Self reading?

Got my "galleys" back for Fallen Star Trouble today. For all you non-writers, this means it's my final chance to read through and check for any flubs--big or small. Later on, I'll also get a print galley, where the pages will be typeset for print, so it looks much different on the screen. Usually by the time an author gets galleys, he/she is really sick and tired of working on that book.

Me? Well, my edits haven't been too tough for this one, so I'm not really burned out with it.

But it kinda got me thinking. I wonder how many authors read their finished books? Like, sometimes I'll be doing something with one of my print books and I'll flip a page open and read a few paragraphs and think, "Wow. I did that? I like that!" :)

So I'd love to hear from other authors... If you're published, do you ever sit down and read your own book(s)? If you're still working on getting pubbed, do you crack open that file and read sometimes, just because you like the story/characters?

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Trippin'

Meeting Jennifer Weiner was awesome! I'd planned to take her copies of my books, and then on the way over pretty much talked myself out of it, thinking she was on this whirlwind tour and didn't want a bunch of clunky books to lug around. Then my pal suggested I ask her if I could send her copies she could read on her Kindle... which seemed like a better idea.

Then, when we walked inside Tattered Cover, the first thing we saw was a huge display for books by Rocky Mountain Authors... so I went back to the truck for my books, talked to an employee, and left them for the lady who does acquisitions. Left her my card, and got her phone # and email addy, so hopefully something will come of that and I'll have my books in Tattered Cover stores!

Jennifer Weiner delivered a 30 minute monologue (very funny!) to a pretty large crowd--so large that the bookstore did not have enough cupcakes to go around (Jennifer gives out cupcakes at all her signings for this tour). She's got lots of wonderful fodder, with a mother who came out of the closet at 54, lots of commentary about politicians cheating (her newest book is about a wife of a cheating politician), family life, and J-Date("the internet dating site for the unchosen chosen people"). Loved how she dropped the f-bomb and really got the crowd revved up.

While we waited in line for signing, I met a really nice lady who seems to attend many signings at that store. We talked about Jen's books and mine, and RomCon (she didn't go this year, but might next year), and writing in general.

I got Jennifer Weiner to sign my Reader (it's looking quite star-studded now) and my copy of Best Friends Forever. And Amanda poked me (literally!) until I swallowed my shyness and mentioned my books to Jennifer, asked if I could send them to her, and she said, "No. I'll buy them. I can buy them. What's your pen name?" Wow! So gracious and nice! I gave her my bookmarks, and left feeling positively giddy. I mean, wouldn't it be amazing if she read them and liked them? Of course it would! And she's smart, too, because the ball is totally in her court.

My kids hardly fought at all during the trip (thank you God), the mudslide on I-70 happened after we'd gotten home... Yep. A pretty good time.

Now I'm off to email that acquisitions lady. Happy reading!

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Review

I got this review in a couple weeks ago, but keep forgetting to post it. (I think. If I've already posted it, well then... it's a filler--I'm still in Denver for that awesome booksigning trip). I've still got to post the link and graphic on my site, but...

Waiting for Revenge got a Top Pick rating!

This novel doesn't usually resonate with reviewers because it's not a cut-and-dried story about good people and bad people. It's more about realistic people (in my opinion), some who strive to be good but sometimes make mistakes, and some who probably don't intend to hurt others so much, but do, by making bigger mistakes. This reviewer "got" my humor, believed Mandy was stronger than she thought--like most women, right?, and most importantly did not hate Mandy for being imperfect (or include spoilers!).

I'm pleased as punch. So here's the link for the entire, might I add, glowing, review:

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Off to see the Weiner

(and that's pronounced like "whiner", not like the little dog...)

My pal and I and the kidlets are off to Denver today, for Jennifer Weiner's booksigning. Very cool. I haven't been to a signing, other than at RomCon (and my own!). And Weiner is awesome. Funny, smart... another of my writing "idols".

Poor thing, I've been following her book tour a bit (I got her free iPhone App, which is super cool), and it's strenuous to say the least. One city, one day--and not really cities close together, either. Tomorrow I think she's in San Francisco.

Have a super day, I'm sure we will too.

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Industry news

I first read this information last week, but then was blocked from viewing the article (the NY Times now requires you to register and sign in to read their articles online...). Still, the information seemed relevant so I went digging for it and found another article.

