Read Romance Or Perish

One of the byproducts of attending RWA is that I usually walk away with a new "girl crush." Can't help it, I just do. I hear some author give a speech or I have a private conversation, and a little piece of me falls in love.

This year it was Stephanie Laurens.

For the record, I've never read Laurens. Honestly, never. The fact that both of her series are now a gazillion books long has a little something to do with it.

But I was interested in the fact that she was the luncheon speaker for RWA's Librarian Event. For one, I know she lives on the other side of the world (Australia), so her being at the conference was a pretty big deal. All those authors that flew thousands and thousands of miles - my hats off to you! The jet-lag would have reduced me to a simpering idiot. Also, I have a coworker who adores Laurens' books, so if I could score an autographed copy of something for her it would be all good.

What I didn't plan on was how incredible her speech was or how bloody smart she is. I mean, really smart.

Not that the majority of romance authors are uneducated morons (because they aren't), but Laurens' speech was titled, "Read Romance Or Perish: A Biological Perspective On Romance Novels."

I'm dead serious here people.

And for the record? It frickin' rocked my socks.

RWA did record the librarian event panels, but podcasts aren't up yet. Lucky for us, Laurens has posted a transcript of her speech on her web site. Go forth, and let your own girl crush develop. I've had to hold myself back from rushing to the nearest Borders and buying all copies of her books currently in stock. The only reason I haven't? The Boyfriend and I have to eat. His motto is "Eat Food Or Perish."

Last Random Tid Bits About RWA

As much fun as going on a trip can be, the best part about "vacation" is coming home. It was an uneventful car trip home, although every time Rosie and I stopped to tinkle, there was a line of about 45 women waiting to do the same. I swear that's why it took us an hour longer to get home than it did for us to drive up to San Francisco. I'm so glad I carpooled with Rosie this year, because it made the drive go by that much faster. And even though we both picked up many goodies at the conference, I was able to fit all of it in my Honda Civic (my father, car packer guru, would be ever so proud of me).

Once I got home, The Boyfriend was quite happy to see me. He did a nice job of picking up after himself, so I shouldn't have too much cleaning today. Although I'm thinking of writing a screenplay called The Laundry That Ate The Librarian. Seriously. It's just the two of us. For goodness sake, how can two people generate so much laundry? Sigh

So that's what I'm going to be tackling today after I get motivated and buy some groceries.

A couple of last minute thoughts on RWA:

1) They need to hold the conference earlier in July. Why? Because the baseball trade deadline was July 31 and I can't be expected to enjoy the conference while my team completely loses it's damn mind. RWA board members - are you reading this? I think this is a perfectly reasonable suggestion and y'all must cater to my every whim.

2) I just wanted to say something about the hotel. We did have a few snafus, but the staff was helpful, courteous, and the problems were resolved in a timely, efficient manner. Hey, with that many people descending on one hotel, there are bound to be some problems. There just is. But we had very good costumer service, and I thought the staff handled the craziness well.

3) I know San Francisco is an expensive city, but I thought it was ideal for hosting a conference of this size. For one thing? I didn't feel like I was "trapped" in the hotel. It was terribly convenient to walk to a restaurant for a meal. I was able to park my car at the hotel and not move the darn thing until we left on Sunday morning.

4) I met and chatted with so many people this past week that I know I'm forgetting some. A big shout out to all the readers/bloggers I met, the local RWA chapter folks I met, and to The British Brigade of Portia Da Costa, Madelynne Ellis, and Saskia Walker. It was lovely to meet all of you ladies in person!

Because I learned my lesson after last year's conference, I took today off of work. I have laundry to do, groceries to buy, some light cleaning, and new books to pet. Tomorrow it's back to the office, where I plan to pass out goodies I picked up to coworkers. This was more of a working conference for me than in years past, so I also have to put the finishing touches on the "work stuff" I had to deal with at this year's RWA. On that score, it was a very productive trip indeed, and I hope to put some of my current projects "to bed" starting this week. Amen.

Oh The People You'll Meet

I thought it might be fun to talk about some of the awesome people I've had contact with while at RWA. When I come to this conference, it's basically the one time of year I reach deep inside myself and find that tiny little extroverted woman that I normally keep locked in a closet. This year the poor gal must have been so refreshed to be out of her cage, as evident by my still throaty, non-existent voice.

