The Plan

My current plan is this:  every day, I either write or I exercise.  I figure this way, either I have books or I have buns of steel.  Both seem to be healthy activities for me.

I've been on this plan for most of this year, though I hesitated to call it a New Years resolution. Not even a birthday resolution (I frequently save my new-years list for March and force myself to confront those ideas along with the hard evidence of a passing year).

I have not had a great year so far.  On the surface, it all looks pretty good. I've been working a lot at the day job, which for once I love. That makes it harder to find the time and energy to write.  Writing has always been a sort of emotional outlet for me, and it's been rough not being able to channel that into words lately. 

I am writing. Slowly. I am making forward progress on The Vegas Affair--a follow up to The Paris Affair that follows Helmut's impulsive little sister Kelsie (who's not exactly a kid) as she confronts her familly's ongoing issues and gets herself in hot water. Or maybe not water? Vegas is a desert. Anyway, I'm happy with the story that I'm writing, but I just need to keep my energy up to write it.

That, and I"m going to the RWA conference in July. I am looking forward to seeing New York City for the first time, to spending the week hanging with my critique partners, and to the crazy motivation that the conference always is.

But for tonight, I wrote. And now, to sleep.

Review: Hearts and Minds by JC Hay

Space pirate Syna Davout takes a commission for a basic smash-and-grab to pay for much-needed repairs on her ship. But when a second ship appears on the scene, she realizes that she was the diversion in an assassination attempt. Psi-talent Galen Fash is a leader of the rebellion against the Tse who exploit and demonize all Psi’s. When Syna rescues Galen from his wrecked ship, she is drawn into his plot to avert a Tse invasion and save his fledgling rebellion from being crushed.

Galen’s Psi-talent won’t let him ignore Syna’s passionate nature and soon the pair are exchanging more than just banter. Even hand-to-hand combat training burns more than just pent up energy. But is Syna willing to trade her precious freedom for Galen’s cause, and risk losing another lover to the hands of the Tse?

Hearts and Minds by JC Hay packs an intense one-two punch of fast-paced Sci Fi action layered with emotion as Syna and Galen struggle together through a richly layered galaxy with surprise twists that will leave you begging for more.


==

Full Disclosure: JC is a member of my local RWA chapter and I was provided a copy of this awesome novella for free to review. The review was my pleasure and frankly, it was on my TBR list :) It is available stand-alone or as part of the Impulse Power anthology (in print and e) from Samhain Publishing.

#RitaGH

Today's the day. Are you nervous? I totally am.

I don't think I have much chance of getting the call. I'd love to, but all the various contest feedback on my entry was so mixed last year, that I'm not holding my breath. (And trying hard not to hyperventilate either).

I do, however, have high hopes for a couple of dear friends and crit partners. Two of them are out of town or I'd suggest a little Happy Hour tonight to drown our cheers & sorrows.

Silly, silly Kristi. I tell myself that I'm not worried, or interested, and that I'll just wait till 2 and scan the final list looking for names I know. But all morning long I've had my cell phone in my hand or in my pocket.

See, this is why I've mostly sworn off contests for the year. Here I am on spring break with the kids, and I haven't managed to write two words all week. I did a little bit of querying, but that's like scouring an open would with rubbing alcohol and salt. The waiting is a total motivation killer, and the letdown afterwards is almost worse.

I'd love to settle my nerves with chocolate, but I gave it up for Lent. Or wine, but it's not even 9AM and I have two small children in the house. I'd go for a brisk walk, but it's snowing outside. (Yes, snow. Giant softball sized hunks falling from the sky. In late March. Grr). Maybe I should go bake something.  And have a cup of tea. I think I have a box of Tazo Calm around here somewhere...

I'm not sure it counts...

Judging contest entries is not quite the same as reading a book. But when I read 6 55-page entries, I start wondering if maybe it does count.

Woo hoo Golden Heart judging is done, and I'm not even right at the deadline. It is interesting to see how the entries lay out. Last year I had a range that I scored from fairly low to fairly high (though none I judged ended up finalling). This year in a different category they were all fairly close together. All good, but none really jumped out at me. I wish this batch of writers luck though. There are a couple that just might find a publisher, and a few more where the writer shows some serious talent but is obviously a bit of a newbie at writing novel-length fiction.

