything other than conference wear. But Alicia Condon, a Kensington editorial director, was very impressive. She's the one with the zebra balloons—can you believe she made that dress herself? With her are Kensington authors Mingmei Yip, Kate Douglas, and Erin Kellison.
4. The historical panel--Finding the Right Historical Setting for Your Book--I was on with fellow writers Elizabeth Hoyt, Judith James, Sabrina Jeffries, and Amanda McIntyre. Renee Bernard tried valiantly to keep us under control and on topic. I had fun and a lot of laughs with this fabulous group—and I hope our audience enjoyed the presentation as well.
5. Seeing friends. I love seeing in person the pals I generally only get to "see" on line. After our panel, Elizabeth and I went to get lunch. We ended up in the lobby restaurant which turned out to be a great choice. We had a rotating selection of lunch companions--Renee Bernard stopped by for a while, and then Jade Lee. And it was either at that meal or another that I saw Kim Lowe, Kristina Cook, Amanda McIntyre, and Jessica Trapp. I'm not sure what the wait staff thought about the musical chairs, but they adapted admirably.
6. The mammoth book signing. This year I sat next to Julianne MacLean, whom I haven't seen in a while, so it was great to catch up. And some lovely Aussie brought us that delicious Australian treat, Tim Tams, a kind of chocolate cookie. (Or biscuit in British English.) But the highlight of the signing, of course, is meeting readers. Many of them brought their Naked books from home for me to sign—I saw some of the original Dukes and Marquis!
7. The SOS Military Mixer. Kim Lowe does a great job with this every year. It's a wonderful tribute to our military families. Rather than recap it myself, I'm going to suggest you hop over to Kim's blog. She has some great pictures of the event, and if you scroll down through the days, you can get a look at RT from her reader's perspective.
I'll leave you with one more picture. Kim took this shot of Jessica Trapp and me with the woman at RT's helm, Kathryn Falk (and her very cute puppy, General Patton).
RT is in Chicago next year. Hmm…I haven't been to Chicago for a while…
April 11, 2011
Seven things about LA
I'm home from LA and settling back into my routine. Okay, I'm really just wading through a mountain of laundry. It's fun to go away, but it's good to be home, too.
Here are seven of my observations about LA and its environs—in no particular order and of no particular significance.
1. Tattoos. Perhaps I should point out that I don't get out much. I do go to the gym where I have seen more tattoos in the women's locker room than I had previously imagined decorated female bodies, but most of these are coverable by clothing. Our first full day in LA, we took the subway (Yes, Virginia, there is an LA subway) out to Hollywood and I was struck by the size and prevalence of this form of permanent body decoration on men and women.
2. Public transportation. Everyone I asked before we left home assured me LA public transportation was pitiful and that we could not get around without renting a car. Not true, though I suppose it does depend on where you want to go. We took the subway twice to the Hollywood area (three times for dear husband) and rode the Big Blue Bus to Santa Monica without any problems. Much more relaxing, in our humble opinions, than having our own wheels.
3. The subway. I think the subway deserves special mention. The Hollywood stations—Hollywood and Vine and Hollywood and Western—were beautiful. See for yourself:
This is (I think) the Hollywood and Western station. I took this on a Tuesday morning—we decided to explore Griffith Park. As you can see, it's not very crowded.
The escalators are pretty, too—and deserted. Odd for us, used to the D.C. Metro which is always busy.
Even the ceiling was worth looking at—this is the ceiling at Hollywood and Vine.
4. The air. I expected smog, and we did see some haze…or I suppose it could have been smog…when we climbed to the top of Mt. Hollywood and looked down over the city.
That building with the large dome and two smaller domes in roughly the center of the picture is Griffith Observatory, by the way.
But in general, I thought the air was clear and the light extraordinary. Our first full day in LA, I was fascinated by the Walt Disney Concert Hall.
5. Birds of Paradise. They look so exotic to me, but they seem to be everywhere in the LA area. I took many pictures, but I'll limit myself to one here.
I was delighted by all the vegetation—the flowers, the palm trees, the cacti, the weird trees. It was clear we weren't in D.C. any longer.