The gist? Amazon's Kindle ebook sales now surpass their hardback sales. (I get a little "eww" about hardbacks because they're so heavy--you might as well order a damn stone tablet to read, IMO. I'll be dancing naked when ebook sales bypass paperback, but hey. This is a milestone. Certainly.) According to this article (and the now cockblocked NY Times one), during the last 3 months Amazon sold 143 Kindle books for every 100 hardback books -- and this despite an increase in hardback sales. During the previous 1 month, the number jumped to 180 Kindle books for every hardback. Wow. Just a sidenote to add perspective here, this number includes hardback books which have no ebook version(and I got this info from that top-secret members-only article). It does not include all those free out-of-copyright ebooks. So, hey. It is really a big deal.

I met someone this month who is now stockpiling her print books and won't part with any because her husband tells her they will be worth lots of money some day since they are on their way out. That seems a long way off to me. But hey. I can see a point in a matter of a few years, when print books will get even more expensive because they'll be considered a luxury item, or environmentally unkind. Certainly I love my print books--especially those I can sign and give out to readers! But I also love ebooks for their functionality, price, and tiny carbon footprint. Plus, I never have to worry about returns on ebooks, which means I won't be missing a hunk of my royalties down the road if some bookstore over-orders and then changes its mind. And that's a good thing.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Judge Piper

Got my "panel" of entries to judge for the Molly last night.

I'm finally a second-round judge! Woohoo! Not that I hate being a first round judge in contests, but... I kinda hate being a first-round judge in contests. :) I'm thinking this round, the wheat and the chaff will already be separated, so I'll probably get some really good stuff to read. And the score sheets make me proud. Lots and lots of feedback, like my CPs and I usually do, or like I'd do in a content edit. Oh yeah. I'm totally up for this one.

Have a great weekend.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Word up!

Time now for a little Proud Mama Moment...

My daughter has always had a big vocabulary--even before she could talk. She'd get highly frustrated because she couldn't communicate what she wanted, but even at a year old could understand and follow complicated directions ("Go in your bedroom and get Mommy your bear and your blanket, then bring them back out here"). Still, once she was able to speak, it wasn't all that clear (lots of the often-used consonants didn't come out right, but Brother always knew what she was saying), though with a little speech therapy she made huge progress. When she was 2 and 3, and people would look over at me (above her) and say things like, "Good Lord. I cannnot understand a word she said" right after she'd spoken to them, it used to break my heart--fact was, she may not have enunciated, but that did not mean she was deaf! She knew just what they'd said, and it frustrated her to no end.

So I'm totally fine with being wildly proud of her advanced vocabulary now. She's 12, by the way. Into boys and clothes and hairstyles just like any other soon-to-be-7th grader. But the other day she was bantering with her dad about something (can't remember what), and I caught her spewing this line: "Well, that was a pretty obscure reference, wasn't it?"

12, ladies and gents.

And yesterday, when she'd read the final 15 pages of the 6th Harry Potter tome, she closed the back cover and said, "Wow. That was a pretty bold choice on JK Rowling's part." (referring to the shocking death of a beloved lead character) Wow is right, sweetheart. Wow for a kid to choose those words instead of "OMG. I, like, totally can't believe Dumbledore, like, died!" And even more wow, for a kid her age to put herself in the author's shoes and consider she may alienate readers by killing off such a character. She even went on to discuss with me how Rowling must have really sat down, planned and considered whether the story should take such a turn.

See? A lot goes on between those grinding wheels inside her lovely head. (here's Mommy waving a big "In Yer Face" flag at all the people who acted like she was less than amazing back in her pre-Speech days) Maybe for those years she spent not talking so much, her little brain was configuring more synapses so she could comprehend better.

Either way, sometimes I'd like to start a public service campaign to remind people a kid who doesn't speak clearly isn't "slow", and it's no indication they can't comprehend. For everybody who thinks it's okay to verbalize such sentiments in front of the consonant-impaired: Maybe the kid just has better manners than you, and isn't saying what he/she thinks. Maybe those different sounds are the result of her biting her tongue!

Proud Mama
Got romance?

EPIC decision

It's been almost 2 years since I let my RWA dues go, and I honestly don't feel like I've missed out on anything by no longer being a member.