On other RWA-related things, when I entered the scores into the website this morning, I saw the notice about rooms for the 2011 convention being mostly full.  I am still on the fence about whether I'm going or not--it is a bad time this year for me as as both the change in month and the change in days make it harder to arrange the vacation time. I keep hoping that I will have a reason that I have to go since the last two years it has been a lot of fun and a good learning opportunity, but I'm not banking on it. And now I'm hoping that if I do decide to go, that I will have somewhere to sleep.

The rudest possible rejection letter

This morning I received the rudest rejection letter from an agent that I pitched to at RWA Nationals.  The reply was in response to a request for a full manuscript, which I had just sent. Here it is, in its entirety, cut and pasted directly from my email:

So, in other words, most of those who you pitched at the RWA have rejected
you and now you have decided to skim the bottom of the bucket? It doesn't
work that way, my friend. I asked you to send me a complete which I assumed
was completed when you pitched me last month. What has happened in the
interim that has forced you to us. That story might be one story that I'd
like to hear. Otherwise, I'm sorry.

And while I'm not above mocking, snarking, satirizing, or venting, I am not replying to this jackass.

I will tell you, my blog, "What has happened in the interim that as forced {me} to {them}":

1. The manuscript that I did pitch was complete. But possibly not polished. I hadn't read through it in its entirety for a long while. And I wanted to put my best work forward. So I didn't email it upon returning to my hotel room. Instead, I read it. And polished it. I fixed typos, removed one place where I had accidentally left {insert research here} from an earlier draft, added a cover page and made sure the formatting and chapter numbering were right (and sequential, LOL). So, shame on me for pitching something that needed work. Not scenes, not re-writes, just polish.

2. I arrived home from Nationals into crunch time at work. I have a day job, and not of the waiting-tables variety. I am a software engineer and the lead over four other software engineers on a project with an August 18 deadline. I worked overtime for two weeks, making sure we met our deadline. Missing it costs our group tens (or possibly hundreds) of thousands of dollars in fees. A hell of a lot more than what my one manuscript is likely to earn should it sell. (Not that those fees go to my pocket, but they do help insure that we have another contract, and thus, a job)

Oh yeah, and this day job pays my mortgage and provides health insurance for my family, including a child with major medical problems. Ditching the day job to submit a manuscript to an agent who, statistically, is likely to reject it anyway is a bit lower on the priority list.

3) The weekend after Nationals was a family reunion. In another state. I actually got a lot of reading and polishing done in the car on that trip (much to my husband's annoyance). The weekend after that was girl scout camp. Did I mention that I have a day job? If I can't write on the weekends, then I can't write. And my family is important to me. Far more important than a novel will ever be.

4) School started. For stay-at-home moms and work-from-home moms, this is a time to rejoice. For those of us who have to re-adjust our work schedule to be available for drop off/pick up, and need to find time to go school shopping (to uniform stores with limited hours, doctor appointments, supplies, gym shoes...), its a source of stress. The first day of school was the day of my work deadline (I didn't get to either drop my daughter off or pick her up that day because I was at work).

5) Child's birthday. Which becomes a multi-part event with families spread out (and I still haven't sent out invitations to her classmates for the third round).

6) All that querying and being rejected by other agents took a bite out of my time. Um, wait a minute. I didn't query any other agents. I didn't pitch any other agents. I submitted a single partial to a single requesting editor. Then I finished polishing the rest of the novel and mailed it out. Yesterday. I guess its good I didn't have to wait 4-6 weeks for this gem of an email.

I honestly had my reservations about this particular agent after the pitch. I wasn't sure it would be a good fit for me given what and how I want to write. And he didn't even want to hear about the manuscript I was pitching. I got the distinct impression that he was looking for a meal ticket, not an author to represent.

I guess my instincts were right. I will never work with this person. After all, in his own words, he is "the bottom of the bucket".

I'm not in it for the swords...

...but you could be.

The fabulous Jeannie Lin is giving away Butterfly Swords (the metal, weapon version) as part of her launch celebration to celebrate her debut book Butterfly Swords.

I mean, I could be in it for the swords. My husband would love them (I think they would go nicely with our collection of dragons, the katana, and my suit of armor).

