About Books

So, my significant other asked me what I learned at RWA this year. What the BIG picture is, so to speak. Here goes:

1) I’m starting to get my name out there: Several people had either heard of me or Karma Girl, which I took as an encouraging sign. It seems like all the blogs and interviews and publicity I’ve been doing have started to pay off.

2) People who’ve read Karma Girl really seem to like it: I didn’t hear any negative comments about the book. Of course, most everybody at RWA is exceptionally nice. But I didn’t overhear anyone in the elevator or bathroom saying It’s the worst book ever written! or sticking red-hot pins into Karma Girl voodoo dolls. Instead, folks came up to me and told me how much they enjoyed it. That’s what every writer longs to hear.

3) People who love books are the best people in the world: Seriously, it’s true. Whether you’re a published author, aspiring writer, editor, agent, or voracious reader, RWA is always a treat for the simple fact that there are hundreds of people coming together who love books and authors and writing. It always sends me home charged up to write and do more.

4) Karma Girl is doing well: I finally got some sales info at RWA. I’m not going to get into specific numbers or anything like that, but Karma Girl is holding her own. Yeah! (I should also have some more Bigtime news to announce by early fall, so stay tuned.)

5) I have the absolute best agent in the business: She’s always plotting and scheming how we can do bigger and better things together. But even better than that, she really believes in my work and wants to see me do well. That’s always a great feeling to have.

6) My editor is pretty snazzy too: She probably had about 100 people to see and bigger authors to meet, but she took the time to chat with me. Again, this goes back to number 3, about the general niceness of book people.

7) I still have a lot of work to do: Going to RWA always drives home the fact that I am a tiny little author swimming in a pool of Big, Big Names. If I hope to achieve my ultimate goal of world domination (watch out Nora!), then I’m going to have to work harder. Do more blogs, more contests, more giveaways. Oh yeah, and write more good books too.

Does anybody out there have a machine that adds more hours to the day? Because I sure could use it. 😉

I’m going to post about the book candy comment I received, but this pretty much wraps up my RWA coverage. Hope you enjoyed it! 😎

What did you learn at RWA? Inquiring minds want to know …

More from RWA on people I met …

Suzanne Enoch and Wendy Etherington: These are the two lovely ladies I was sitting in between at the Literacy signing. Wendy joked that someone had finally come in between her and Suzanne (evidently, they’d been sitting next to each other at the signing for a couple of years now).

Suzanne writes these really great books about a thief named Samantha, as well as historicals. Wendy writes for Harlequin, and we talked about her NASCAR-themed romance (since I live near a town that has a NASCAR track). I look forward to seeing both of them again next year.

Chick-Litters: I also met lots of great people at the Chick-Lit party, including Louise Ahearn, Maureen McGowan, and Patricia Walters-Fischer. It was really great talking to all of you guys!

Amie Stuart: She got one of her friends to come get Karma Girl during the Literacy signing (because she was signing herself), and then came and said hello to me at the Berkley author signing.

I’m blown away that another author actually sought me out to get a book. Totally made my day(s). I wish we’d gotten to talk longer (then again, I wish that about everybody I met at RWA).

Stephanie Hale: She’s the sweet lady I was sitting next to at the Berkley author signing and was nice enough to give me a copy of her book, Revenge of the Homecoming Queen. And she let me borrow some of her chocolate to put on my side of the table. You can’t beat that!

Cathie Linz: I met her at my agency party. A really sweet lady with an exceptional memory. She must have met dozens of people at RWA, but she remembered my name, what I do for a living, and the title of my book at the Berkley party. She was also nice enough to introduce me to Christina Dodd and Jayne Ann Krentz.

Online gals: I finally got to meet Sybil from The Good, the Bad, and the Unread; Jane from Dear Author; and Super Librarian Wendy (who has the coolest avatar ever). Each one was really nice and funny. I told Wendy about my love of WorldCat and seeing which libraries have my books. I’m such a geek …

Online gal pals: And I also got to meet Edie Ramer and some of the other Magical Musings gals. I stumbled across Edie’s cute Web site last year when I was looking for a Web site designer, and we’ve emailed back and forth since then. Edie was nice enough to squeeze me in between her editor/agent appointments.

Michelle Diener is from South Africa and has the most gorgeous, elegant accent. Seriously, she could read the phone book, and it would sound classy. I think I also spotted LaDonna Paulette with them at the literacy signing (but maybe I’m mistaken, I met so many people they started to blur together after a while).

Anyway, I hope to meet the rest of the girls one day (maybe at RT?) I wish we’d gotten to talk longer at the literacy signing …

People I said hello to (who won’t remember and probably have no idea who I am: Jaci Burton, Nalini Singh, Erin McCarthy, and just about every other person at the Berkley signing.

People I wish I’d seen: Rachel Gibson, Candy Havens, and MaryJanice Davidson. Each one of these ladies was nice enough to give me a cover blurb for Karma Girl, and I wanted to thank them in person. Maybe next year …

Stupidest thing I did: I went to hug Sybil and ended up patting her thigh instead. Sorry! (In my defense, it is hard to hug people carrying shoulder bags, and everyone at RWA was toting around the conference bag, including Sybil at this particular moment.) I am not very coordinated sometimes …

Second stupidest thing I did: Probably gushing to Jane a little too much about the YouTube video review she and her husband (I want to say his name is Dewey? Dwight?) did for Karma Girl (which I will post on the Web site as soon as I can figure out how to get the link to work). I just thought it was the coolest thing though …

More to come …

More from RWA, this time on various book signings and parties …

Best signings: The Literacy signing on Wednesday and the Berkley author signing on Friday. Honestly, those were the only two I went to. I had so many events and meetings I didn’t have time to get to any of the others. Maybe next year …

Worst signings: None. I think just about any signing where lots of people show up is a great one, even if they don’t buy my books. There’s always a crowd at RWA, and everybody is just so happy to meet authors and so nice. I’ve done events where nobody came — not even my Mom. RWA was wonderful.