Now it's time to register for the EPIC competition, and I'm leaning toward joining as a member. I've got 3 books eligible for entry (I know contests are a crap-shoot, but dang it, if you win, the publicity is awesome). Entry fees are only $35 for nonmembers, and $25 for members (wow, just wow, what a deal, compared to entering the Golden Heart or RITA... just sayin'). And membership is just $30, so my entire yearly membership would pay for itself with 3 entries. I might have to join.

Also got the request to judge again. Now, judging this contest last year was something altogether new. You can't judge the category you've entered, so I ended up with... Erotic Paranormal, and Fantasy Paranormal... Uhm. Yeah. Not that there's anything wrong with those categories, and people can like whatever they like, but it's tough to judge when it's not your "thing." I'm tossing around the judging-again decision.

Anybody else have experience, good or bad, with EPIC, either the contest or the organization?

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

The unthinkable query

Reviewing submissions can sometimes be rewarding (happening upon that fantastic story I simply must edit) or sad (knowing a book just isn't quite there yet, and remembering that sucky rejection-letter feeling). And sometimes, like yesterday, it inspires me to blog. Angrily.

Knowing how many hours I pored over agents' and publishers' requirements and adjusted my query letter and/or submission accordingly for each submission, I'm often flabbergasted when I see submissions come in to LPI which don't follow our guidelines. But, hey, sometimes people make mistakes. So we do cut them slack. However...

This time somebody crossed the line. We received a query where the writer (and I definitely will not be using the term "author" for this person, who has a mountain of professionalism to learn) had the nerve to complain about our formatting guidelines. Namely, font size and line spacing. Now, this might not seem like a big deal, but would you go into a job interview and complain about where your boss-to-be put the reception desk? Or about anything? Not if you want the job. (I'll probably be returning to that point again...) And would you go to said job interview with only half the material you were requested to bring? Say, just delete parts of your resume. Then shove it back into your portfolio and head on in. Because this writer who managed to include her complaints failed to include key parts of the query letter. (the LPI submissions guidelines page states pretty clearly what a query should include, such as a few paragraphs about the book, a bit about the author (writer!) and contact info)

Why does formatting matter? It's simple. Many different editors in different countries on different continents work for LPI. We all review submissions, but between us we use many different word processing platforms. Times New Roman (LPI's preferred font, although a couple others are listed as acceptable) is universal. All the platforms recognize it. Size 12, 1" margins is also pretty universal, and gives a nice full page of text, viewable on any computer screen. If somebody needs their text larger or smaller, all text programs have a magnifier or zoom feature. The thing is, if we didn't have formatting standards, we'd get submissions in hot pink, size 28 Jokerman, 1789 pages long. Fact is, we the staff are too dang busy to screw around reformatting manuscripts into professional, readable text. That's your job, O aspiring author. (writer!) Same as it's your job to include a blurb in the query, so if your book is about an ax-wielding vampire who eats senior citizens for fun, some other editor who likes that stuff can review it, and I can spend my time reviewing the subs I'd consider editing. Conversely, if it's a boy-next-door sweet romance, probably our eds who specialize in horror or paranormal or erotica would rather bypass it. See, this isn't rocket science. It's following the rules. Rules that are there for a reason.

Besides seeing red over the outright disrespect shown, guess the first thought that ran through my mind? This writer is going to be a big old pain in the butt about things like house style, editing procedures, how the book gets put together (where acknowledgments and the like go), etc, etc, etc. to infinity. No way do I want to work with somebody like that. Anarchy has its place, but not in the publishing biz, that's for sure. If this person balks at using a few clicks to reformat a manuscript to a new font size, how's she going to react when she's got to whip out the elbow grease and work on edits? Once again, it's like she's purposely setting herself up to be rejected. (aka not get the job) And, well, that's her right. Maybe she'd be happier self-publishing. Although, I've an idea self-pubbed books also must be formatted according to the printer's standards...

Today's lesson in a nutshell: If you want somebody to do something for you (such as publish your book), ask nicely. And act like you'll be agreeable to work with.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Deep fried writing brain

It's what every writer fears most--being "blocked." And I fear I've caught it. Whether from just having too many things going on and not enough consecutive time to sink into a story or something else, I don't know. I have had some story ideas tickle my muse, but I seem to start them and then... kaput. The inspiration just fades away.

