RT Roundup!

Whew....home from the RT convention in Orlando--and boy, was it fun! First off, I must apologize for the lack of blogs from convention-land. The internet connection at the convention hotel was spotty at best, but mostly unusable, and thus neither Amanda nor I were able to post from the conference as we had planned. Very sad about that, because it's hard to recap everything after you've gotten home and dealt with unpacking/laundry/etc.

First and foremost, let me say this was by far the best RT convention I've ever been to--it felt more like a mini-vacation (a much needed one!) and I came home tanned, relaxed, and re-energized. The workshops were excellent (thanks to our own indefatigable LIT lady Amanda!), the conference hotel was wonderful (except for the internet connection, darn it!), the food was good (especially the dinner at the Fairy Ball--yum!) and the book signing a great success. What more can you ask for?!

The smaller crowds meant more quality time with readers, with editors, with reviewers. I even managed to get through an entire RT without *once* seeing a condom lollipop or a penis puppet or anything of that kind. The giveaways were all tasteful, and the cover model competitors seemed like gentleman. Yes, there was a different "vibe" altogether, and I was quite pleased to experience it. I'm also happy to report that there were no scandals, and no kerfuffles of any kind (or if there were, I was totally oblivious to them).

I even managed to sneak off one day to Universal Studios (all by myself) for a few hours. I'm a theme park junkie, and Universal Studios was just down the street, so I couldn't resist. I must say, it was kind of nice to go without the kiddies, to do whatever I wanted, and ride whatever I wanted, as many times as I wanted (yes, I rode The Mummy ride--a rollercoaster--ten times!). There was no whining, no complaints....just me, riding rides and enjoying the warm Florida sunshine.

I moderated two panels that went wonderfully--one on the state of the historical market (with RT senior reviewer Kathe Robin, and bloggers Jane from Dear Author and Sarah from Smart Bitches/Trashy Books), and one about historical romance through the ages (with historical authors Melissa Mayhue, Elizabeth Hoyt, Sally MacKenzie, and Tracy Garrett). Both were well-attended, and there was great positive conversation going--lots of interesting questions asked, and I hope some helpful information disseminated for both authors and readers.

As a result of one workshop, I promised to post a breakdown of historical eras here at the LIT blog, and I will get that up later this week (as in, when was the Georgian era, the Regency era, the Victorian era, etc.). In the meantime, I just want to give a shout-out to all the amazing people I met, and say I hope to see you all again next year at RT in Columbus, Ohio!

Amanda will be home later this week, and she'll probably have a much more coherent conference recap. Oh, and LIT regular Genella DeGray was there, too--participating in her first big conference signing as a published author (yay, Genella!!). Pam should have some pics of the three of us to share when she's back!

In the meantime, let us know if any of you will be at RWA in Washington D.C. this summer--all three of us LIT ladies will be in attendance, giving a workshop together. If enough of us LIT folks will be there, we'll have to plan a get-together of some sort.

Oh....I almost forgot to mention Mr. Romance! For the second year in a row, my own personal pick won the Mr. Romance competition! This year's winner was Charles Paz, who was a total cutie with a great personality, to boot. He was sweet, he was charming, and he even seemed quite humble. Not the usual 'smoldering' type who usually wins, but just an outgoing, bubbly kind of guy-next-door (if your guy-next-door happens to be extremely good-looking, that is!). And he's a double-winner, too, because he also took home the trophy for "Reader's Choice" (where the convention attendees cast their ballots for a winner). I'm looking forward to seeing him on the cover of a Dorchester romance in the coming year. Congrats to Charles! (see photo below)

So....who's coming to RWA???