Every conference I go to (not just RWA), there seems to be this phenomenon where it doesn't matter how many hundreds of people are in attendence, I always see the same five people. This year, one of those people is Joanna Bourne. I have seen this woman e-v-e-r-y-w-h-e-r-e. In line at the registration desk. Walking through the lobby. At publisher signings. She probably thinks I'm stalking her. Nice, funny, smart, and she used to work at the Library of Congress as a researcher! How cool is that?


I also finally got to meet the fabulous Megan Frampton, and her cohort in crime, the equally as fabulous Carolyn Jewel. Megan and I have the shared belief that it ain't a party until the DJ plays the Jackson 5. Seriously, it's like in the offical DJ-ing handbook or something. Carolyn has a new paranormal out now, but I made sure to tell her that I know scads of people who read one of her early historicals, Lord Ruin.

I met the delightful Kassia Krozser (from the Booksquare), and Stephanie Feagan. It was a big squee-ing fangirl moment all around. I also saw HelenKay Dimon again (who I first met at RWA Dallas 2007).

Big shout-outs to Harlequin Historical authors, Michelle Willingham and Deb Marlowe - who are just the nicest women you'll ever meet.

In news that will likely impress the hell out of my mother, I met Shari Shattuck today. For those of you not addicted to soap operas, she used to play Ashley Abbott on The Young And The Restless. She told me that she knows when she's recognized as Ashley, the person is a diehard Y&R watcher. She left the show when she had her second daughter, who is now nine!

But by far, the big treat for me this year was meeting the famous, totally kick-ass Gwen Osborne. Gwen is the expert on African-American romance novels, and I swear she just about knows every author in the universe. I've "known" Gwen online since 1999, when I started reviewing for The Romance Reader. We're both Michigan gals, and hey - the Gwens and Wendys of the world just need to stick together. Seriously. I had no clue she was coming, and she was standing in line behind me at a booksigning. I turned around and that's when I saw her name tag. I practically tackled her, but she seemed to recover from her shock quite well.

It's also great fun to watch other conference attendees meet their favorite writers. When I met Lisa Kleypas it was probably the biggest letdown in the world for her because the young woman who came before me had a total out-of-body-fan-girl moment (but in a cute way, not a creepy stalker way).

On top of all that, there were the reader/bloggers that attended this year and all the people I talked to in the course of doing "networking" for my library gig. (Lots and lots of that this year).

Tonight it's the RITA/Golden Heart ceremony and tomorrow it's off for home. So I have a long night ahead of me, followed by a long drive....oh, and no voice. It should be a grand adventure!

Blazin' Fun

Well after the full rich day that is Wednesday at RWA, Thursday at the conference marks the formal kick-off. I skipped the Opening Session and opted for sleeping in (ahhhh!) then breakfast out with Rosie, Lisabea and Katie(babs). Kristie is a girl after my own heart, and opted for a more leisurely morning decompressing in our hotel room.

After breakfast we came back to the hotel where Harlequin was hosting a signing of Blaze authors. Turn out was fantastic for this event, and I think that took them a little by surprise. I theorized with one author (I think it was Cara Summers) that it was probably because the work shops hadn't started yet and there was no "competition" for peoples' time. The highlight of the signing for me was getting a copy of the Blaze anthology, What I Did On My Summer Vacation featuring the fabulous Thea Devine. It was funny because Lisabea, Rosie and I had just been talking about Devine during breakfast, so the timing couldn't have been more perfect. Lisa and I both reminisced about our favorite Devine stories, and how - whether you like her books or not - she was a true pioneer of the genre. I mean, where the heck would all these erotic romance authors be without the ground work done by Thea, Susan Johnson, Bertrice Small and Robin Schone?

Given the long line for Blaze, we finished just in time to attend the Keynote Lunch, which featured Victoria Alexander. I've never read Alexander before, but after her very amusing speech, I plan to! I sat at a table with Kay Thomas, whose debut Harlequin Intrique title is coming out in January 2009. She had the most awesome business cards! Given that she writes suspense stories for Intrigue, her card had a "bullet hole" through them. One of the great things about attending RWA is meeting new, up and coming authors.

After lunch, Rosie, Katie and I attended the "Chat With Nora Roberts" session, which was very interesting. That's exactly what it was....a chat! The entire affair consisted of Nora taking questions from the audience. I loved hearing about her writing process, her experiences in the industry, and even "silly" things like what type of stuff can found on her desk.

