RomCon & RangerCon

You, too, can stand here at Fort Ticonderoga overlooking Lake Champlain

I just wanted to pop in to update you all on a few things.

Recapping from my last post, Naked Edge is a DA BWAHA finalist in the contemporary category. The winner is determined by reader participation, and the games start on March 13!

RomCon — RomCon is taking place this summer in Denver. Last year was it's first year, and it was a pretty amazing event. This year, some of those minor kinks will be worked out, and it should be tons of fun. It's the only event of its kind — a gathering of romance readers and romance writers. It's not about how to write romance or get published. It exists purely to bring readers and authors together. There are discussions and private chat sessions and a whole host of other events designed to get you close to the authors whose work you enjoy.

I signed up to be a RomCon affiliate this year so that those of you who want to attend can get a small discount. If you look at the right-hand column on my blog, you'll see a little RomCon graphic together with a coupon code. The code is pclare. Just register with that code to get your discount.

A photo from last year's PC Reality Tour. Here we are in
Rocky Mountain National Park.

RomCon is taking place from Aug. 5-7. And though we say it's in Denver, it's actually in Aurora — where Julian Darcangelo hits the streets. Last year, I took an SUV load of friends and readers on a tour of sites in the I-Team books, called the PC Reality Tour. I'm not sure I have that much energy this year. But if there is interest, I might pack a few people into my car and go tooling around Denver/Boulder and perhaps even into the mountains.

Facebook — I started a new fan page at Facebook. I'm not too far from my cap of 5,000 friends on my regular Facebook page and having a fan page allows me to do some things, like host certain events, that I can't do as easily from the regular page. So pop on by and click "Like" to join in the fun. I've uploaded some photos and made a start toward getting the page rolling. I just don't have tons of time. But it will come together. The first event I'll be hosting is a release party for Breaking Point that will involve lots of giveaways, not just from me but from other authors, as well. Stay tuned for more info...

RangerCon — In 2012 — possibly May, possibly September or October — I plan to meet with a group of readers in Fort Edward, NY, to celebrate the MacKinnon's Rangers series and the release of Defiant — and to see the real places in the novels. This includes: Rogers Island (Ranger Island), the town of Fort Edward (Fort Elizabeth), Fort William Henry, Lake George, Fort Carillon/Ticonderoga, Rattlesnake Mountain and other sites in the vicinity. I hope to gather a group of reenactors, history experts, and others whose knowledge of the French & Indian War and the Colonial Rangers is astounding and have them guide us through history. Then I'll read from the books, with the location right there in front of us.

This will be a not-for-profit event, with the cost based solely on the cost of all the things we do, i.e., vehicle rentals, experts fees, etc. I hope to have us all stay at the Historic Inn of Fort Edward, which is where I always stay when I'm there.

By necessity, this will be an intimate group, not a grandiose affair with five hundred people packed into a conference center. I'd like to get some idea of the interest out there. So please let me know if it's something you'd be seriously interested in doing. The cost would involve airfare to Albany, NY, your hotel stay, meals and a registration fee to cover the cost of the events.

I might be able to arrange for us to go to the waterfall where Amalie and Morgan made love for the first time. I might be able to arrange for a mock battle complete with muskets to be fought in our honor. Who knows? I'm willing to try anything.

So please let me know if you're interested. And if you know someone who's a complete MacKinnon's Rangers fan, please pass this to them.

I'm off to dose up on caffeine, and then I'm heading back in time to 1760 to the wilderness west of the Hudson River, where Connor is about to put his life on the line for the niece of the man he loathes most in the world — Wentworth's niece, Lady Sarah Woodville.