So I dug out my oldest, my first manuscript, which I've written and re-written and then completely ditched and started to write again in my newer, more mature writing voice. Hits and Misters. (I've affectionately named the file "Take 975" because it feels like that many different versions now) I don't have to plot or figure out motivations, per se, because that part has already been done in a very purple, very tell-y way. (and about 100k too many words!) I do still like the characters and the story, so maybe, just maybe this will get all my writing parts clicking together again.

Keep your fingers crossed for me when you aren't typing with them!

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

A bit of the grit

So my official posts about the "happenings" at RomCon are over. However, I had a few topics burning in my brain, things I learned, many of which surprised me.

• Many big name authors really fear bad reviews. Some don't want to be notified at all about reviews because reading them--good or bad--interferes with their creative process.

Really? I always thought a seasoned author would get over worrying, and shrug off the naysayers. Not so. So here's what I'm thinking, and keep in mind this is strictly supposition... Maybe if one has luck and lands an agent early in one's career, and said agent procures a fat contract with a big cat publisher, one doesn't have to face as many rejections and criticisms of one's work (note, I said "as many". I think we all deal with rejections at some point). Heck, I dealt with some really ugly comments about Waiting for Revenge long before I was even ready to submit it to agents or publishers. Did I get thick skin? Well, sorta... I also encountered enough people who felt the same about the story that I did, so I feel strong enough in knowing it's not a story for everybody.

• There's a perception in the publishing world, at least among some authors, that borrowing books from libraries hurts our business. Even more so, if it's an ebook borrowed.

Unfortunately, I think, again, agents might be a factor. Not that I think agents are bad, but... having somebody else handle all the "business" end of your business leads inevitably to, how can I put this kindly... ignorance? I wish there was a way for me to get the word out that: We do get a royalty every time an ebook is borrowed, so it's not "stealing". It's all tracked through Overdrive, where libraries get ebooks. And the ebook is only good for a certain period of time, after which the license expires and the file will no longer open. One author thinks I'm substandard because I admitted to borrowing books from the library. She says libraries hurt the biz. She buys every book she reads, which makes me lowlife because I can't afford them. *shrug* Hey, the way I figure it, people like me who use libraries keep the libraries open, and if every library in the country pre-ordered her next release, she'd have one hell of a first-run on it.

• Those really snarky, funny blog sites? Erm. Some of those gals go around just looking for something to be a bitch about. (probably not surprising, but definitely appalling, especially when some of what they blog is fabricated)

I suppose the old truth-in-journalism ethic doesn't apply to blogs?

• Many authors (and some editors are now telling them to do this) don't send a thank-you to reviewers.

What? Isn't that just common courtesy? I do believe in the old saying, "If you don't have something nice to say, don't say anything at all", but there's also propriety in a polite thanks. Most reviewers do so on a volunteer basis, just for free books. To completely blow them off, whether the review is positive or negative, is just poor etiquette. And we all know poor etiquette equals unprofessional. I don't see how acting unprofessionally can get you anywhere. At least, not anywhere good. People who review my books get a thank you.

• I heard a few authors express the sentiment that book reviews should only say positive things about the book.

I disagree. If the book had problems the reviewer couldn't see past, then she/he should state them in the review. If readers start thinking book reviews are just a sales pitch, not a candid opinion, then the reviews will lose credibility.

• All writers are not introverts. Some very much love the limelight and--whether willingly or not--can dominate a panel or group effort.

I still think mixing new writers and well-knowns is a good idea; but new authors have to be willing to step up and grab the mike sometimes.

And that's it. As it should be--this is an unusually long post for me.

Oh, one more happy note, it sounds like my box of sunglass bags has been located. The person who fell ill was supposed to go pick them up yesterday, and the RomCon director is going to send them back to me. So they'll be nicely "aged" by next year...

Have a great weekend.

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

A little more RomCon

The booksigning portion of RomCon was lots of fun, but it sure wasn't the end.

Next I got to hang out at "Author Alley", which was an area for authors to sit, sign more books, and just generally be accessible to readers. It didn't see much action Saturday afternoon, probably because the readers had just had that opportunity at the signing. Regardless, I'm glad I went, because I was next to Lori Wilde (who'd also moderated our Author Fairy Godmother session). She's very nice, and friendly, and she has a wonderful, soft Fort Worth accent. We chatted about books and ebooks and her iPad, and how much "the business" is changing.

