Wednesday, August 6, 2008

Gimme Five! Things About RWA National

Another RWA National Conference has come and gone, and as far as I'm concerned this one was THE BEST EVER! I had a wonderful time, met many many wonderful people, and had some unforgettable experiences. Off the top of my head, here are five:

  1. Meeting My Editor, My Publicist, and My Publisher face-to-face. And yes, when I met My Publisher, I had my Aunty Cindy riding crop in my hand (color me embarrassed)! Fortunately, once I'd met the fabulous Dominique Raccah and saw how friendly she is and the great sense of humor she possesses, I had NO WORRIES!
  2. Having people I did not know congratulate me when they saw my First Sale ribbon. It felt sooo great to be able to smile and say, "Thank you!"
  3. Hooting and hollering for my Banditas and friends at various award ceremonies and events, and having them return the favor for ME.
  4. Riding in a stretch limo. This was courtesy of my aforementioned publisher (told ya she was fabulous!) who took all her authors to dinner and rented three limos to get us there and back.
  5. Just being in the same space with so many great authors who totally "get it" about romance writing! Nothing sustains a writer more than getting to interact with other people who "get it."
And here's a lil piccie of moi and 15 of my closest friends!

10 comments:

Gillian Layne said...

Oh, I'm so glad you had a great time! How did the knitting lessons go? Thanks for posting that great picture--and hey, as they say in my neck of the woods, you can't swing a dead cat without hitting someone who is raving about Sourcebooks! They seem to be one class act! :)

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Hi Gillian!

I'll let Terrio give us a full update, but last I heard, she was either knitting a coaster or the world's longest scarf. The former if she remembers my instructions on how to cast off, the latter if she doesn't. In that case I'll have to give her a refresher next year in DC! :-)

I can positively say that Sourcebooks truly IS a class act! And I would say that even if they were not my publishing house. Dominique has a background in marketing and they are really going into the romantic fiction market in a well-thought out way.

54 more days!

AC

Helen said...

Great picture Aunty Cindy sounds like everyone had a wonderful time I wish I had been there to see you with the riding crop LOL.

Did you get to have some Tim Tams what did you think of them ?
Sounds like the knitting went well can't wait to hear from Terrio.

It is truly wonderful what your publisher has done for all the authors WOW stretch limos WTG and what they have done for us readers as well by giving us some great adventures that will keep us enthralled! 54 days to go YAY

Have Fun
Helen

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Helen,
We would have LURVED to have you there in San Francisco! You would have had a GREAT TIME, plus I've never seen the weather so clear and sunny for so many days in a row.

Yes, I tried TimTams and what can I say except YUM!!!!!!!!! I could become addicted to those lil goodies in a nano-second. :-)

Thanx again for you never-ending encouragement about TWS! It's getting CLOSER! A LOT CLOSER!!!

ACK!!!!!!!

AC

Jane said...

Hey AC,
I'm happy to hear you had a fabulous time. I can't wait to see more pics and hear about drunken behavior.

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Drunken behavior, Jane? MOI?

All right, if you must know, you can see some incriminating photos on Marie Force's blog: http://mariesullivanforce.blogspot.com/

Under the "Pinch Me..." entry, ONE of those hands holding the champagne flute belongs to yours truly. Also, if you look very carefully at the group pic of the Banditas, you will see that Aunty is holding her crop.

AC

Terri Osburn said...

You used the picture! How cool. That Bandita Bash was a total blast. The cake, the punch, the Tim Tams. Helen - Oh my! is all I can say. LOL!

I did learn to knit and as I've been out of it and dizzy since returning, I haven't put in another stitch, I will! And that handy-dandy little instructions AC gave me should help refresh my memory. :)

Thank you again for being my tour guide and making sure I knew exactly where I was and what it was I was looking at. I'm especially thankful for the visit to Chocolate Heaven. LOL!

And I have to back up that one about being around people who "get it." The buzz in that hotel was amazing.

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Hey Terrio!
You'll get the hang of knitting. Just like writing, the more you do it, the better you get. Also it is very soothing on a crisp autumn or winter night to sit and listen to the clack of your needles (DOWN with plastic needles that don't clack!).

And Chocolate Heaven is the one place on Pier 39 I NEVER miss! Thanx again for letting me play tour guide and how much is it gonna cost me to keep that piccie of me and the gorilla OFF the net?!?!

AC

Terri Osburn said...

I make no promises. ;)

Besides, that's a great picture!

Loucinda McGary aka Aunty Cindy said...

Uh oh...
To quote Han Solo, "...I got a bad feeling about this."