I could be promoting because Jeannie is a friend and critique partner. And RWA chapter-mate. And natural born teacher and generous with her time (she presents talks at our chapter, is giving an online class on the RWA pro loop soon, talks at nationals).

But no, I'm promoting Butterfly Swords because it is an awesome book. I know this because I got to read a beta. (neener-neener) :) Seriously, its an awesome book.

Or, I could be in it for the swords.

In any case, go check out her beautiful website, her book trailer, read an excerpt and while you're at it, pre-order yourself a copy.

#RWA10 Photos

The Dolphin Hotel.


Fireworks over Epcot.


Jeannie Lin Dressing for Historical Success in Mideval Chinese garb.


Dawn (one of my weekly critique partners) and Ellen (one of the lovely MORWA ladies).


Chaptermate Jennifer Jakes was a Golden Heat finalist in the Historical division.


Jeannie Lin's face on the jumbo tron as she presents the Golden Heart for best Historical.


A washed-out picture of me at the Golden Heart banquet.


The rest of my weekly critique group: Shawntelle Madison, Jeannie Lin, myself, and Amanda Berry.

#RWA10 Wrap-up

Every time I think I’m the last RWA10 attendee to blog about my experiences, I see another post. Maybe I’m not late, exactly.

 

I could give excuses (too busy writing, too many requests to deal with, too exhausted from seeing all of Disney).  Or, I could tell the truth (haven’t gotten to it, grandiose ideas of including photos and no time to upload them, too much laundry).  Or, I could tell you to go friend me on facebook (where I did actually post photos and a few updates). But somehow that phrase “go friend me” sounds an awful lot like “go do something else that starts with an f” when you say it fast. So I won’t do that either.

 

In the week since I’ve been home from Orlando, I’ve done the following:

• Removed pink polish from my toes. I like the nails painted, but it’s just too much effort to maintain the rest of the year.
• Re-polished the first three chapters of my contemporary manuscript, and re-worked the last synopsis I had written. Funny how the synopsis changes once you actually write the ending of the novel.
• Emailed three chapters and newly polished synopsis to a requesting editor.
• Received polite thank-you from the editor requesting the same pages snail-mailed.
• Smacked self on head with hand and said “Doh” because I really, really should have known that the house only accepts printed submissions. To be fair, she did give me an email address, and I had to look up the mailing address online.
• Continued polishing about 2/3 of the remaining novel.  Need to quickly finish that up and send off to a requesting agent.
• Wrote 2 new scenes on my Sci-Fi-that-just-won’t-die manuscript. Last night actually. And I’m kicking myself for not doing something else (like editing or submitting or writing the other darned book that I half plan to finish before the GH deadline this fall), but that’s what happens when you let your subconscious run your fingers for you.
• Laundry.
• Ate a steak sandwich in the cow barn of the Indiana State Fair.  Total non-sequitur, I know. And, FWIW, the steak was excellent though the location was kind of unsettling (not just because of the aroma), as there were cows being primped for competition about 20 yards away.  As my husband phrased it, “There is no second place.” 

 

 

 

Contest News!

My category-length contemporary (formerly titled The Appearance of Impropriety...new title TBA at some point) placed 2nd overall in the Passionate Ink's Stroke of Midnight contest! I was thrilled to just final and fully expecting honorable mention.

Very cool.

The Passionate Ink cocktail party was also fun. Two very interesting speakers. And I managed to get a table with a couple of editors that I have (or am planning to) submitted to. Almost accidentally. Almost. Of course, I was too chicken to really say much. But maybe, just maybe, they'll vaguely recall the silent blonde who placed in a contest and sat at their table with a dopey grin on her face all night.

Or maybe not :) But I am proud of myself for at least going that far. Heck I'm proud of myself for going to a party where I knew no one :)

Ok, I'm off to meander through the hotel bar, or possibly over to the Boardwalk in search of someone to talk to (or souvenirs to buy). If nothing else, I ought to catch the fireworks from the Disney Parks tonight.

#RWA10

Are you packed? I'm not.

I'm a last-minute kind of packer. I'm a last-minute kind of everything, LOL. There will be items that don't hit my suitcase until about 6:10 Wednesday morning. We should be in the car and headed for the airport by 6:15. I still have to decide which gadgets actually come with me (camera, or rely on the phone/camera? iPod or spend time loading music into phone or e-reader? E-reader or a paperback for the plane?). I probably need to make a checklist so I don't leave home without my chargers and assorted cables for whatever I bring.

