Lucky me. I spent last week in sometimes sunny California attending the RT Booklovers Convention. For those who aren't familiar with RT Reviews, it was formerly known as Romantic Times magazine. It features tons of reviews of genre fiction and every year they hold a big blow-out for readers, writers, librarians, booksellers, publishers and anyone else who feel like celebrating all the best in genre reading. I've always wanted to attend an RT and this year I couldn't resist the lure of southern California. So how was it? Well, it was fabulous! I really had a great time talking to authors and readers about books. The energy and enthusiasm of the folks attending this conference was absolutely contagious. Everyone wanted to talk about their fave. It helped me to remember why reading is and always has been my favorite thing in the world.
There were great sessions geared to almost any interest from pirates to steampunk. There were plenty of extravagant parties and lovely swag and books galore. If you're a fan of genre fiction, I can't recommend attending next year's conference strongly enough. You'll have a blast!
And here's a quick list of some of my favorites from RT:
Most interesting party favor: Fruit flavored personal lubricant from the lovely folks at Ellora's Cave.
Best panel discussion for aspiring authors: The Editors panel which featured editors from a zillion publishers telling you exactly what they hope to publish this year.
Favorite author to swill champagne with: Lynsay Sands, hands down. She is bright, warm, and hilariously funny. And the girl knows her way around a glass of Moet!
Favorite party: The Steampunk Social. Excellent costumes, beautiful little cakes and plenty of squid to stroke. What more can one ask for?
Favorite author to chat about books with: Lauren Willig. She was as lovely and gracious as one might suspect from reading her charming Pink Carnation series, and she has excellent taste in books! I feel she is the perfect person to join me in my quest to bring back the traditional gothic. What a delight!
Favorite party food: The corndogs at the Avon Paranormal bash. Paranormals, corndogs and magaritas! A winning combination.
In celebration of this wonderful experience, I'm going to try a first for this little blog and do a giveaway! Just leave a comment telling me which author you would most like to meet and I'll do a random drawing next week for a gift bag featuring goodies straight from the RT conference. This is the perfect time for all you lovely lurkers to take a second and comment. I'd love to hear from you...
Sounds like you have tons o' fun. SOOOO jealous you got to hang out with Lauren Willig! She's one of my new faves...
ReplyDeletejen, you have to meet her, she is amazing! I'm just beginning that series and it was so cool to get a chance to talk with Lauren. Also, next year RT is in Chicago, so you should give it serious thought:)
ReplyDeleteSo glad you came! More fun at RWA, hopefully?
ReplyDeleteThanks Erika. Of course hanging out with you was the best part! Also, please thank Pam for me, she was so great. I'm desperately trying to figure out RWA. Scheduling wise, it's a nightmare, but we'll see...
ReplyDeleteWhich author do I want to meet? Lorraine Heath, because I need to beg her to write a story for Rawley.
ReplyDelete(If I win, there's a third party that I'll designate as my proxy. She needs a care package.)
Also, what is up with the squid stroking?
Hey Gin, evidently squid play quite an important role in many steampunk tales. I haven't read enough to know why yet, but there were plenty of squid to stroke at the party. I believe Erika even got a pic of me doing some stroking:) Who is in need of a care package, pray tell...
ReplyDeleteI forgot to comment yesterday. Time got away from me. Sorry!
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy that you had a great time. I'm not so happy that you got to hang out with Erika and my fave Lynsay, IJS.
I got my Kindle connected to my new wifi and off to download some of the books you recommended.
Hmm, author I'd most like to meet who's mentioned in this post, or in the romance genre? Does he or she have to be alive? ;) I might go with Mary Balogh. She's just done so much that is so good. I'm mad impressed, and I'd pick her brain on how she writes such intriguing characters. So many gray hats, I love them!
ReplyDeleteHa, kin just hit on mine. At least in the romance genre, I would love to meet Mary Balogh. RT, RWA, I don't care where she appears, I would do my best to get there. Her consistency alone makes her fascinating.
ReplyDeletehhhmmmm I think I'd like to meet Lauren Willig most!
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ReplyDeleteTough choice. There are so many authors that I would love to meet. Right now, I would have to say Orson Scott Card. Ender's Game is my favorite book.
ReplyDeleteEris, you should take any opportunity you get to meet Orson Scott Card. He is a really warm and friendly guy and seems to love meeting fans of his work. And Jessie, obviously you know how I feel about Lauren Willig. SHe is great!
ReplyDeleteHow do I pick just one? If I had to I'd probably go with Meg Cabot. I really enjoy all of her work. Even the YA stuff.
ReplyDeleteGood choice lizpar, she seems like she would be a lot of fun.
ReplyDeleteOoo, Meg Cabot. I like that choice too. And Rachel Gibson. And... maybe I should stop while I'm not adding more to my already full reading list.
ReplyDelete(And the care package would go to someone whose name starts with "B" and ends with "H".)
(And, no, that's not a polite way of saying "Bitch". Ha!)
like *any* author we'd want to meet? i'd have to go with either LJ Smith (that's right, folks, she wrote The Vampire Diaries that everyone's *just* now discovered) or Sara Shepard (Pretty Little Liars). i'd want to ask them how they feel about the television shows...
ReplyDelete