My first year at RWA Nationals

I just returned home from Washington, D.C. where I attended the Romance Writers of America (RWA) National Conference. It was a surreal experience. I hardly got any sleep the entire five days or so that I was there (though I can blame Jax Cassidy for that).

Even on the first official day (Wednesday) I was overwhelmed. Put 2,000-3,000 women in one hotel all obsessed with the same things and craziness is bound to happen.

I figured I'd give out a couple of conference highlights:

1. Spending every day with about 30 or 40 Romance Divas. These are some awesome ladies and it was great to match names and faces. I even got to pitch Romance Divas to several authors, including Susan Krinard, who was very nice! (Btw, she was writing vampires and werewolves long before they came back into fashion).

2. My friend, Jeannie Lin, won the Golden Heart for Historical Romance!!!!!!! We cheered very loudly for her. She made us all cry with her acceptance speech. I cannot think of anyone who deserved it more. PLUS, she got her first sale to Harlequin Mills & Boon during the middle of our impromptu pilates class two days before the win. Jeannie is all kinds of awesome. And, you can get free excerpts on her blog.

3. Meeting Kresley Cole. She's my favorite paranormal romance author and cute as can be. She's very warm and friendly and I just loved her. One of the divas is as obsessed as I am and went to all of the Kresley signings and generally just found her around the hotel. She said, "I'm stalking Kresley Cole." We were talking about this as we both waited to have Kresley sign books for us and Kresley said, "She's not stalking me. I'm stalking her."

4. Kresley told me that my favorite character in the Immortals After Dark series is getting her own book!!!!!!!! I'd spill the beans, but I don't know if the information is out yet.

5. Seeing Gena Showalter and Kresley Cole together!! I'd stalked--I mean talked--to both of them at the signings, but Jax and I happened to catch them together in the hallway. She knows both of them--lucky Jax. I got so excited and said, "I wish I had a camera to take a picture!" I hope they weren't scared of me. LOL. Though, honestly, I can't see much phazing Kresley.

6. I feel I must say that Gena Showalter is beautiful. I mean gorgeous. Really.

7. Attending the Rogue Digital Conference with Angela James, from Samhain Publishing, Jane from Dear Author, and Sarah from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books. I am not entirely sure of the spellings as there are many Ja(y)nes at Dear Author.

8. Anne Stuart's workshop on Writing Dark Love Stories. It was really good. Detailed, informative, funny, and useful.

9. Diva Karaoke, swimming with Divas, Diva pajama party after the Ritas

10. Riding the Elevator with the famous Nora Roberts twice.

11. The Harlequin Party. I now understand why it is the place to be. Even Nora got down. Fun, fun, fun! My friend Amanda Brice even got up and sang Summer Lovin' with the DJ. Much better than when I sang it at karaoke.

12. Rooming with Jax Cassidy & Eden Bradley. Though we missed our good friend Lilli Feisty who had to stay home due to illness. I already miss them and I've only been home for 14 hours.

I made so many good friends and deepened other friendships. It was awesome.

RWA National has been a wonderful surprise. There were a few bumps here and there, but overall it was an incredible experience. I'll never forget meeting the wonderful friends at Divas. I have officially adopted Christina, Sandy, MG (Michelle), Emily R-D, Jax, and I'm already joined at the hip with Eden Bradley. And, of course, I'll never forget my little odd moments with Kresley and meeting Gena.

This post has already gone on long enough, so I'll end it by saying I had a very good time!

Excerpt for Monday-- A Halloween Novella

Well, since tomorrow is Excerpt Monday and many of the Divas will be posting and exchanging links for story excerpts, here is mine. (For links to other participating Divas, scroll to the bottom of this page). I decided not to post any of my current WIPs, but to go back to an older urban fantasy novella...

This is one version of an opening to a Halloween story I started a couple of years ago. I couldn't decide exactly what I wanted to do with it so I never wrote the whole story, but I do like the heroine, Lisa. She's a bit of a clothes snob, but very funny.

****Excerpt****

This was getting ridiculous. It was past the point of fun ages ago. Whoever thought battling demons and vampires was cool ought to have their head shrunk.

Being covered in slimy, green goo that once was the blood of a Dendra demon was the last straw. Four hundred nineteen kills. That was how many demons Lisa had slain or banished since discovering her special calling as a White Witch of Gendron.

Lisa could care less about adding any more to her list of banished and decimated creatures. She wanted out. Or at least a long vacation. Starting tonight.

She walked away from the bloody body with the silver knife hanging from it’s chest. Lisa didn’t even pause to pick up the weapon. Why bother? This was it. The last time.

Halloween was only tomorrow night. Lisa thought it was appropriate to get away and start fresh at the Celtic New Year.