I could probably safely begin filling suitcases tonight with clothes. I'm sure I can keep my 3-year old from unpacking them for a day. And there aren't a lot of toiletries that I'm packing that I will need the night before or morning of my flight, though it still annoys me to have to segregate all of the "gels and liquids" into a baggie for airport security. Totally messes with my organization.

This is my second RWA conference, and I'm excited. Last year I was nervous. Terrified, actually. And generally anxious about how my husband would do on his own with both kids for 5 days, and anxious about pitching and having to *gasp* meet strangers and just generally anxious. (And guilty about the whole leaving-hubby-with-kids thing, but mom guilt is a topic for my other blog).

This time around, I'm excited. I feel much more comfortable with myself as a writer, and much more comfortable with the RWA experience as a whole. I'm apparently in the minority that I'm not excited to be at Disney World (I was super excited about Nashville). I don't have the time or the budget to spend a day at the Disney parks, and we had already been planning a family trip down there for later this year. But I am excited to be in the middle of the whole crazy RWA whirlwind again. I have a couple of “extra” engagements to attend this year, too, which makes me feel a bit more of a part of things and less like a wannabe.

I'm still terrified about pitching my book to both an agent and an editor. I don't know why the agent ought to terrify me. Lord knows I've queried enough so far. Last year at this time, I'd sent out maybe a dozen queries. My rejections number well into the double digits by now. And the editor shouldn't freak me out. Assuming I remember my name and don't start jabbering about aliens (I'm pitching a contemporary to her), I'll probably at least get the standard-issue request-for-a-partial.

In two days, I should be in a van en route to the Swan/Dolphin. Woo hoo!

Maybe I should get packing.

Getting ready for Nationals

Are you going to the RWA National convention in Orlando?

Its prep time. This past month I've been a little slow at adding new words to my manuscript-in-progress because I'm distracted by lots of other RWA-related activities.

Ordering new business cards. I'm only half-convinced at the necessity of these. I printed my own last year, and wasted hours doing it. I fought with Word for hours and ended up with a stack of cards where no two were exactly the same. No clue why. This time, I spent a few more $ (not much considering card stock and ink) and bought them through Kinkos. The upside: took about 20 minutes start to finish. The downside: hubby and I both agree that the on-screen graphic was a bit nicer than the finished product (more saturated colors, clearer text). But, they're done. Want one? Want 50? :)

Updating my website. Yep, I have one. I had one last year, with a whopping single-page. This year I tried a couple of things and ended up installing Wordpress. I have more updating to do, so be kind if you visit today and think it looks a little scarce :) And don't be shocked if the template changes color more than once. My website-building budget is limited in both $ (I'm not up to paying for a theme yet) and time (because while I have the technical know-how to do it myself, I have a job with a looming deadline and a family who still speaks to me).

Sending out query letters. What better time to get yourself rejected than a few weeks before you have the perfect opportunity to pitch your masterpiece in person? It's a bit masochistic of me, but I keep doing it anyway.

Polishing two manuscripts. my contemporary (which might finally be getting a better name...maybe more on that later), and my sci-fi romance (with which I currently have a very twisted love/hate relationship). But should I at least get the "pity partial request", I'm ready.

Polishing a pitch. Our RWA chapter did a couple of awesome sessions to help hone our pitches. By the end of it, I not only had something written down that I could read outloud, but had some good feedback on it and I think it will actually work pretty well. Assuming I remember my name and native language when I sit down in front of the editor, let alone the particulars of my book. (not a joke, I have been known to forget my own name when in a stressful situation where I had to speak outloud).

Polishing my nails. Once again, the week of RWA will be the only week of the year where I have colored toenails (fingers TBA). Its also the only week of the year where I can 1) wear sandals and 2) am in an environment where it is normal to have colored digits. My day job is working with (primarily male) engineers in a chilly basement. They don't show me their toes, and I don't need to freeze mine. 'Course, hotel conference rooms aren't particularly warm either...

Good News X 2

The Appearance of Impropriety finaled in the Passionate Ink RWA chapter's Stroke of Midnight contest!

I am so excited. My first contest final! And I totally missed the email that was sent out Sunday night about it.

