Back from RT
Well, I’m back home and had a wonderful time at the big RT Booklovers Convention, held this year in Kansas City, MO. Here’s a little recap of the highlights of my trip, day by day:
Tuesday – I arrived and settled in, then joined a group who were heading toward the restaurant where the Aussie dinner was being held. Someone decided to try to walk it, but apparently had the wrong directions. After a forced march up a giant hill, we all turned around and headed back. I realized we were right near the hotel and I took matters into my own hands and jumped in one of the many taxis lined up, just waiting to take someone somewhere. Good thing too! Some of that group STILL tried to walk it and ended up finding the restaurant about 30 minutes later. LOL!
Wednesday – The first official day of the convention. We did a great “Sexy Madlibs” panel designed for readers, where we took our blurbs and made them into madlibs. I LOVED some of the super creative words the attendees came up with. Hilarious!!! The EC disco dance party was that night and since quite a few of my friends write for EC, they dressed up in absolutely hilarious disco gear! Here’s a shot of Lila Dubois and her husband… Check out that fro, man! 
Thursday – The highlight of the day was the Ebook Expo where we sat and “signed” for a couple of hours. As in past years, the whole ebook aspect of the event was a little confusing, but I had brought some things to sign and lots of swag to give out, so I had a great time. I actually created a special flyer just for this event that had every one of my book covers in thumbnail size, separated by series and listed in order. I might try to scan it and put it up somewhere since everyone seemed to find it very helpful. Will have to give that some more thought. Thursday night was also the formal dinner ball. It was a nice affair and after, we all hung out and chatted for a couple of hours, which is always the highlight of any convention for me – the talking and getting to know people you otherwise would only interact with online.
(This photo, which is from after the ball, has a mix of authors and readers. Mostly it’s the International Heat gang – Jess Dee, Valerie Tibbs, Lila Dubois, Rhian Cahill, Lexxie Couper and Mari Carr.)
Friday – This was my “business” day, more or less. I led a panel on contract clauses that was super fun and informative (if I do say so myself!). My friend, Caridad Pinero and Lindsey Faber from my main publisher, Samhain were on the panel, as well as Treva Harte from Loose ID, who I have enjoyed speaking with on several occasions. Since Caridad, Treva and I are lawyers, we were able to discuss the potentially problematic clauses, in general, and answer many questions from the attendees who all seemed very interested. I’m so glad we were able to get this panel together and many thanks to Caridad, Lindsey and Treva for doing it! 
I also had dinner with my publisher and fellow authors, Delilah Devlin and Myla Jackson (aka Elle James) on Friday night, which was a big deal for me because she chose to go to a restaurant called “Lidia’s”. I didn’t realize until we got there that this was the Lidia’s of “Lidia’s Italy” fame. If you haven’t seen it, Lidia’s Italy is a cooking show that goes way beyond just the cooking and actually takes you on a tour of the region of Italy she is specializing in on that particular show. This was super special to me because my Mom and I used to watch that show on PBS and I even bought her some of the cookbooks as a gift the year before Mom passed away. It was something we shared and both enjoyed and the fact that of all the restaurants in all of Kansas City, we happened to end up in that one… well… I don’t believe in coincidences. I think that was Mom saying “hi”. A little wink from heaven, if you will. And the food was incredible!
Saturday – The big highlight of Saturday was the Giant Book Fair. It was in a larger hall this year, which I thought was a very good thing. In previous years, when we were more squished together, the readers had a heck of a time navigating the aisles. This year, they were able to walk mostly freely, I think, so there was a lot less frustration. I signed lots and lots of books, which is always fun and got to chat with a lot of folks. It was also Fan Day, which meant there was a party that evening. The instructions weren’t real clear to me on what that party was all about, but I was glad I’d sent a few dozen copies of Rocky and Slade ahead. I was able to give them out at the Fan Day party and I hope they got into the hands of fans who will enjoy them!
Now for the whiny bits – I guess I ain’t a young as I used to be and my back started to spasm on Friday morning. I have NEVER had spasms before and now I finally understand what all the fuss is about. Holy cow!!! But my kind friends got me some pain relievers and those Therma Care heat pads and I was able to soldier on – moving very gingerly. LOL. And now that I’m home… well… I’m sick as a DAWG. I caught the “con crud” and have a nasty cold. So I’m resting and drinking lots of juice. Hopefully I’ll be better in a couple of days.
All in all, what a great con!!! I was so happy to see everyone!!! And now I’m going back to bed.
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