I'm thrilled to find big name authors are embracing digital books (despite the hoopla we hear on forums).

After a long break (I'll unapologetically admit I did not attend any of the meals or balls at RomCon -- the family was along after all, plus I just needed some downtime), I had one more event, which was a mixer for erotic romance authors and readers. This was a very organized event, with lots of games and prizes. I'd volunteered to take the first slot, and did Adult MadLibs. It was a huge hit! (thanks again, Amanda!) The crowd warmed up and really started supplying some colorful words by our third MadLib. I left right after, because of the late hour, but from what I heard, it was lots of fun, with drinking games and gambling later on. That was a nice high note on which to end my experience.

Hubby and I had a little time-out down at the bar later, and we visited with Delinda Jasper (EIC at Accomplice Press). We even did a Patron shot together, while she waited on some dinner. I consider her a friend, and intend to keep in contact.

I hope all the readers (and other authors) who attended had a great time. I definitely did. And yes, I'll be there next year.

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

RomCon III

Yes, I'm still talking about RomCon...

And still talking about the signing portion of Saturday. So here's that photo with the marvelous Julia Quinn (and me, still looking like a dork). Next time I pose for photos with fabulous successful authors, I'll bring candlelight and have the pics retouched before posting them anywhere...oh, and wear all black! And stand further away from the camera than the fabulous author!

So. I've heard this signing was rather unusual in that the books were over in one section all together (alphabetically, so yeah, guess whose books mine were near?), where readers had to purchase them and then come in to the area in the photo where we all sat with our names in front of us on the tables. Normally--at other conferences--books are stacked in front of the author's feet under their table, and the readers get them signed right there. As a new author, I think it was nice having the readers browse through all the books, because it maybe gave mine some exposure. On the other hand, maybe if I'd had mine near me, some people would've looked at them while standing in Julia's or Carly's lines... The bookstore had other things for sale, too, besides the books -- some cute earrings and purses and-- get this--chain mail tankinis. No, I'm not making that up! Nor do I understand why a chainmail tankini... but hey. I'm getting old. One thing I'll say about my Borders experience (I had to go buy a new Carly book after breakfast because the one I packed from home was, like, so old and the cover had a bend in it and I just felt wrong about presenting it, so I got Lucky Streak, which was I thought had been voted Best Long Contemporary romance at RomCon, but apparently that was Lucky Break--1st in the trilogy-- so yes, Amanda, heave your big ole sigh because once again I started a trilogy with book #2. LOL). At checkout, the very friendly and helpful crew gave everyone a nifty Chico Bag -- you know, the shopping bags which fold up all into themselves and have a neat little carribeaner to attach to your purse or manbag? Yeah. One of those. The Original style, in froggy green, with a logo from MyBookstoreandMore.com which I'd never heard of before but apparently did themselves proud by providing the neato shopping bags. On further investigation, this retailer appears to be rather new and they have ZERO books from Lyrical Press!! which much be remedied, like, yesterday. But in any case, I totally love the Chico bag and will be watching for the retailer to grow.

I met several nice booksellers during the signing, from all over the country, and even one really neat lady from Australia who has a bookstore. And she knew Lyrical Press!!! Have I mentioned I love booksellers and librarians? (partly cause I'd love to be one. They hold rather envious jobs, in my estimation.)

Some ingenious readers brought their (very spiffy) RomCon program book around and had everyone sign it. This is an especially nice option for ebook fans. One fan had a literal sheaf of sticker pages, all the same ("Author Signed" gold seals), and she had Julia sign like 2 pages of them (probably 30 or so stickers) which she was going to take home an adhere to all her Julia books. Another neat lady had a whole tote full of stuff. She was making a scrapbook of her RomCon experience. So in addition to having authors sign their books, she also had them sign a 12 X 12 scrapbook sheet, which she was going to fill with bookmarks and the photos she took of them all. Talk about being organized! I believe she was somewhat local, but had a room upstairs anyway for all her goods, because she kept going out and swapping stuff from her wheeled tote.

Readers coming in got slips of paper for some type of lottery. Not sure who put this on, but it was nice. And Deb Werksman took around a big orange RomCon goodie bag (empty) for us all to sign, which she was giving away somewhere. By the way, my family thought the orange goodie bags were quite ugly, but I'll say they are quite strong! I hauled a pile of books around in mine and it held up. Harlequin provided those, I believe. At least, their name was all over it... and Samhain was all over the name badge lanyards. Definitely lots of advertising opportunities for subsequent years.

