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RWA Conference 2009Just back from DC - my first RWA Conference and a fabulous (and completely exhausting) experience. I shall attempt to tell my story in pictures (some less blurry than others, and no, the quality of the photography does not relate to alcohol intake. I don't think)
Dinner Tuesday night at a lovely riverside restaurant picked out by DC insider and fellow Avon debutante Lavinia Kent LEFT: Sharon Page and my favorite Connecticut Canadian Kathryn Smith BELOW: Jordan Dane and Sophie Jordan. Jordan writes edgy romantic suspense, totally unlike me, but we are united in love for our agent, Meredith Bernstein.
LEFT: Lavinia Kent, Pamela Palmer, Margo Maguire Don't miss Lavinia's debut A Talent for Sin. Pam joined Anna Campbell and me for a trip to the National Gallery and managed to survive the stress of listening to the two of us discuss (in a highly scholarly and deeply serious manner) Men's Butts in Art. Margo is a fellow Beau Monde member and a lot of fun. BELOW: The gorgeous Laura Lee Guhrke.
BELOW RIGHT: N girls at the Literacy Signing - Carla Neggers, Sophia Nash and Moi.
BELOW LEFT: with Tracy Ann Warren. Tracy and I were release day buddies this year (my first, her seventh, but first with Avon)
BELOW: Supremely talented and RITA nominated for The Dangerous Duke, Christine Wells with Joanne Lockyer. I love Australians!
LEFT: Michelle Buonfiglio of Romance B(u)y The Book gave a wonderful breakfast for the Bellas and various writers. It turns out Michelle is beautiful and charming (we already knew she was smart). BELOW: At the Avon party with Sophie Jordan. Sophie writes historicals for Avon, paranormals for Pocket as Sharie Kohler, and now YA for Harper Teen. WOW.
BELOW: Cartier-Bresson I am not, but I thought it was pretty good to get Stephanie Laurens and Eloisa James into the same shot.
BELOW: With the uber-fabulous Anna Campbell (did I mention that I love Australians?)
Feeling a little tired and emotional after the Avon party, I elected to skip crashing the Harlequin bash and ended up hanging out in the Marriott bar instead with (I think) Anna Campbell, Tessa Dare (whose Goddess of the Hunt, the first of a back-to-back trilogy, comes out in August), Courtney Milan (debuting with HQN in January), Elizabeth Hoyt (no introduction needed) and Jennifer Haymore (who just debuted with A Hint of Wicked). LEFT: Jennifer Haymore, Tessa Dare, Anna Campbell, MN
THE RITAS. Hoping the magic rubs off! I met a number of the RITA finalists during the conference. I was thrilled for Pam Rosenthal (RIGHT) whose The Edge of Impropriety won in the historical category. Pam is brilliant and witty and a truly original writer. I had a wonderful dinner with her and her partner in crime Janet Mullany, the funniest woman in historical romance.
BELOW: Tera Lynn Childs's Oh.My.Gods. was nominated for YA and First Book. She won the latter.
RIGHT: Tessa Woodward and Esi Sogah of Avon. I love these girls! Tessa came to the New Hampshire RWA retreat at the Mount Washington Hotel last year. Esi is my editor and a joy to work with
The best thing about RWA is meeting in person friends one has made electronically, or those one sees only rarely. Two years ago I went to the Historical Novelists' Society Conference in Albany and met Sophie Perinot, a brilliant writer of straight historicals set in France. Since then we have become close friends and CPs, thanks to the wonders of the internet. She lives in Virginia, just outside DC, so we met for lunch before the conference started. Here we are, Lady M. and Madame S.
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BELOW: In the Marriott bar: Sophie Jordan, Tera Lynn Childs, and Beau Monde member 
LEFT: Still at the Avon party things got a little blurry. But since new author
LEFT: Still at the Avon party, 