6. The ocean. We're used to the East Coast beaches—or, more specifically, the Delaware/Maryland shore. We walked along the Santa Monica beach and realized we didn't smell the ocean nor did we collect any spray on our glasses. Even though the ocean was making our toes wet, we didn't feel damp. Not sure if that was just the season—when we go to the Atlantic, it's usually in the summer or fall—or whether there's just something different. Here's proof we were on the beach.
That's the Santa Monica pier in the background. It didn't begin to compare in tackiness to the boardwalks in Ocean City (MD) or Wildwood (NJ).
And of course I can't resist showing you this shot, though as you can see, there wasn't much muscle in view. There were a few guys swinging from the standing rings, trying to make their way down the line like monkeys swinging through the jungle.
7. Dogs. We saw dogs everywhere when we were in Hollywood, especially in the parks—and by parks, I mean rugged trails like the ones you can see in the picture from the top of Mt. Hollywood. Here's another view of a trail—almost at the Mt. Hollywood summit.
But I swear I've never seen so many Chihuahuas in my life. I think I saw at least one in a purse, but I definitely saw many in outfits—not just coats but dresses and tee shirts.
So that's seven things about LA—I think it's best I stop there, LOL! Coming next—seven things about RT.
April 3, 2011
In LA
Mr. M. and I flew out to Los Angeles on Saturday. Saturday was not a great day to be flying Southwest. The airline pulled many of its planes for emergency inspections after one plane developed a hole in the ceiling when it was way up in the sky. It landed safely, but I'm glad I wasn't on that flight! Anyway, many flights were canceled--ours wasn't, but it did leave 3 hours late which, with the 5 hour flight and the time difference, meant we weren't in tip top shape when we finally arrived on the West Coast.
Sunday we went to Mass at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels. That's a picture of part of its exterior above. As you can see, it's a bit funky looking for a Catholic church. The interior was a huge space with extremely high ceilings. Everything was very modern looking--I think the cathedral was built in 2002. The Mass itself was pretty much the same as our Masses at home.
After Mass we explored the LA subway system. Before we came out here, I asked friends about LA public transit and they all said rent a car. But we didn't have any problems today. We took the subway out to Hollywood and Vine and walked all over. Tomorrow we try the bus to Santa Monica.
I'll try to post pictures here, but if you want to see them sooner, they'll be on my general Facebook page--that's where my phone posts to. Unfortunately I brought the wrong charger for my camera, so I have to rely on my phone.
Off to bed now to be ready for tomorrow's adventure.
March 28, 2011
Taxes and travel
I can't leave all this paper wrangling to the last minute as I am off to the Romantic Times convention next week. I'm excited--and unsettled. I have errands to run, things to mail, things to buy. I must study the weather reports to figure out what clothes to pack. And where are my conference clothes, I wonder?
I like going out into the world, meeting readers and seeing writer pals, but I'm also very much a creature of habit. I like hiding in my writerly cave and following my boring routine. (I even eat the same thing for lunch every day!)
So I'll be running around this week. Next week I'll try to post some convention pictures here--and if you're my Facebook friend, you may find some pictures there. If you're actually at RT, please say hi!
March 21, 2011
Peepers
When we moved here many years ago, the area was a dry basin where the kids sometimes played baseball. Eventually, dry storm water management facilities apparently fell out of favor, so the city came and dug the basin out, did some engineering and planting and--voila--now we have a wet storm water management facility--or what most people would call a pond.
Not all the neighbors are great fans, but I like the pond. We have ducks that hang out there--and sometimes ducklings. A great blue heron has stopped by. And this time of year, I blush to say it's a bit of an X-rated frog orgy. Er, or maybe they are toads. Actually I think my knowledgeable neighbor told me there are several varieties of the froggy/toady creatures in the pond. Today husband and I think we think we heard two distinct frog calls.
The frogs (or toads as I suppose they may be) can get quite loud. I had a friend over for a meeting one night a few years ago, and I had to walk her to her car--she thought she was in a jungle. Son #3's fiancee thought a car alarm was going off. But we just hear it as the beginning of spring.
March 14, 2011
Injured
I'm not even sure how I did this. It showed up after our walk Saturday morning, so I did mostly arm work Sunday morning--which is why no gym today. Can't do arms two days in a row and I'm not sure what other things I can do that won't aggravate the condition, whatever it is.
Yes, yes, a very small complaint given all the suffering in the world today. The wars, the horrible conditions in Japan. And I have this little twinge in my calf.
Meanwhile I'm trying to write a synopsis for the next book, which is not one of my favorite activities. I write very much by the seat of my pants; laying out what will happen is a bit of a guess.
Grumble, grumble.
March 7, 2011
Promotion and writing
The first challenge was technical--how to set the thing up so it would print out properly. Here my writer pal Ann Macela came to the rescue. The alphabet often puts us next to each other at large book signings, and when I admired Ann's booklet at RT last year, she offered to send me the template--which I did nothing with for months and months. But when I was ready to work on this, I found it in my email and it worked like a charm!
Ann encouraged me to use the booklet as a means to promote all my books, and since I could fit the first chapter of the King in the booklet but not the second too, I had lots of empty pages to work with. I included a page for each Naked book, a shared page for the novellas--and I still had room. So I added a "dear reader" letter and a "Frequently Asked Question" section.
And then I had to produce them--a lot of them. So I took them to a printer I know.
Ack! Deep breath.
Once I recovered from the sticker shock, I decided the cost was worth it. Getting the booklet printed professionally will give me more time to work on the next book, but, more importantly, it will make it look so much nicer than I could on my little ink jet. So this week, hopefully, I'll get the booklet done and be able to hold the finished product in my grubby little hands.
If you're at RT in LA, look for them. I hope you'll like them, too. I'm following my general rule of thumb with promotional materials--no one seems to be able to prove what works, so I try to do things that make me smile.
February 28, 2011
Timing and reading
I spent Thursday through Saturday last week at this venue: the Georgia Tech pool. Georgia Tech was hosting the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC) men's swimming championships and youngest son, aka swimmer boy, was competing. At Saturday's finals, the ACC recognized all the graduating seniors. I took this picture with my not-at-all-fancy camera, but if you look closely, you can see the line of sweatsuit clad folks standing along the end of the pool--those are the seniors. And if you look even more closely, maybe you'll be able to make out the timers standing behind them--the people in navy t-shirts and khaki pants/shorts.I spent part of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday dressed in my navy ACC timer shirt and khaki shorts, armed with a stopwatch, watching...well, I think of them as boys, but I suppose most people would call them men swim up and down the pool. Timers start their watches when the starting machine flashes and then we have to get to the edge of the pool and stop our watches and the "plunger" that backs up the touch pad when the swimmer hits at the end of the race. You have to be prepared to get a little wet.
I like being down on the deck. I get to see my son, but I also get to see his college friends and even some of his high school friends who swim for other ACC colleges. And I got to time with another mom whom I've timed with for years beginning when our college seniors were little boys.
So how does reading fit into this post? While I was in the volunteer room waiting for the timer briefing session to start, I struck up a conversation with a young woman, the older sister of one of the college swimmers, who was reading a book on her Kindle. Of course I asked how she liked the device and what she was reading. And she was embarrassed to admit she was reading a "silly" romance.
Now I majored in English in college, so I understand literary snobbery. Genre fiction, and especially romance, isn't quite what an intelligent woman might want to admit liking. I think many of us have a sense of what we "should" be reading. I can even remember when I was young, maybe middle school, not allowing myself to go back and read books in the children's section, even though I wanted to, because I thought they were too babyish.
I wonder where this comes from? One genre is no better than another. If I want to read children's books or if I enjoy romance more than literary fiction, why not read what I want? We all have only a limited time on this earth, so it seems silly to force ourselves to read stories we don't care for, at least once we've graduated from class assignments.
You can be sure I admitted that I not only read romance, I write it--and I'm working on saying that proudly without letting the English major in me turn up her nose even one iota.