Tomorrow I'll wrap this up...

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

RomCon2

Saturday was a long, fun day for pretty much everybody. Even the seasoned authors I talked to were worn out by mid-afternoon, and I can only assume they've "done" these types of conventions before.

My schedule started with Speed Date an Author, where the authors stayed in one place, and every two minutes we had someone new sitting across from us for a little chat. This was so fun! I met authors, an illustrator, fans, bloggers... good times. Authors were each only signed up to do one of these chats, but I'd do 2 or 3 if I had the chance to. I gave all my "dates" a sunglass sack, and got their email address and name for an entry to win Fallen Star Trouble. You know what I found out? Readers LOVE author newsletters. Several of them asked me to add them to my list, and they were all quite positive about it.

My next event was the signing, or "Book Fair". (this is the part where I'm jumping up and down, so it makes it hard to type) My first every fan-girl experience... but hey. I sat right next to Carly Phillips!!! Carly Phillips, whose books were some of the first chick-litty type hot contemporary romances I read, whose books made me think, "Yeah, this is the kind of novels I want to write". Lori Foster? Same situation with her being an idol, but unfortunately she was at another table, so I had to settle for meeting her and getting her to sign a book and my Reader, you know, during one of the lulls in the enormous crowd waiting for ME to sign books (no, not really). Lori was supernice, remembered me from FaceBook, and had someone snap a photo of us together--her camera! But I digress. Carly. Yeah. Very nice, and I finally got over my starstruck muteness, admitted I'd chosen my pen name so I could sit next to her and she told me she completely understood, had done that. I got a photo with her! I look like such a total doofuss, but it was awesome. She's very nice and gave me some great advice about promotion stuff. Probably, honestly, one of my high points of the entire weekend. She's one of those successful authors who remains nice and doesn't have all those big-headed snooty airs (like a few I had contact with over the weekend. I mean, hey, it's great they are proud of their accomplishments, but seriously? Be real, ladies!). I'm a bigger fan of her after meeting her. (oh, and of course I had her sign a book...)

On my other side was Julia Quinn, who had a line, and then a line, and then a line... oh my. Her fans are rabid. (Carly says Julia always has a line) It was almost the end of the signing before she had a moment to catch her breath. And she's also very sweet. I fully intend to read some of her books now, because I liked her so much as a person. She's funny as all heck. I didn't have a book for her to sign, so I asked her to sign my Reader also. And got a pic with her...

Well, crud. Blogger doesn't want any more pictures today, so I'll leave off there, and tomorrow I'll post the pic of Julia and me.

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

RomCon

Like multitudes of other authors and bloggers today, I'll write about this weekend's conference.

My first event Friday was called Author Fairy Godmothers to the Rescue. In the description, it was laid out to be for readers who wished to help out their favorite authors. As a panel, we planned discussions on reviews, blogging, social networking and the like. In other words, word of mouth the 2010 way. The panel consisted of several authors (of which I was the newest and least successful) and a couple of editors (one of these was Deb Werksman, from Sourcebooks, who I ran into in several places, and she's very nice). Our audience included a few bloggers, readers, writers, and reviewers (including Joy, from Joyfully Reviewed, and by the way Joy, I like to be notified when my book is reviewed, I always send a thank-you, and I don't think reviews should be dishonestly kind, but I suppose if other authors feel/react differently, that's their choice.). It seemed a few (or at least one) guests attended solely for the purpose of obtaining snark material for their blog... but hey. They've gotta dredge material from someplace, right? I thought it was fun, until from lack of oxygen I sort of lost my breath during my spiel and became incomprehensible for a few seconds. High point of this event for me? Sitting Right. Next. to Carly Phillips!!! It was so awesome. Still, I didn't muster the nerve to really speak to her during the panel. :)

My second event was the Build a Hero workshop, totally fun, where 2 authors per table worked with attendees and created a hero. Ours didn't win the popular vote, but I'll be including our hero -- Donovan Curtis, environmentalist/marine biologist extraordinaire working undercover on an oil rig -- in a novella. The marvelous Accomplice Press offered to publish these novellas if we didn't have other options. (more about the supernice Delinda Jasper from Accomplice later)

That was the end of Friday for me. Somehow in personnel changes, my box of goodies AKA 500 Handsewn Sunglass Sacks -- got lost/never made it to RomCon. I was pretty broke up about it. Went to dinner with the family, which took longer than we planned, then the mall, and crashed early back in the room. Only a few tears, and I was mostly over it Saturday morning!

