• The fourth RT post …

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    I spent Thursday morning, Day Two of RT, giving my presentation: How to be a Shameless Hussy — Working the Media Like a Pro. (For those of you who don’t know, I’m a professional journalist by day.)

    RT did a media track of workshops this year, and I was chosen to do my workshop, which is basically a crash course in media relations — how to contact journalists, how to write a press release, common interview questions, etc. Everything authors need to know to pitch stories to newspapers, television stations, and other media outlets, and what to expect during an interview. (BTW, I’m available to give this workshop to local RWA chapters and other writing groups. If you want me to speak to your group, send me an e-mail).

    I was a little nervous, the way I always am when I give a workshop. Public speaking isn’t my favorite thing – I’d much rather chat one-on-one with someone. For the longest time, it was just me and another woman sitting in the room, and I started to wonder if anyone else was going to come to the workshop. I think J.R. Ward was speaking during the same time slot, so I didn’t expect a huge crowd to start with.

    But people started trickling in, including Susan Helene Gottfried of the West of Mars book blog. I really enjoyed meeting Susan in person and talking about books with her and Ann (the three of us kept running into each other during the rest of the convention). And Susan gave me a lot of great tips about stuff to do in Pittsburgh. Thanks, Susan! :joecool:

    When the dust finally settled, I had a crowd of about 20 or so folks. So I did my spiel, went over the worksheet, answered questions, and tried to be informative and witty and charming. I got a couple of laughs out of the crowd, so that was good. I don’t think anyone was too bored. At least, I hope they weren’t.

    Giving the workshop at RT was a different experience from RWA, though. It was just me sitting at this big, long table by myself. There wasn’t a moderator, so I kept having to stop during the first ten minutes and ask people to come up and get worksheets so they wouldn’t be totally lost. Also, there wasn’t a sign outside telling people what the workshop was about. I think a sign would have helped cut down on the confusion (for all the workshops) and some of the people going in and out at the beginning of the workshop.

    So I went, I talked, I blathered, and the presentation was over. A couple of people came up to me at the book fair on Saturday and said they enjoyed my presentation and that I gave them a lot of good info. So I hope folks got something out of it.

    BTW, if you want to see what the media workshop is all about, go to the Appearances & Contests page. Scroll down to the workshop section and click on the media link.

    Up next: More RT stuff.

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    The third RT post …

    All right. Let’s talk about the fun stuff — the convention itself. I’ve been to the annual RWA conference a couple times now, but this was my first RT. Everybody says the two events are completely different.

    They’re right.

    RWA is definitely more business-oriented than RT, which is more about fans and fun. But at their core, both events celebrate books, readers, authors, and great stories, which makes them pretty awesome to me. :bubbles:

    The first day, Wednesday, after checking in, registering, and all that fun stuff, I was going down to the bar to meet some of the Fangs, Fur, and Fey folks (of which I’m a member). But I got to the bar and saw Justin Knupp of Stonecreek Media Inc. instead.

    Justin is the creative genius who designed my Web site (and dozens of others for various authors). He was having dinner with Sharon Long aka Maya Banks, so I sat with them, and we talked about the convention and books and the publishing business for a couple of hours. We also waxed poetic about all the authors and books we enjoy. There was much love given to Jim Butcher and Patricia Briggs, among other fantasy folks. Good times.

    BTW, Maya’s books sound really interesting — sexy Southern contemporaries. I’ll have to put her on my to-be-read list.

    After that, it was getting late and I was tired, so I went upstairs to get ready for my Thursday presentation. Day One was in the books.

    Up next: More RT stuff.

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    The second RT post …

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    On Wednesday, Wheezley (the significant other) and I left Erie behind and schlepped back down to Pittsburgh (passing many more dead deer along the way). Again, not much to see until we got to Pittsburgh. Seriously, there aren’t even gas stations by the side of the interstate, just deer stands and the occasional barn/farm.

    But we reached Pittsburgh soon enough. The first thing I noticed was the houses — they all seemed to be perched on top of hills right next to each other. I guess building space is tight. After a couple miles of that, we rounded a bend and reached the downtown area where the three rivers converge.

    dscn0537.jpgWow. It was really beautiful. Lots of bridges, lots of shops, lots of restaurants. A very vibrant downtown. And clean. Very, very clean. Not like most downtowns that I’ve been to.