After Nora, I booked it up to the room. I really wanted to get a blog post done, check my e-mail, and I had a dinner invite I needed to get ready for. As Rosie would say, I needed to "fluff and fold" my hair and slap some lip gloss on. Then it was hooking up with my roomies in the bar. That didn't last too long though, because dang - my voice isn't getting any better. More wine, and more trying to talk over the noise level hasn't helped either.

On a final note, again I apologize for the "bare-ness" of these posts. Also, for the lack of linkage. On my agenda is cleaning these up once I get home, and back on my good ol' bulky desk top computer. Seriously, I'm just not a lap top girl.

Hello There Sexy

First, I feel the need to apologize for how "bare" my posts are going to look. I'm using The Boyfriend's lap top and frankly, I'm just not a lap top kind of girl. So don't expect lots of shiny graphics. I have taken some pictures, but I'm thinking they'll be posted after I'm back home.

Yesterday was a full rich day. The Librarian Event was, once again, a very good day. I now have a girl crush on Stephanie Laurens, who gave a great talk on biology and the romance novel (trust me, it ruled). I also really enjoyed the historical romance presentation given by Patricia Rice, Jo Beverley, Jodi Thomas. I got a lot of wonderful goodies, that I'm going to have to sort through and post about later. Sigh. Seriously, I'm working on sensory overload at the moment.

The Literacy Signing last night rocked socks. This was the first year I stood in line for a "big name." I hit Nora Roberts' line early, mostly because I wanted to earn major points with a coworker who lurves the In Death books. I know when I take that autographed book back to work, that my coworker will be over the moon. And also, because I'm selfish, I wanted to get a copy of Tribute for myself.

I bought a handful of books, a few for me, a few for friends. I also stopped to chit-chat with a few people. I always say hi to Kathryn Smith (love her!) and Susan Grant, who had her very adorable teenage son with her. I reviewed both of their debut novels back in the day, and loved both of them, so it's like a sort of "kinship." I know that sounds silly, but for me there is nothing more exciting that discovering an author on the "ground floor."

Then the unthinkable happened. I got a voice mail from The Boyfriend. The Detroit Tigers traded my man, Ivan "Pudge" Rodriguez. As if that weren't heartbreaking enough.....

Pudge's incredible butt (oh, and his talent as a baseball player) is now going to be wearing Yankee pin stripes. PUDGE IS A YANKEE!!!!!

ARGHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!

A dirty, dirty Yankee!!!!!!!!!!

For the love of all that is holy, if you're going to dump Pudge can't he go to the National League? You know, where he wouldn't "hurt us" unless we saw him in the World Series?! Ugh!

Rosie was quite flummoxed by my outrage. Well, mostly because she doesn't give a crap about baseball (I hear some of you thinking, "It ain't just Rosie"). But for me, Pudge and his magnificent butt signifies "hope." Because he came to the Tigers back when the team was an embarrassment. They had just lost 119 games the season before. Nobody wanted to play for us. We were a joke. A laughing stock. And signing Pudge put us back on the road to respectability.

And now he's a Yankee. Seriously. Rosie is keeping all sharp objects away from me. But Kristie. Our dear sweet Kristie, who likes baseball. She understands. She's also keeping sharp objects away from me. Bless both their hearts.

At least I'm at RWA. Distraction is the best cure for a broken heart. Oh and in other news? My voice is shot. I've lost it. This is my fourth time coming to RWA and the first year I've lost my voice. Damn. I sound like a two-bit phone sex operator. Oh well. I probably would find my voice if I stopped flapping my gums long enough to look for it. But who am I kidding?

The Walrus Was Paul

Well folks, here I am in San Francisco. Tuesday is always a mellow day at the RWA conference, because that's when the bulk of the attendees really start rolling in. My day started out around 6:30AM, when I kissed The Boyfriend goodbye, gassed up the car, got my morning caffeine jolt, and drove out to the hinterlands to pick up Rosie. We were promptly on the road by 8AM, and made it to San Francisco is a little over 7 hours (perfect!).

The drive itselft was blessedly uneventful. Leaving from Rosie's was definitely the way to go since we were able to avoid the nightmare that is Los Angeles morning rush hour traffic. Heavens be, I even got to use my poor neglected cruise control! The trip flew by, mostly because Rosie and I prattled on the entire time.

The real fun was reserved for when we got into the city. For those of you who have never been to San Fran, every street is a frickin' one way street here, and parking isn't terribly obvious. After dropping Rosie off, driving several blocks, dodging pedestrians and one illegal u-turn later, I was able to flag down the hotel doorman who gave me directions to the hotel's valet parking. Once I, you know, asked....piece of cake.

Kristie and Katie flew in the day before, so they were out doing touristy stuff when we arrived. We soon hooked up with them, and several other bloggers for drinks at the bar.

Kristie, Rosie and I hit a local bar for burgers for dinner, and this is where things got sticky. Wendy had raw onion on her burger. It was mighty tasty. Despite the fact that raw onion and Wendy don't always get along so well. Yeah, I woke up around 4AM not feeling too hot. No one to blame but myself here - and now I've got Glass Onion by The Beatles wedged like a stubborn ear worm in my skull. Rosie, bless her soul, gave me drugs - and I'm on the mend.

Well, time to cut this short. Today is my busiest day, with the Librarian Event starting in about an hour. Tonight is the big Literacy Signing, and I'm currently telling myself to behave. Will I? Yeah, outlook not so good.

I Wonder If I'll Find My Mojo?

Here's a mind-numbing, rambling blog post for you all to enjoy before I take off for San Francisco and the RWA conference tomorrow. I've been planning this trip longer than most attendees. Try a couple of years. Once I moved to California, and noticed that San Fran was a "future conference site" I had it marked on my calender. Why? Because it means I can drive.

When I was a wee little Super Librarian, I lived in Michigan. The vast majority of my relatives live in Ohio. Which means from about the time I was 6 months old, my parents had me strapped in a car seat for what is, on average, a six hour drive. We made that trip to Ohio at least a couple of times a year. So while some people quake in horror at the thought of a long car drive....Yeah, me not so much. Hell, it will be just like old times.

I don't mind driving alone because it just means I run through my collection of Beatles CDs, but this year will be great because Rosie is hitching a ride with me. So I'm sure both of us will probably lose our voices on the way because we'll be blathering on. I'm heading out to the boonies bright and early to pick her up, which means I hope we avoid all Los Angeles traffic, and we're in San Fran absolutely no later than 5PM.

Today I need to hit the bank, hit the grocery store (so The Boyfriend doesn't starve while I'm gone), and hit the car wash to get my filthy car cleaned. Don't ask me the last time it saw a vacuum, because I don't know. Scary. Then it's home for last minute laundry and packing.

In random news, a friend of mine got her August RWR (Romance Writers Report - RWA's newsletter) and told me that I'm even more famous than she already suspected I was. What now seems like a billion years ago, the fabulous Sherry Thomas "interviewed" me for an article she was writing on how libraries purchase and select materials. Well that article is in the August issue, so for all you RWA members out there, check your mailbox for another dose of Super Librarian! I don't receive a paper copy of the newsletter, so am stuck waiting for them to post it online - which I'm assuming will be done once August actually rolls around.

In between packing and last minute errands, I'm hoping I do some reading today. I am in the mother of all reading slumps. Want to know how many books I've read in July? Two. Yeah, two. I'm hoping RWA will inspire me to stop being so lazy and to actually pick up a book again. Cuz dang, I'm starting to get a little depressed.

As far as blogging goes - I will be blogging from RWA thanks to The Boyfriend. He quit his job recently. No fretting, he has a new job. But this new job means that his shiny laptop he got for the old job is now available for me to steal use. So I'll be blogging, and skimming most of my Google Reader while I'm away. As for Twittering? Yeah, probably not so much. My cell phone is from the Paleozoic era, so texting is out - and I doubt I'll be hauling the lap top around with me.

The next time I'll be blogging I'll be at the conference. Stay tuned for updates and more general Super Librarian blatherings.

What I'll Be Doing

Today is my last day in the office before RWA, which means in between wrapping up some mindless projects here at work, I'm running through my head what I need to do, and need to get done before picking Rosie up on Tuesday morning and heading to San Francisco.

This got me thinking about what librarians actually do at conferences like RWA, because honestly it is incredibly varied. In the past I've done everything from the bare minimum to the whole shebang. This year it's going to be more in the middle, although I do have some specific tasks before me.

For one thing I'm going to try to be more diligent about is passing out my business cards, especially to any editor/publisher types. Mostly because I'm hoping they'll pass my information on to any library reps they may have, and also to get on mailing lists for things like catalogs and promotional items. Whether the publisher sends them via snail mail or electronically - my business card gives them either option. Plus, this year, I'm thinking I'll print up my blog address on return address labels and slap them on the back of my business cards. Two cards for the price of one, which should be handy.

My dance card isn't completely full, but it's also not completely empty. Wednesday is my Shot All To Hell day between the Librarian Event, the Literacy Signing, and a blogger gathering happening afterwards. Thursday night finds me with a dinner invitation, and Saturday is another invitation and the RITA ceremony. Any down time I have (ha!) will be spent at workshops, book signings and the bar.

Also this year I find myself having to work - well more so than usual. I've talked before about my library's annual Literary Event. Well, we're in the planning stages for our third annual to be held in April 2009. This year it wasn't just "Wendy find us some romance authors," but "Wendy find us some romance and mystery authors." In what is sure to be one of the greatest ironies of our time, I've got the mystery authors totally nailed down. The romance authors? Yeah, not so much - although the lovely Christie Ridgway has been confirmed. So it looks like I'll be spending some time at RWA trying to sway a "maybe" romance author into the "definitely yes" column, and scrounging up a third author to round out our panel. This sounds easy, right? Yeah, it would be if we had any money to offer for things like travel expenses. Which we don't. Which means I tend to throw myself at the feet of local authors. I've got some people in mind, and hopefully I'll be able to get one step closer to finalizing. After all, I'm probably going to be the one moderating the romance panel again this next year - so it's in my best interest to get this thing set in stone.

In between all of this, I have plans to scare up some goodies for friends and coworkers. Autographed books by favorite authors, and also promo items like bookmarks and pens. I love giving gifts, and surprises, so I'm hoping I can keep my greedy streak in check and share a bunch of the goodies I haul back with me.

Whew! It sure does sound like I'm doing a lot - but honestly, this is a lot more mellow than last year. The trick will be finding time to blog, although those following me on Twitter will likely be disappointed. I suspect I won't be Tweeting all that much....

So Much For That

Well poop. Thanks to Alyssa for ruining my day.

From the RWA Literacy Autographing page:

We solicit your support and ask you to purchase books at the autographing rather than bringing copies you already own.

Years past, you've been allowed to bring 5 of your own books to get signed. Prior to the signing, happy volunteers walk through the line of waiting romance fans and put a sticker on your book(s) so that the cashiers wouldn't charge you for it.

I understand why RWA is doing this. No, really - I do. You've got people who bring more than five books from home. Then you have to have volunteers go through the entire line - and if you've never been to one of these signings? Trust me, it's the mother of all lines. It's mammoth. I totally see that it's a big pain in the ass.

Still, it makes me sad. Last year I was able to get my lovely copy of Courting Miss Hattie signed by Pamela Morsi. I was also able to have Ruth Ryan Langan sign my ancient copy of Nevada Nights, the first historical romance she had published - way back in 1985. Also, the first romance novel I ever read. Period. And the first "grown-up" book I read over the course of one day.

I'll admit it. I'm a nostalgia whore.

It was a real treat to have both of those books signed, especially Nevada Nights since even the author hadn't seen a copy of it in years.

Oh well. I'll get over it. Still, it makes me sad.

Tomorrow, A Restraining Order

Katie(babs) has apparently been stalking the RWA web site, and just fired off an e-mail to me (and others) to declare from the mountain top that "The List Has Been Posted!"

Dear Katie, is talking about the list of authors that will be signing at the "Readers For Life" Literacy Signing in San Francisco on July 30. Even if you couldn't pony up the bucks to attend the whole conference, if you're in the area, I do encourage you to check this one event out. It's open to the public, and is honestly the best time to be had at the entire conference (says I). Also, the money from every book you purchase goes to various literacy charities. Since 1991, RWA has donated $600,000 to literacy organizations.

That's so colossally awesome - words fail.

Usually there is one author, every year, that sends me into a fit of fangirl squee-ing. Last year it was Emma Holly. This year, while there are oodles of authors I will most definitely be stopping by to see, I'm happy to report that booksigning attendees will be spared from any latent fangirl tendencies I have.

I was going to post a list of authors I have plans to stop by and say hello to - but damn, it's a long list. I will say that this year's mission will be to have Thea Devine sign my copy of Desired (y'all have your J.R. Ward crack, I have my Thea Devine crack), and to hit Nora's line early in the event that she'll be signing copies of Tribute. Never mind that I still have High Noon to read. Geez.