I arrived tonight at Borders for my weekly crit group meeting, and my partners jumped into congratulations. I was sooo confused. And happy for the free wi-fi, so I could read the email for myself.

At first i thought the congratulations were about my Golden Heart scores, which I'd posted to the crit group by email. That's my second piece of good news this week--Leap placed in the top quarter in the paranormal category of the GH. And received one perfect 9!

So, two sets of good news in one week. And now I have a ton of work to do. Luckily, the crit group gals are awesome--they critiqued a sex scene for me tonight. That is way harder to share than regular chapters, but given the final in that particular contest, this is something I want to nail. Ahem, pun totally intended :)

Cheating on my MS

I did write on Thursday, but didn't post my progress. Bad Kristi. Actually, OpenOffice and MS Word count words very differently, so I didn't trust the progress on OpenOffice (it was high by about 100 words).

As of Thursday, I've written 30948 words on Claire and Helmut's story (out of a projected 50-55k). Friday, nothing. Today, about 1500 words. And I'm totally cheating on Claire and Helmut.

This is something new. New new. Like I'm at 2800 words total. I'm scheduled to read at my RWA chapter's crit group on Wednesday. I have another, smaller crit group that meets every week. The chapter one's monthly, and a much bigger group (up to 20ish, usually broken into 3 groups of 6-8). Folks in that one get a lot of feedback at once, and from a nice variety of folks (some multi published, some newbies, all different backgrounds and genre preferences). Its like entering a free contest (plus we all go out for dinner afterwards). But when you read 3 or 4 times a year, and to different people every time, its hard to show up with the middle chapters of a book.

So, I'm bringing the start of something new that no one (even my weekly group) has seen yet. And then it ought to go right back on the shelf until I get Claire and Helmut to their HEA. (no promises that i won't break down and cheat again).

Tomorrow is all about C&H, though, so I'll get back on track. Actually, I'm not really off track. I've been getting out text in about 1000 word chunks, every 2-3 days. So I still need about 5-600 words/day average to finish by my goal. Still quite doable, and I'm not slipping yet.

Debating

I'm still debating whether to enter the Golden Heart. A week ago, I was thinking Yes. With both of my latest creations. Today, the answer is no. To either.

I'm running out of time to decide, and definitely running out of time to finish my category romance if I decide yes. So I've really got to choose.

I had both manuscripts in the local RWA chapter contest, and I did not final with either. And now, I just want to know the scores. Because not finalling might mean I was one point away from sitting in front of an editor. Or it could mean I was forty points away. I have no basis to guess. Especially with the category romance. An intra-chapter 1st page contest yielded scores that range from perfect to less than half of hte possible points. So, yeah. I'm just stuck there.

And I've started re-reading and editing Leap, starting at page 1. I have close to 80k words on it already--it is not too far off of a state I could deem "finished" and mail off to RWA. Much closer than the other story, which sits at 50%. The problem isn't lenght or relative completeness. Is Leap a romance? I keep thinking that it straddles the fence with plain ol' sci fi. Sure, there is a romance between the two main characters, and conflict that keeps them apart until the very end. But as I go back and re-read the pages starting at 26 (i.e. one page after my contest entry), I see the story begin to focus on the rest of hte plot. You know, all the stuff that's happening when Dominic & Myrrah aren't pining for one another.

I just don't know. Part of me asks, "what can I lose?" And the other part answers "$50, postage, paper, ink, and many hours of precious time." And I know already that waiting for contest results doesn't exactly make me a happy person. Nor does the not-hearing my name announced.

So, what am I doing now? Preparing for the Golden Heart? Polishing a manuscript and query letter? Nope, I'm surfing the web and wringing my hands.

I have three works in progress. Three. That's probably two more than I ought to have, accordign to every teacher/parent/manager who's ever told me to focus on one task at a time and finish it. But its way fewer than I would probably have if I gave my fingers free rain to listen to my idea-generator-brain.

I have to have a game plan, even though I don't always follow them. Right now, Leap, my sci-fi, is nearing Draft-1-Completion. The happy couple are even in the getaway spaceship, preparing for blast off. And I'm a little stuck as to how to wrap it up. I think I may have to stop here, and do an editing pass from the beginning. That worked for Chivalrous--I wrote 3 endings before I was satisfied with the final plot. My brain does a lot of its writing and plotting subconsciously, and providing time for it to churn out ideas tends to help a lot.