    We missed our exit and ended up circling through downtown (which also has lots of construction) and then going back across one of the bridges. The bridges were a little confusing. A cab driver told Wheezley that Pittsburgh has more bridges than any other city in the world. I don’t know about that, but there were a lot of them — and some of them only went one way, which added to our confusion.

    But we eventually found the hotel and parked (by which point, Wheezley was growling and demanding a drink and a cigarette). We grabbed our suitcases and lugged them a couple blocks to the hotel.

    Ah, the hotel. A point of contention for many folks throughout the convention. I was disappointed in the hotel. We had to cool our heels in the lobby for an hour and a half until we could check in, at which time I was informed that I wasn’t getting the room with two beds that I’d requested. (Wheezley snores like a lumberjack and tosses and turns like he’s on a ship).

    You see, the hotel was undergoing extensive renovations, even though it was going to host an event for 2,000 people for five days. You’d think the hotel would plan around that. But no. Even though I reserved my room a couple days after the convention registration opened last year, I was told I couldn’t have a room with two beds because there weren’t any available. I asked why I was able to reserve the room and was told there was a snafu with the registration system. I also asked a series of other questions about the rooms and why they weren’t available.

    “Yeah, that’s not happening” was the overall response I got to most of my questions. I was told I could either go to another hotel or be stuck with what they had left. But hey, they were still going to honor the convention rate for the hotel rooms. Well, thank heavens for small favors.

    So I took what they had and managed to get a cot for the room. I had also asked for a room on a low floor and ended up staying on the 24th floor — the highest floor in the hotel. Shaking head.

    But hey, I did have a great view of the three rivers, Heinz Field, and the rest of the downtown area, as you can see with the above picture.

    Overall, the hotel just seemed too small to host an event the size of RT. Especially the bar area — it was tiny. Anyone who’s been to RT or the annual RWA conference will tell you that a large, roomy, well-stocked bar area is a major key to success. :joecool:

    Up next: More RT stuff.

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    The first RT post …

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    dscn0523.jpg

    My significant other (who will henceforth be referred to as Wheezley Blighter — and no that’s not his real name) and I actually left for the Romantic Times convention on Tuesday so we could drive up to Erie, Pennsylvania.

    My friend Super Librarian Amy (as she will henceforth be known) is the head honcho at the Corry Public Library in Corry, Pennsylvania, a small town about thirty minutes from Erie. Since Pittsburgh is only about 2 1/2 hours from Erie, Super Librarian Amy asked me to come up, do a book signing, and hang out. I was happy to oblige. :buttercup:

    So we packed up the car and headed that way early Tuesday morning. I’d only been to Pennsylvania one other time, and I was curious about where my friend lived (she’s originally from the area).

    Pennsylvania is really flat. And swampy. And there are more dead deer by the side of the road than anywhere else I’ve ever been. Seriously. Super Librarian Amy told me to watch out for the “suicidal” deer, but I didn’t believe her until we got up there. We’d pass a great big deer lying dead by the side of the interstate every other mile or so. Weird.

    After we cruised by Pittsburgh, there wasn’t a lot to see until we got to Erie. I thought my part of the world was rural, but Pennsylvania was more so. Guess it’s all the farmland up that way. Anyway, we only got lost once on one of the back roads and made it to the library right on time.

    The Corry library is really nice, especially for a small-town library (the photo above shows the inside of the library). The library collection is around 90,000 books — and there are only about 1,500 people who live in the town. That’s a pretty good book-to-person ratio. Color me impressed. I sold six books, which wasn’t bad considering this was a Tuesday night. But more importantly, I got to hang out with my friend, meet some of her family, meet her fiance, and went out to dinner — it was all good. :blossom:

    So thanks Super Librarian Amy — we had a great time.

    Also, if any writer out there in blog land lives in Pennsylvania or the surrounding area, you can contact Super Librarian Amy through the library’s Web site. She’s always looking for authors to come to the library and do events.

    Up next: More stuff from RT.

  • I’m back …

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    I’ve finally returned from the annual Romantic Times convention in Pittsburgh, Pa.

    Whew! It was a lot of fun, but I’m exhausted from four days of workshops, mixers, dinners, and networking.

    Anyway, I’m going to blog all about it this week (hopefully with some pictures of the various events).

    So stay tuned! :bubbles: