AAD Post Game Wrap-Up

The Authors After Dark conference in Philly was absolutely amazing! I had so much fun with the usual crew - Brynn Paulin, Jen Armintrout, Mia Watts, Simone Anderson, Carol Lynne and the lovely Jill Welch. We all caravaned to Philadelphia from Michigan. It was a looonnnnnngggg drive - 13 hours one way, but we had fun listening to books on tape. But more on that, later.

I finally got to meet my friends Jess Jarman and Gwendolyn Cease! We've been internet and phone buds for years, but this was the first time I got to meet them in person and it was fantastic - as was Gwen's delightful sister, Jude.

Stella Price was jaw-droppingly amazing as always. I have no idea how this woman does what she does as stays sane. I adore her. I can't imagine not attending this conference. It's, by far, my fave!

So Brynn, Jen, Mia, Jess, Gwen and I decided to host a party and give away an iPad 2 along with 12 e-books to one lucky reader. It turned out to be a hilarious karaoke party. It was total madness that turned into a sing-a-long with a guest dancer/party crasher from an MBA conference - we were clearly having more fun at our con than he was at his.

We sang. Our guests sang. Carol Lynne requested that the hostesses sing Kung-Fu Fighting. (Because she's pure evil.) It isn't everyday you can make an ass out of yourself in front of a room full of readers, fellow authors and your bosses. But yeah. We did it. I didn't think I'd say this, but I'd totally do it again. As long as Jen MCs - she was nothing short of brilliant.

The panels were fun. I was a little nervous about answering questions, but I think I did okay. I hope so, anyway.

One of my favorite parts was meeting authors I've been chatting with like Eliza Gayle and Elise Hepner. And also new to me authors like Ethan Day, Kris Cook, Crymsyn Hart and Melissa Schroeder.

I also got to see lots of awesome blogger and readers which is always a blast. There's something magical about being around other people who love books as much as you do.

I didn't get to see as much of the city as I would have liked, but I loved what I saw.

One of the best things happened on the way home. Brynn bought some audio books to listen to. I won't name names, but one of them couldn't decide if it wanted to be a sweet romance, an erotic romance or a nursing home book. The writing was horrid, not to mention cliche. But we had a riot laughing at the story and acting out passages. It was several hours well spent!

All in all, it was a fabulous conference and I can't wait until next year!

Post Conference Sum-up

I can't believe I've been home from the Authors After Dark conference for a week and this is the first time I've been able to blog. The day job sort of exploded upon my return, so now I'm trying to get time sensitive projects put to bed so I can get back to writing.

But, I'll do a brief recap. As always, the best part of conference is spending time with my awesometastic friends. Brynn Paulin and I flew out on the 15th, met up with Mia Watts and Carol Lynne at the airport. We made our way back to the hotel, got our stuff dragged up to the rooms and then waited for Kris Norris. And waited. Hit the bar. And waited. Sent Mia's terribad drink back. And waited. Our favorite Canadian girl had some transportation issues.

But she finally arrived and I was soooooooooooooooooo happy. I've been waiting to meet her in person for well over a year which is a long freaking time in internet time. If you're talking online to someone almost every day and on phone a lot, a year is a longass time to wait to meet. You know how sometimes you meet people in person that you've only corresponded with and it's weird and awkward? Meeting Kris in person was the polar opposite of that. We all loved her - how can you not? And it was like she'd been in our circle of friends forever. It was the same way when I met Mia and Carol. Instant awesomeness.

But I digress, after Kris got there, we all went out for supper and then collapsed in our hotel room because the next day was our awesome trip to New York. Brynn, her husband and I went a few years ago and had an amazing time, so I was thrilled to go back. We hit the usual spots, Times Square, Battery Park, Central Park, the Staten Island Ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, accidentally rode the subway to the Bronx - which ended up being perfect timing because a huge thunderstorm blew in, but we were able to wait it out on the train. There was lots of people watching to be had - the bitch who felt it was her public duty to publicly mock overweight people, the adorable nerdy guy running his lines for a show (I hope you got the part, dude!) and the homeless man hiding under a hoodie who broke our hearts. Mia, very sweetly, left her granola bars with him.