At the same time, I have beginnings to my romantic suspense, Accomplice, and a contemporary category, The Appearance of Impropriety. I think I'll be working on those next, and letting Leap simmer.

I also entered 4 different MS's in a contest--all 3 in progress, plus Chivalrous. In fact, I entered 4 of the 5 categories that the contest offered (the only thing missing was Historical...maybe next year LOL). I'm expecting good feedback on all 4, Hoping for an honorable mention for at least 1, and secretly wishing to final on any one of the 4. Time will tell.

Then, depending on my contest feedback, and general progress on Leap, I have to decide on the Golden Heart. Chivalrous was entered last year, with a less than stellar finish, but the beginning's MUCH better now. But, if it doesn't read well in this contest, it might go back under my proverbial bed. Leap, well, I just don't know. Again, it might depend on how well it scores in the current contest. And the ms has to be complete. Complete enough to save to a disk for a quick verification, anyway--I am fairly certain most entrants (and finalists) continue to revise long after they send in the entry.

Anyone else? Whatcha working on?

Always a day late...

I’ve been a lot quiet over here lately, because of all the chaos. Sometimes I write my way through chaos, and sometimes I have to hunker down and wait for the twister to blow over.

The past two weeks have been the latter. Hiding in the basement, covering my head and neck, away from all windows.

I might have mentioned that I got two requests out of my trip to the RWA national convention—1 from an editor, 1 from an agent. I'm fairly certain that the agent request was standard issue, as she only requested a partial. The editor, on the other hand, seemed fairly interested. It helped that I was pitching something that met their standards to a tee.

I submitted partials to both (I had forgotten to check whether the editor wanted the full) on July 26th, and proceeded to check my email daily thereafter. Not just any email--this particular address had only been used to send two messages ever, so there would be nothing there except for a reply to my submissions. It was silly and driving me nuts, so I gave it a rest for almost a week.

Of course, the editor had emailed me, a WEEK earlier, requesting the full. "As soon as possible". That sent me into full-fledged panic mode and I spent a frantic week (probably 20 hours or so, working around the day job and evening classes and oh, yeah, kids) polishing the manuscript and emailed it last Friday, August 14th.

I check my email again today (the 19th), and find a nice note, dated yesterday, from the editor thanking me for the submission. But she's leaving the company, effective yesterday. She's passing my manuscript on to colleagues.

I didn't even read the message early enough for a polite, "Thanks and good luck" kind of reply. And my hopes, which were artificially inflated by that "asap" wording, have just hit the slush pile.

I can hope that this is really the eye of the storm, but I'm thinking that I'm back to the calm.

Oh well. I have some contest entries to polish, and some Aliens to blast into space. And someday, that storm will be back.

Submission

I have submitted. 2 copies of my contemporary romance (code named Chivalrous, but with a slightly more imaginative—and totally negotiable—title). One to an editor, one to an agent. Actually, only three chapters plus a synopsis. The editor might have been willing to read more, but in my nervousness during the pitch, I failed to find out exactly how much to send. So, I decided to be cautious and only send a partial.

OK, cautious and freaked out. Because I have had the book sitting on the shelf for about a year, and it’s been edited. But every time I open up something I write, I want to edit some more. And I knew that if I was going to send the whole book, then I would want to re-read and probably re-edit the whole thing. I need to do that (I am also incapable of sending my children off in public without brushing their hair one last time). But I wasn’t going to get through it all last week, with work, and an evening class, and kids who hadn’t seen me in 5 days.

So now, why am I so nervous? Its not like I haven’t queried before. I sent out a dozen or so query letters last fall for the same book (and got a dozen or so rejections, though one partial request before the rejection. The worst these two can say is “no”. I think maybe its because the whole situation is more personal—I saw their faces, and talked to them in person. I saw real interest (not necessarily grandiose enthusiasm, but interest) in the idea. Not like a faceless cold-call query letter to an agent found online who had “romance” listed in their areas of interest.

So now, I’m torn between dusting and polishing Chivalrous (thereby investing time and emotional energy into something that is likely to be rejected again), or wrapping up my Sci Fi, and preparing to start something new, or finish something else that’s in progress.

