Favorite Days of Summer - RWA
My favorite days of summer include the Romance Writers of America Conference. I'm just back from there as of Sunday July 19. This year it was at the Marriot Wardman Park Hotel in Washington DC, or about 20 miles from my house.Here's a nice article about the conference, with quotes from fellow Noodler, Colleen Gleason.
Favorite Parts of the Conference:
1. Seeing old friends
I love walking through the hotel and greeting people I only see at conference. I've been attending since 1999 and I've managed to meet so many people and so there are lots of friends to greet. I loved seeing our Noodlers at the conference. Anne Mallory had her darling baby with her and Jennie Lucas always looked so strikingly pretty. We were unable to all get together like in past years, though.
2. Making new friends
Every year it seems I meet someone new. It might be a new writer or it might be a new published author. This year I got to know Miranda Neville better. We'd met years ago at a New Jersey RW conference, but this time we had time to chat. She even helped me with a plotting problem! I also met All About Romance Sandy Coleman's sister at a dinner and found we had lots in common.
3. Spending time with dear friends
I never have enough time with my local writing friends and the conference gives us the chance to just hang out together, especially after the hectic conference day is over. We hung out in Mary Blayney's room one night, which was just the respite I needed after the Harlequin Party.
4. Spending time with colleagues
It was a treat to spend time with the other Mills & Boon authors and the Harlequin Historical authors, and to exchange information with them.
5. Seeing the industry professionalsThe Mills & Boon editors seemed very visible at this conference. In fact, all of Harlequin had a big presence, from providing the tote bags with a vintage Harlequin cover on them, to giving workshops and attending parties. I had the pleasure of having a drink with Karin Stoecker, Mills & Boon editorial director.
Mostly, it is a unique and wonderful experience to be around so many people who love what I love--Writing Romance!
If you attended RWA, what did you love about it? If not, where have you gathered with friends this summer?
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Labels: Anne Mallory, Colleen Gleason, Jennie Lucas, Miranda Neville, RWA, Sandy Coleman
posted by Diane Gaston @ 12:30 AM
6 Comments:
Diane,
Thanks for sharing your highlights from the conference. I wasn't able to go this year, but my RWA chapter did host a Write-In at a local hotel about a week before the conference. It was good to see writing friends there and write! As to non-writing friends, I'm attending a weekend at the beach with some high school friends in the fall.
Hi Diane,
I couldn't go this year, but following RWA on blogs and twitter was *almost* as good as being there.
One of my friends was saying glowing things about the Mossy Creek books, Mo. Can't remember who it was, though.
Mary, I really missed seeing you and the other absent Noodlers. I hope you go next year.
I had a wonderful time at the conference this year. I got to see The Divine One, of course! And two of the girls in my local writers' group came with me. It was Jean's first conference and it was fun to see it through her eyes. The road trip there and back was so much fun! I had lunch with Anna Campbell and she brought me my annual supply of Aussie Cadbury's chocolate. This year a real highlight was meeting my agent! I really made a great choice. And of course winning the Royal Ascot and the Daphne made up for the sting of being a bridesmaid once more for the Golden Heart. Sara Ramsey has written a great book and I hope her win, and the wins of all of the other Ruby Slipper Sisters lead to GREAT things!
O Doggie One, it was lovely to see you and to shock your Alabama heart with the housing prices in the Washington DC area.
I'm absolutely THRILLED that you won both the Royal Ascot and the Daphne. What an accomplishment!!
I'm glad you had the chance to meet your agent. It is one of the good things about RWA. We can sit down with our agents, web designers (as I did with the incomparable Emily Cotler), and editors.
OMG! I could not BELIEVE the price of housing in DC !! Made me feel faint just to think about it!
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