I think my favorite parts of the day were the carriage ride around Central Park and the ferry ride back to New York where we met a sweet and very funny guy named Jose - nickname, Joey - pronounced Hoe-y. Joey was hilarious and we had a fantastic time laughing our asses off all the way back to the dock.

It was after ten by the time we finally got back to New Jersey. We went out to supper and apparently, I fell asleep at the table. I don't remember this, but Brynn insists that I did, and I believe her. I was soooooooo tired - we all were. Mia, Kris and I went back up to our room to find Jennifer Armintrout collapsed on of the beds and delirious with exhaustion. Poor baby had her plane diverted to Allentown, PA where she sat on the runway for three hours.

Friday was the official beginning of the conference. I only went to a couple panels - mostly because I was too busy talking to people. But I met some fantastic writers and readers. At the supper where Mia had her close encounter with the sex therapist, we briefly met Soyna Bateman. We got to know her better the next day and discovered that she's amazing. She's smart, funny and just an all around great person. She writes urban fantasy and mm. My husband keeps threatening to take the UF book away from me. I keep telling him that I get to read it first, so hands off. However, if I continue to be swamped, I might have to give in.

The book signing on Saturday was great. Got to sit between Brynn and Jen and Sonya was kitty corner to us, so lots of fun was had. After the book signing, Brynn, Kris, Mia and I had our suite party. We gave away a sony e-reader, 20 ebooks, 10 signed print books and plenty of swag. All things considered, I think it went quite well. A lovely couple from Canada won the grand prize and everyone else went home with a print book.

With a few exceptions, it was a fantastic conference. I can't wait to go next year!

These are just a few of my favorite pictures from the trip. This is a gorgeous mosaic in one of the subways.

This is the John Lennon memorial in Central Park.

I don't know what this building is, but it overlooks Ground Zero. I got chills when I noticed what was in the windows. Using religious symbols, it says: Coexist. (C
lick on the photo to embiggen.)
A view of the city from the Staten Island Ferry.

The adorable Stella Price all dressed up for the 'come as your favorite literary character' party.
The lovely Jennifer Armintrout dressed as the Scarlet Pimpernel's wife...whose name escapes me.
The fantastic Leanna Renee Hieber dressed as her character, Percy Parker. This costume was amazing!
Our contest winners, Dave and Peggy celebrating at the party.

Still Recovering

Last week, the lovely Carol Lynne came to visit. She stayed at Brynn's and we all hung out and had a great time. At 5 am on Saturday, we drove to Ohio for the last little bit of the RT conference.

We went to the book fair. It was huge, poorly ventilated and crowded as hell, but still fun. I got to meet Carolyn Crane - she's freaking adorable and so nice, Jim Butcher - stood around forever waiting for him to sign a book for Matt, but he was very nice (and I'm pretty fond of my husband, so totally worth it,) Leanna Renee Hieber - who was just the sweetest thing. I also got a chance to meet Holly Black and Laura Bickle. I can't wait to read all my new books - you know...sometime when I'm caught up on work. *SOB*

I met with my RP editor which was great! I talk to her on the phone all the time, so it was wonderful to meet in person! We had lunch with some of Carol's readers and later went to the TEB party which was pretty freaking awesome! The owner and her administrative assistant hung out in our room with us afterward and talked - as did the lovely Genella deGrey, who I finally got a chance to meet in person.

The next morning, there was coffee, more chatting with editors, lunch and then we got back on the road for another 6 hours. I was beat. Now, I have to catch up on all my neglected work and try to get laundry done so Matt has clean clothes to take to Russia and clean my hideous train wreck of a house before company comes.

Who needs sleep?

Please Come Visit Me

Hi Everyone,

I'm over at Hitting the Hotspot with a virtual tour of my office. I'd love it if you'd come visit me. I'm lonely...sniff...sniff. ;)

In other news, I had a wonderful time last night with Brynn Paulin, Carol Lynne, Dakota Rebel and Cindy Spencer Pape. We went to an Irish pub near Cindy's and had my new favorite food - Irish nachos. Think kettle chips, cheddar cheese, blue cheese crumbles, bacon green onions with sour cream and/or horseraddish ranch sauce. Yuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuummmmmmmmmmy.