She’d devoted three years to this and it was time to do something else. Bethany and Max could have it: the long nights patrolling, the bruises and scratches, the heavy bag full of stakes and potions and silver daggers. Lisa had other things to do. Like homework.

After taking up demon hunting as a career, her grades sunk. While she’d managed to get into the MFA Creative Writing program at the university, she was behind in three classes.

What had happened to her life? At one time, she was a good writer with a witty sense of humor. She’d won awards in undergrad and had her pick of schools after college. It seemed like ages since she’d gotten an “A” on one of her stories.

Since Gram died, Bethany and Max expected Lisa to continue in Gram’s work. No one expected prim and proper Beth, Lisa’s sister, to carry daggers and mirrors out in the middle of the night looking for monsters with fangs. But crazy Lisa was perfect for it.

No one cared that Lisa had once had a life. Whatever she’d been up to was simply inconsequential compared to the work of the Gendron witches. Lisa wished she could slap the ancestor who decided to take up demon thrashing and pass the calling to her future relatives.

Lisa frowned as she made it to her doorstep. She closed the door without even turning the lights on. In the dark, she sprinted across the living room to the stairs. All she could think about was getting into the shower. Tomorrow, she’d burn the clothes or take them out to a dumpster far, far away.

As Lisa stepped out of the shower, wrapping a towel around her body and one around her wet, blond hair. She noticed the bags underneath her blue eyes as she spread on the moisturizer. Maybe now she could finally make it to bed before three a.m.

She was distracted by the sound at the door. Knock. Knock. Knock.

“I’m in the shower,” Lisa called.

Her sister’s voice carried through the door. “No, you’re not. There’s no water running.”

Lisa turned the faucet on and turned back toward the mirror. She didn’t care if there was a dire emergency and the whole of Los Angeles was burning down. Lisa was off duty.

“Leese,” Bethany called through the door.

Frowning, Lisa yanked open the door.

Her sister was wearing one of her icky navy polyester suits that screamed cheap department store. And, those shoes, those “I’ll-never-meet-a-man-as-long-as-I-live” navy old lady pumps which should have been burned in 1989. Bethany lived in those clothes. Her closet was full of black, brown, and navy suits and matching shoes.

“We are being called to the witches’ council tomorrow. There will be a swearing in of the new head of the High Council.”

“Well, you can RSVP without me. I’m not going.” Lisa brusquely dried her hair with the towel.

“What do you mean you are not going? Are you patrolling?”

“No.”

“Then what else could be so important?”

“My life.” Lisa gently pushed her sister out of the bathroom and took hold of the door. “I am not patrolling or going to the witches council ceremony. I am taking a vacation.” She closed the door. “An extended vacation, with any luck.”

****End of Excerpt****

Just for fun, here's the very first draft opening paragraph. Similar to the above, but it amuses me. I love the way Lisa sizes everyone up by their clothes or lack thereof:

“Oh, Pu-leeze,” Lisa groaned. “Beth, you’re not serious. Can’t this wait until tom—um, until next year?”

Bethany crossed her arms as Lisa rolled her eyes. Her sister, Bethany, had screwed her bulb on too tightly. Again. And, she seriously needed highlights and a good romp in the hay. Bethany’s light brown hair was mousy rather than sandy and she insisted on wearing those ugly I’ll-never-meet-a-man-so-long-as-I-live navy old lady shoes. When was the last time she went on a date? 1995? Just because Beth was a work-a-holic spinster did not mean that Lisa had to be the same.

***********

A few of my friends also have excerpts up on their sites starting tomorrow, Monday, April 13, so check these out for some free reads. Many of these are erotic romance, so be advised before clicking!:

http://edenbradley.blogspot.com/ (My good friend Eden Bradley has a new book out. Read the excerpt for A 21st Century Courtesan. Hot stuff!)

http://clwhite.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/excerpt-monday/

http://maureenmccarrie.blogspot.com

http://jeannielin.com/blog/2009/04/13/exce...ay-his-or-hers/ (My friend Jeannie is a Golden Heart finalist this year! Yay!!!)

Kinsey W. Holley Excerpt Monday

Becca Sheridan-Furrow

Kirsten Saell, The Chancellor's Bride

http://melsmag.wordpress.com/

Scenting Cinnamon by Ella Drake

Evie Byrne: Bound by Blood, Book 2 of the Faustin Bros. Trilogy

Emily Ryan-Davis: Changing Thumbelina, the Erotická Revue excerpt

http://kate-willoughby.blogspot.com/2009/04/kiss-guy.html

http://ginaardito.blogspot.com/2009/04/its...rpt-monday.html

http://www.rflong.com/?p=354

http://briaspage.wordpress.com/2009/04/13/em-2/

http://stephanieadkins.wordpress.com/blog/

Inheritance

http://roselondon.wordpress.com/

http://writingspectacle.blogspot.com/2009/...rpt-monday.html

here is the excerpt for Babette James