I just got back from the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Kansas City, where a snow storm hit just as the e-book Expo began. I want to thank all the readers who stopped by to say hello–I had a great time meeting you!

Meeting readers at the RT Expo in Kansas City.

This week I’ll be attending the 2013 RT Booklovers’ Convention in Kansas City, MO. I’ll be signing at the RT E-book (also Indie Published and Graphic Novel) Expo on Thursday, May 2, from 4 to 6. I hope to see you there, but whether you’ll be attending or not, you can access my author page for the Expo using this QR code:

Scan this code to visit my author page for the 2013 RT Expo.

If you do plan to attend, don’t be shy about saying hello and hitting me up for my free swag, a microfiber cloth you can use to clean your computer screen, e-reader, and glasses.

Courtesy of a very thoughtful person (thanks, Kathy!) here’s a picture of me at the Lori Foster Reader & Author Get Together, signing Ruined by Rumor posters. I don’t usually wear glasses except for reading and signing, but I think they make me look rather writerly in this case. 😉

Signing posters at the Lori Foster book signing

I’m heading to the Lori Foster Reader and Author Get Together this weekend, June 1st and 2nd, in Cincinnati. If you’re attending, please stop by the Friday night signing between 7 and 9 and say hi. I’ll have Carina Press coupons and Ruined by Rumor posters to give away, and I’d love to meet you!

I’m heading to Chicago today for the Spring Fling Writers’ Conference. I’ll be at the book signing in the main ballroom on Saturday, April 28. Unfortunately the problems at Dorchester mean I won’t have any copies of A Tryst With Trouble to sign, but I will have postcards from Carina for Ruined by Rumor, and there’s a coupon on the back for a book discount. Do stop by–I’d love to see you there!

I’m off soon for the 2011 RWA (Romance Writers of America) Conference, to be held this year in New York City.  It’s a huge conference with some 2,100 attendees:  agents, editors, aspiring writers, and published authors.  Inevitably, 99.9%  of the attendees will be female; the occasional male editor or agent must find the estrogen levels dizzying.

This will be my third conference, and I look forward all year to attending.  It’s energizing to have a break from the daily distractions of laundry, cooking, and playing fetch with the dog, though of course I’ll miss my husband and kids like mad.  The conference lectures and workshops always provide valuable advice on writing-related topics, from craft to career planning.  (I bow down to the presenter who taught me last year how to write a concise synopsis.)  The publisher who’s offered for my second regency has invited me to a cocktail party to meet their writers and editors.  I even have an appointment to pitch to an agent.  But, on a more basic level, it’s a simple joy to be around so many like-minded people:  dyed-in-the-wool romantics who fret about conflict and motivation, battle writer’s block, and refer to the characters in their head as if they’re real people.

This year I’ll get to spend face time with two of my Seattle-based critique partners, and I’ll have two upcoming releases to strategize about.  Who knows, I may even catch a show and try some real New York pizza while I’m at it.  But I absolutely, positively have to add at least twenty pages to my work-in-progress while I’m gone.  Because, you know, romances don’t write themselves.