Also, Brits in Time releases on Monday from Total-e-bound! Yay!!

Five Things I'm Doing On Friday...

It's Friday...finally.

I don't know what it was about this week, but I swear it's lasted a year. But it's Friday and today, five things I'm doing are...

Hanging out with Brynn Paulin and Carol Lynne.

Laughing at...with...Brynn's husband.

Prepping my faery story for submission to an agent.

Making some kind of cream cheese mints with Brynn and Carol this afternoon. Yum.

Tonight we're going to visit Dakota Rebel and Cindy Spencer Pape and go out to dinner with them.

So...what are you doing today?

Where Does the Time Go?

I've been ridiculously busy with the day job - mostly because the work schedule has changed. GRRRRR I've also been trying to get ahead so the holidays are slightly less insane than usual. A girl can hope, right?

Don't forget about the Halloween contest! It's super easy and there are lots of great prizes!

All you have to do is between October 6th and midnight October 20th, click on the following links and find the Jack O'Lantern each author has hidden.Send an email to

http://webmail.wingsisp.com/src/compose.php?send_to=dakota.rebel%40hotmail.com with the name of the author and a description of what is depicted on their pumpkin, as well as your name and email address.

On Wednesday October 22nd a winner will be selected at random from the correct entries.
Winners will be notified by email, and announced on each of the sites listed.Good luck and Happy October!

Here are the blogs to visit.
www.brynnpaulin.blogspot.com
www.bronwyngreenblog.blogspot.com
www.cindyspencerpape.blogspot.com
http://www.vampsmut.blogspot.com/

And here is the list of authors donating ebooks.

Brynn Paulin
Bronwyn Green
Carol Lynne
Cindy Spencer Pape
Dakota Rebel
Kaenar Langford

Good Luck Everyone!!!

It's Contest Time!

Pssst...C'mere.

Yeah, you.

Wanna win free books?

It's super easy. All you have to do is between October 6th and midnight October 20th, click on the following links and find the Jack O'Lantern each author has hidden.

Send an email to http://webmail.wingsisp.com/src/compose.php?send_to=dakota.rebel%40hotmail.com with the name of the author and a description of what is depicted on their pumpkin, as well as your name and email address.

On Wednesday October 22nd a winner will be selected at random from the correct
entries.

Winners will be notified by email, and announced on each of the sites listed.

Good luck and Happy October!

Here are the blogs to visit.

www.brynnpaulin.blogspot.com
www.bronwyngreenblog.blogspot.com
www.cindyspencerpape.blogspot.com
http://www.vampsmut.blogspot.com/

And here is the list of authors donating ebooks.

Brynn Paulin

Bronwyn Green

Carol Lynne

Cindy Spencer Pape

Dakota Rebel

Kaenar Langford

Good Luck Everyone!!!

It's Here!

Worst. Blogger. Ever.

I don't know why I thought things would calm down in the summer. Clearly I underestimated the amount of crap going on.

Today's the big day! The Legend anthology releases from TEB today! Brynn Paulin, Carol Lynne, Lacey Thorn and I have written a group of five interconnected stories involving a tragic love story, a necklace and four hot stories each with their own happily ever after.

I thought I'd share the picture pages for my story, Moonlit Magic.

Here's the blurb:

Brought back to Ireland by her job, American Beckett Matthews jumps at the chance to study an artefact that recently washed ashore on an Irish beach. She's thrilled to have the opportunity to explore the history of the necklace. She's far less enthused to explore her personal history with the man who found the treasure-her first love.

Kieran Brennan has waited five years for Beckett to finally return to Ireland. When he found the necklace, he knew it was more than a historical find-it was the key to reclaiming the only woman he ever loved. Under a curse from the Faery King, he couldn't follow her when she'd fled to her home in the States years ago, but now in his arms he'll help her face her fears and return to him.

Unfortunately, he isn't the only one after Beckett. Denied his tribute when she fled, Aodhan the Faery King wants to claim her for his own.