Maybe I should count myself lucky that I have precious little time this week either, so even if I waffle over the decision for a couple of days, I will have wasted minutes, not hours or days, of productive writing time.

About the food

My least favorite parts of the RWA National Convention involved food.

I am no country hick. I expected high hotel prices for snack, room service, and restaurants. I fully expected the catered lunches to all include some form of chicken and pasta or chicken and rice (one of each, as it turns out). I expected hotel food to be, well, institutional to some degree. I did not expect to be appalled by the table manners of some of the other attendees.

I am not a country hick, but neither am I an etiquette maven, and I was raised far from any semblance of the country-club set. But I have attended my share (maybe more than my share) of fancy business dinners and weddings at places like the Ritz-Carlton downtown Chicago, the Frontenac Hilton, the Chase Park Plaza and the Starlight Roof, the Fox theater (dinner on the stage!), and City Hall in St. Louis. (Not that the events were put on by City Hall, but were private events held there—it’s an exceedingly beautiful venue, btw). Some of them black tie, some business dinners with networking opportunities.

At none of these other events that I’ve attended have I seen diners arrive at their seats twenty minutes early and devour their salads, all scraps of bread on the table, and half of their desserts before all seats at the table are even filled! Nor have I seen people wait with their fork and knife in hand, hovering over their food and practically salivating while waiting for the entire table to be served (this one person in particular had at least noticed that others were politely waiting for all to be served). At the Rita/Golden Heart reception, I saw people carry entire serving trays of appetizers off of the buffets, and set up their own private mini-buffets to share with 2 or 3, while others waited in long lines for a bite or two of shrimp.

I don’t care how tight your budget is, YOU ARE NOT STARVING. DO NOT PRETEND THAT YOU ARE. There is no reason to fall on your food like a rabid wolf. There is no call to arrive thirty minutes before an advertised meal time and stockpile your plate like you’ll never see another bagel again. It is not polite, and is very very far from considerate to hoard food while others are still waiting. Wait your turn. Wait politely. Wait for the entire table, if not the entire ballroom, to be ready. Take your share and no more (if you want seconds, you wait until everyone has been served). These are the same kinds of table manners that my husband and I are working very hard to teach to our 2 and 4 year olds. I certainly hope a few fellow RWA members remember them for next year.

I don’t believe that the hotel or the planners helped matters much with some of their choices of presentation and location. The continental breakfasts, and the GH/Rita Reception were served in a landing area outside the main ballroom that was, in my opinion, far too small. The reception was a crush. Literally, a crush. I’ve read about them in Regency Romances, but I’ve never actually experienced one until now.

The food tables were too tightly packed together so that long lines formed around them as if they were a dinner buffet, instead of a more civilized cocktail hour. Maybe some budget-conscious attendees treated them as dinner buffets. The dessert table was too sparse and many of us watched the table emptied by vultures before ever arriving at the front of the line for a single bite of chocolate. And if there was water, coffee, or iced tea available at the reception, I never saw it. Just the bar—with small ticket-sellers set up next to them. $5 for a single soda, alcohol more expensive, and no alternatives in sight.

I am hoping that people will be better behaved next year in Nashville. And that perhaps, our conference fee will go a bit farther so that the 7:30-8:30 continental breakfasts are not stripped bare by 7:52. I would hope that the Rita/GH reception would merit as nice of a venue as the actual awards ceremony—at least one of the side ballrooms, instead of a landing between the stairs and some bland meeting rooms.

Myabe I expect too much. I’ve been to some awfully nice events, after all. And though I didn’t expect Ritz-Carlton from a Marriott crowd, maybe my expectations were just a tad higher than they should have been.

More on Nationals

Every now and then I meet someone who knows everyone. And I do mean everyone. As in, everywhere I go, every stranger I meet, they all know this person. There was a guy from college that I met within the first few days of arriving on campus (no romantic involvement here). He was everywhere, super-involved in lots of things. Everyone knew him. I attended Wash U in St. Louis, which is not a tiny school. Not mammoth either, but with 5000ish undergrads on campus, its not like everyone knows everyone else. He graduated probably 2 years ahead of me in a different engineering discipline. After graduation, I started work at a small local consulting company, where most of the company had worked together for over 10 years. One day, I was sitting in the conference room at a client site, and one of my managers was chatting with the client (they used to work together elsewhere) and they were talking about some guy named (ThisGuysName). Its not a common name, and my ears pricked up. Um, are you talking about (HisName)? Yes, yes they were. Small world. Even smaller when he later married a friend of a friend. I still run into him once or twice a year, and occasionally find a coworker here (at my 3rd employer) who knows him. Weird how that works out.