That's all for Friday. More to follow...

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

New favorite thing

Ahhh, July 9th. (Yes, I completely neglected July 8th blog-wise --I thought of Piper Patter a couple of times but honestly just had too dang much going on to sit still and post) I've been waiting for this day for a long time. (RomCon!!! Sound the party blowers, RomCon Day is here!) Both this date specifically, and also my first writing conference.

I did great getting ready yesterday, despite printer failure, errands, and impending acne. Everything is packed (at least I hope, I mean, I woke with that shaky, sweaty feeling, with blood rushing round so fast it leaves tracks in my eyes and I can't tell whether to eat or be sick... but then, it was 5 AM, which is just too dang early!)

So this is my cuter-than-cute trunk (Target) to haul around all my convention stuff including my own books, bookmarks, etc. Hubby loaned me his toolbag wheelie cart. I hope it looks sharp -- this was one of my biggest worries. How to get all my stuff from A to B without having to lug a couple of giant boxes around? Looked at rolling luggage, but it has that H-grid inside for the slide up handle, which wouldn't be flat or good for books riding inside. Anyway, once I'm back home again, I can then store all my books and promo stuff inside it, too.

In the middle of all my stressing and mind-racing this morning, I found the nicest note from hubby on the kitchen table. Telling me how proud he is... and lots of other stuff that got me all teary and warm and fuzzy.

Well. We've got a couple of stops to make this morning -- thus the early start -- so off I go.

Have a great weekend!

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

PS I even remembered to bring along a couple of books to have signed by Lori Foster and Carly Phillips. Lori and Carly!!! I'm gonna meet them! At the same place, how cool is that?

Bloghopper

I'm blogger over at Lyrical Press today. Talking about conflict and resolution (not in the military way; in the romantic way).

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Ahh, querying...

This is a great article about the 5 Stages of Querying agents.

Ohh, the nailbiting.

Piper Denna
Romance is sexy!

Blog neglect

OK. So I'm getting very derelict in my blogging duties. Probably shouldn't beat myself up, as long as I post sometime during the day, but I've always made it a habit to do that early in the morning...

Kinda pulling my hair out this week -- I've got line edits back on one of my own manuscripts, plus I need to complete another round of content edits for a book I'm editing.

And have I mentioned all the stuff I'm trying to do, to get ready for RomCon? Oh yes, that's right... I have. At length. Well, just got notification over the weekend of another workshop/meet and greet I signed up for and am now included in. EEk. I think I'm mostly ready for at least one of those. I think...

Happy Monday!

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Gone campin'

We're heading out to camp this weekend (actually leaving Thursday PM so by the time you read this, my hair will already smell like campfire and my back will hurt).

Going to the campground we found last weekend - it's bound to be more crowded and noisy than it was last time, but we're staying over there while hubby does an electrical job, which beats the prices they charge for motel rooms in that dinky burg!

Have a safe and fun 4th, everybody!

Autumn Piper
Got romance?

Building bounty

Prep work continues for RomCon. I've got bookmarks (about 375) printed, cut, and laminated -- which leaves trimming them from the laminate sheets. Business cards are here and (lovely) ready to forget. For some reason I keep thinking I'll forget them when we leave next week...

Working on a tri-fold travel brochure for one of my books. Man, those things take a long time to set up! And print!

Got all my display hardware - acrylic sign holders, brochure holders (will double as bookmark display), and book stands. Really wanted to get one of those bigass poster-size copies made of the Lone Star Trouble cover -- that guy really attracts attention, LOL. But still not sure how much real estate I'll get at my table, so it could be a waste of money.

About 50 extra sunglass sacks are ready for me to take along and hand out, and I've got copies of my books.

I never imagined it'd take this long to get ready for a convention. Can't imagine going to several a year... well, yeah I can. :) Here's hoping good things happen at this one so I can become more of a "regular".

Autumn Piper
Got romance?