However: There was a major snafu with the Dorchester signing (I think it was Dorchester), and it was cancelled. According to the grapevine, there was some sort of mixup where the Dorchester books got put in the Goody Room (where everything is free) instead of held back for the signings. That makes me really sad and angry for the Dorchester authors and fans. To come all that way and poof! signing cancelled. Shaking head.

Strangest compliment I got: You actually look like your author photo. Said by an associate who will remain nameless to protest his/her identity. (Authors are rather notorious for not looking anything like their photos).

Another compliment I got: You’re even prettier in person. Said by one of my really sweet online pals. 😎

One more compliment I got: Your book is like book candy! Said by a very nice lady at the Literacy signing (I think it was one of the gals from Romance Junkies, maybe Staci?). I’m going to post more in-depth about this later.

Going down under: During the Literacy signing on Wednesday night, a woman came over and got a copy of Karma Girl for someone in Australia. Australia! My evil influence spreads. Wha-ha-ha! Perhaps my plan of world domination isn’t so far-fetched after all … 😈

Biggest fangirl moment: When Marjorie Liu said she had a copy of my book (I’m assuming she meant Karma Girl). I got her to sign a copy of Wild Thing at the Berkley author signing, and she wrote something about superheroes in it. Marjorie Liu has my book. Marjorie Liu knows that I write about superheroes. Marjorie Liu sort of knows who I am. Oh. My. God!

(BTW, if you’ve never seen Marjorie Liu in person, the girl is gorgeous.)

Second biggest fangirl moment: Making eye contact for about a second with Nora Roberts at the Berkley party … twice!

Stupidest thing I did: I was talking with a group of people at the Berkley party. Me, Cathie Linz, and this other woman. She wasn’t wearing a nametag, so I asked her who she was. Her answer? Jayne Ann Krentz aka Amanda Quick and Jayne Castle. Aka a Big Name Author.

Of course, you’re Jayne Ann Krentz. And I’m Jennifer Estep, the girl with her foot perpetually stuck in her mouth. 🙄

Second stupidest thing I did: They had these little rolls with glaze on them at the Berkley party. Very tasty. For some reason (probably hunger pains), I thought they had beef in them and announced this to several people at the table where I was sitting … before I realized they were just spring rolls. No meat, just veggies.

In addition to having my foot stuck in my mouth, I also evidently do not know what beef actually tastes like. Still cringing.

More to come …

Here are some of my impressions of the hotel and Dallas in general:

960 miles: That’s how far it was from my house to Dallas. Yes, Virginia, I drove to conference. Probably won’t happen again …

15 hours: How long it took me to drive said miles one way.

$150: Total amount I spent for gas. Not too bad. The hotel room was more than that per day.

The hotel: Overall, it was pretty snazzy. I thought the rooms were nicer than Atlanta last year, but the bar area/restaurants needed to be much, much bigger. You could never find anywhere to sit, no matter what time of day it was. And they had some of the events in Union Station which was a good hike through a dark tunnel from the rest of the meeting rooms.

Best food at the conference: At the Chick Lit Writers party. They had these chocolate parfait things in tall shot glasses, and this strawberry-lemon drink that was to die for. Yummy!

Worst food at the conference: I’d have to say the hotel in general. The restaurants were overcrowded, and the food was overpriced ($12 for a ham sandwich and fries!). Even the little kiosk/snack place on the first floor was wicked expensive with not that great of a selection.

Best food outside the conference: A tie between the Y.O. Steakhouse and the Iron Cactus. Both were really good. The Y.O. had an excellent steak and sides, while the Iron Cactus was more Tex-Mex.

About Texas: Texas is flat. Really, really flat. There are no hills — at all. It was a little disconcerting for a mountain girl like me.

The best thing about Texas: The huge reservoir you cross when you go into Dallas was the most interesting thing I saw. Very cool. 

The worst thing about Texas: The heat. You started sweating as soon as you went outside.

Quirkiest thing I did: Ride the train around town (mainly because it was air conditioned!). I also took a couple of cabs, which was a new experience for me. I had never taken a cab before (where I live, you drive yourself everywhere). And really, they weren’t so much cabs as cab-like vans.

Stupidest thing I did: Mixing up the address for my agency party and then deciding to walk about 6 blocks in the heat in sandals instead of flagging down a cab. My feet were not happy with me after that.

More to come …

Well, I’m back from the annual RWA conference.

Whew! I’m still exhausted, but I thought I’d share some thoughts and pictures from the conference.

This is Stephanie Hale and me at the Berkley author signing on Friday afternoon. Stephanie was nice enough to put some of the chocolate she’d brought on my side of the table (I totally forgot to bring any) and sign a copy of her book for me, Revenge of the Homecoming Queen. 

During the publisher signings, conference-goers come in and get free, autographed books. It was a madhouse, but lots of fun.

And since the books are free, they go really fast. Nora Roberts was also signing in the same room, along with Jaci Burton, Marjorie M. Liu, Erin McCarthy, Nalini Singh, and lots of other great authors.

More to come …