Readers n'Ritas 2013

I'm not exactly an avid convention or conference attendee. To be honest, leaving home for more than twenty-four hours takes months of planning and logistical skills any engineer would be proud of. So, when something close to home pops up for a weekend and the hubby is okay with letting me loose, I run as fast as I can to get there.

This event is a small, intimate reader's convention with a cap of about 200 people. That means all weekend readers get to rub elbows with authors and spend some one-on-one time with many of them at different events. 

This year one of my all-time favorite authors attended, Sherrilyn Kenyon. I've met her before but she is always awesome. I simply couldn't resist going to see her.

Sherrilyn wasn't the only draw. I've also gotten to know some wonderful readers the past two times I attended and was very happy to see them again. Of course, the costume contest, pajama party, and bachelor auction were definite incentives as well.

  

Those were just a few things keeping me busy this past weekend. I met a lot of new, friendly faces and generally had a blast. I'm hoping to attend next year as well since by then I'll have three new releases. 

 

After all, where else can you find Ms. Frizzle doing the cupid shuffle? Or books by three of the most marvelous authors made out of cake?

 

Then there were all the great costumes at the masquerade ball. I didn't dress up this year. I wouldn't have been able to compare to the ones who did.

  
 

  

Here I Am!

My wonderful, faithful readers, I owe you an apolgy for being MIA the past few months. I've played a little on FB and Twitter, but not nearly the norm of the past couple of years. 

I've changed jobs twice since July and rearranging my schedule has been a bit hectic. My daughters and I just (this morning) finished the JDRF Walk for a Cure, which has taken up a lot of my time as well. To those of you who donated to our team, THANK YOU! We sincerely appreciate it. I'll probably start planning for next year's walk in late spring so keep it in mind if you'd like to join us.

Next up: NaNo! November 1st marks the beginning of National Novel Writing Month. Me, along with thousands of other masochists, attempt to write a 50,000 word novel within thirty days. It's funny, exhausting, eye-opening, and frustrating all at the same time. You should join in!

Along with NaNo, November marks my return to Allen, TX for Readers n'Ritas. This year one of my all-time favorite authors will be there, Sherrilyn Kenyon! I've had the honor of meeting her twice before but still look forward to seeing her again.

So, as you can see there's never a dull moment in my house. NaNo will also be my return to a regular writing schedule. After all, who needs sleep, right?

Life and NaNoWriMo Week One

So, what have you been up to this week? I've been writing, writing, preparing for a trip out of town this weekend, writing, and other things. Last Wednesday marked the first day of November and the beginning of NaNoWriMo 2012. I was iffy on participating this year because I knew I already have a lot going on this month. However, the idea for another erotic novella struck me and I thought, "What the heck?", and that was that. So if you're familiar with my Love Beyond Barriers series from Ellora's Cave then You might be happy to know my NaNo WIP is Ben's story. It's not in his POV of course. All of my LBB are from the heroine's POV. If you want to know which heroin is his you'll just have to wait and see. ;-)

First things first, NaNo. I've done fairly well so far. I'm currently at 14,340 words. Just over my goal of 2K a day so I'm happy. I'm not optimistic about getting much done this weekend but will try to make it up next week.

Second, this weekend. As I stated above I'm going out of town. Where? Why, Readers n'Ritas of course! I'll be in Allen, TX all weekend and would love to meet you if you're in the area. There will be a book sale and signing on Saturday at 4pm.

Third, the JDRF walk. I won't be able to attend this year as I had already committed to RnR before knowing the date for the walk. However, my team, Team Alice Jane (named after my daughter who has Type 1 Diabetes) will be at the walk with my mom. They will be walking in Montgomery County this year instead of the Houston walk, but it promises to still be an awesome event. If you're in the area and not busy Saturday morning you should go by to cheer them on. Also, it's definitely not too late to donate and help us reach our goal of $500. We're sitting at just over $300 right now.

Lastly, guest blogging. I'll be in a couple of places online this month giving away prizes. I promise to update my site with the info as soon as I get home on Sunday evening. Don't forget I'm still in the middle of a tour for Day Shift. I have a couple more stops before the holidays.

So that's it, that's my update. I hope ya'll have a fabulous and productive weekend. I'll be drinking margaritas! ;-)

Readers n'Ritas!

This weekend, for the first time ever, I will be attending the Readers n'Ritas event in Allen, Texas. I'm SO excited! Not only will I be in the presence of greatness (Gena Showalter, Ann Aguirre, etc.) I'll get to meet some of my readers :-D

I'm really looking forward to it but there is one thing I'm really nervous about. Some of the readers paid to attend a meal with the authors where there will be one author per table with seven readers. I don't know if it's readers choice, first come first served, or some other system. My fear is that I will be dining alone. I know that's not likely but tell the butterflies in my stomach that!

The authors were asked to provide either one prize to give away to someone at our table, or seven smaller prizes to give to each. I don't want anyone walking away from my table empty-handed. So, I created seven little coffins to celebrate the upcoming release of my vampire novella, Day Shift.

I had an absolute blast making and filling them. My only regret is that I didn't think to buy extras to giveaway online. :-(