Recently, I met another one of those everywhere people. Jeannie Lin. She’s been around RWA for a while, attended a bunch of conferences, and been active in at least two chapters—LARA and MORWA. And every other person I met at the RWA conference knows her. The neat thing was when I introduced myself to a stranger and she said, “Oh, you’re one of Jeannie Lin’s crit partners.” It’s a small, small world, and Jeannie has perfected the art of networking. She’s also very nice and a superb writer. So its no surprise that everyone knows her.

In addition to that little observation, my conference experience was great. I’m not quite the social butterfly that others are, but I do warm up with time. I had two pitch appointments—one editor and one agent. I intended to pitch my sci fi to the agent, and my contemporary to the editor, and ended up with 2 requests for the contemporary. The only bad thing is that the editor might have requested either the full or the partial, but I forgot to clarify which. I think I’ll send the partial to both, offering the full as well. And, of course, though I claim that the book is “done”, I feel the need to dust it off and do a quick editing pass before sending it on (I can’t help it….but I think it’s a compulsion that many writers share). I still want it sent by the end of this week. I may have a few late nights ahead of me to make sure I meet that self-imposed deadline.

I loved seeing the faces of editors and agents. Hearing their voices, seeing them laugh and smile, and sometimes even stammer through a Q&A session makes them feel so much more human. Not just an all-powerful being somewhere with the power to make or break my writing career. But a normal, approachable person. And I have noted the names of 2 NY editors in particular who expressed interest in Sci Fi and futuristic romances. I was too scared to talk to either in person, but I’ll be polishing Leap and either tossing it for the slush pile, or waiting for a contest or other opening to get it in front of them.

RWA Celebrity Sightings

I'm not much of a fangirl. Well, I am, but I'm too chicken sh*t to ever consider approaching a celebrity. The first author-signed books that I've ever acquired were from my RWA chapter meetings (from my chaptermates themselves).

RWA National was an interesting people-watching and celebrity-watching event for me. I was not only surrounded by famous people (and quasi-famous people, whose names I only know because I write), but I was almost their peer. Almost. Without the suite and the assistant and the book deal. Even still, I saw the faces of lots of famous folks, up close and personal. With some, I even mumbled my name and waved at my badge so they could sign a copy of their book.

Here's my list of up-close celebrity sightings:

• Kit Bond. Ok, he's not a romance author and was not (to my knowledge) at RWA National. He's a Senator from Missouri. But I sat right behind him on the plane from St. Louis. Not even in first class. I did not ask him to shake my hand, like many of my fellow fliers did once he was officially recognized.
• JR Ward. Right before the RITA awards, I was checking the back of my dress in the bathroom. She told me it looked great. She was probably laughing at me :) (Hello, anyway, should you be googling yourself! I'm the blonde in the cream dress with a big black bow on the back....)
• Brenda Novak. I helped her stock a box of give-aways in the Goody Room during my stint as a volunteer
• Angie Fox, NYT Bestselling author of the Accidental Demonslayer series. I'm cheating, here. She's a chaptermate in MORWA. I did sit with her and another chaptermate during the Dorchester spotlight.
• Kimberly Killion, RITA-nominated author of medieval Scottish romance. Cheating again--another chaptermate. Doesn't stop her book Her One Desire from being awesome. She should have won!
• Jeannie Lin. Cheating again. She's a chaptermate, a crit partner, a Golden Heart Winner, and she sold (at conference) her first novel! So, by this time next year she'll be a bonafide celebrity that folks outside RWA will recognize.

There probably ought to be more. I certainly attended enough workshops led by famous people, and had a couple of editor/agent appointments with names that fellow romance writers might recognize. But I didn't ride an elevator with anyone I recognized, or have a drink with someone. I'm not good at starting conversations. Maybe next year I'll get to chat with Jayne Ann Krentz or Susan Elizabeth Phillips (I did love their workshop...).