KindleWas skimming info about the Kentucky Derby at the local paper and saw that Nora Roberts is going to be in town for it.
But it’s for the horse race. Somehow, I don’t think stalking a favorite author at one of the Derby events would be smiled upon.
Sulk.
KindleBut Ginger Simpson has an interview with me posted up on her blog.
For those that are curious, or just really bored, you can read all my
fascinating responses… 
KindleThe reader party for the Vamps and Scamps took place Thursday morning.
The good news-I think all the readers had a blast.
The bad news- that was when I started having real trouble with my asthma and spent most of it in a blur.
Some familiar faces were there, aside from the authors. We had soooooo many prizes, I think just about everybody was able to leave with some sort of prize. Jaynie, my friend from Oz, ended up walking away with a very cool pirate hat. Somebody took pics…WHO???? We need one!
All sorts of goodies were given away, promo prizes, all things pirate themed, chocolate, books…you name it.
Sadly, I was so spaced for the first 2/3 of the thing, much of it was a blur. 
First time hitting RT and I end up spaced out for half of it, thanks to my asthma.
KindleI met a ton of authors at RT. Some of them, like JC Wilder, the infamous Yeep aka Jennifer Dunne, Ashleigh Raine, Lora Leigh, I’ve met and chatted with before. Of course I don’t always get to see them outside of conferences, but ya take what ya can get, right?
Old friends I got to see included, JC Wilder, LuAnn McLane, Rosemary Laurey, Janice Maynard, Lora Leigh, Ashleigh Raine, Rhyannon Bird (Rhyannon, if you’re reading this, you need to tell Renee that I left my room-she won’t believe me) Angela Knight and her cop, Lori Foster, Anya Bast (her beautiful little girl has gotten big) Jennifer Dunne & SL Carpenter.
I managed to track down Ann Aguirre and squeal over Grimspace but I had no time to talk to her. Sad sigh.
I actually had time to chat with a few authors that I met for the first time: Rachel Vincent (sat next to her at the Saturday bookfair-bought her book), Rayna Vause (sat next to her at the ebook expo-bought her book man, these things are murder on the wallet and the TBR pile) Dakota Cassidy (I’m an official Dakota fangirl-can I get a pin?). Maya Banks was in one of the impromptu informal ‘gatherings’ I crashed and she’s a total sweetheart, although I think she was *almost* as quiet as my husband.
One night, we ran into Lora and her DH in the hall. He was toting a pizza back to their room and naturally, when he invited us, we tagged along and ended up spending about two hours talking with Lora, Lorie O’Clare, Sylvia Day and Shayla Black.
Although we were hostessing parties, I had barely had time to talk with some of the authors I was hostessing with-R. Garland Gray, Anne Elizabeth, Kathy Love, Jade Lee, Erin McCarthy & Diane Whiteside (I actually never had the chance to meet Diane, I think she hides better than I do)…then the other party, I got to meet Karen Kelley, but very little time to talk. Anne invited me and the DH to join her and some friends for breakfast on Saturday and we had a great time, but for the life of me, I can’t remember names! Ack! I blame it on my oxygen deprived brain.
Other authors I got to meet, mostly just in passing, Richelle Mead, Jackie Kessler, Jennifer Estep, Marjorie Liu, Liddy Midnight, Barb Sheridan (I think Barb saved Lora’s life-showed us a Starbucks)…. oye.
Okay, I give up. I can’t remember everybody I met-*G* Should I start on the list of people I wanted to meet and wasn’t able to?
Heh. I’d be here half the night. I’ll be putting together something about the reader and the bookseller parties here in the next few days. Man, I shoulda taken notes!
KindleLike Sarah, Joy (of Joyfully Reviewed) isn’t as terrifying as I thought she’d be. For all her talk of tackling authors, she was very controlled. *G* Although that might have been for me.
She told me later on that she approached me very cautiously and kept quiet until I noticed her–man, I think I need a sign. Approach the author slowly-she’s unstable.
Anyway, I’m sitting, I’m signing, I’m talking, then I look up and see this pretty lady, vaguely familiar, sitting across from me with this smile on her face. Not a stranger smile, either, you know that polite smile you give people you don’t know. No, this was a smile, I know something you don’t know.
Then I look at her name tag.
Joy.
Ding. Ding.
“Joy?”
I blink.
She starts laughing. “I only been sitting here for five minutes now!”
Joy, of Joyfully Reviewed and mischievous bunnies, is another person I’ve known online for years, but never got to meet. She’s also one of those people that I go to these conferences for, to meet and chat with. It’s a wonderful thing, connected faces to names and getting to meet somebody who’s been supporting your career from day one.
But if she starts telling people rumors that I am nice, cover your ears and take it with a grain of salt. I much prefer to be known for being mean…*G* that way, it takes people by surprise when I am nice….
KindleYa know, she doesn’t have the horns I would have expected.
Really.
She looks even more normal in person than she does on the Smart Bitches blog. I’m talking about Sarah, of course. I’ve yet to meet Candy.
Sarah looks totally normal. I was expecting horns–or maybe cleavage out to Mars. Didn’t somebody blog about the amount of skin Candy’s shirt displayed at some event or another?
Anyway, I ‘knew’ in the theoretical sense that Sarah was going to be there–after all, I stalked her blog until she posted the food guide (thank you, btw). But I didn’t think about it until I was talking to …uh….hell, I can’t remember, and Sarah’s name was mentioned. I wanted to see her and look for the horns meet her but we had no luck tracking her down. Then I’m standing outside the pub, giving JC Wilder a hard way to go. People come, people go. I hear somebody say, Hi, Sarah and I glance up, see this petite woman standing my side, wildly texting away. She says to somebody, I’m texting Jane over at DearAuthor. Dear Author. Sarah. Okay, I put two and two together…but the horns??? Where are they?
Being the shy type (people, stop laughing) I had to force myself to make an introduction. And I think the first thing out of my mouth was….You don’t look as evil as I would have expected. She laughs, tells me she can spit flames from her eyes, but it’s exhausting, thus saved for special occasions.
She was rooming with Heather Osborn and apparently, she’s a cover hog. She’s also a mommy, she reads to her little guy while he’s going to sleep, and has this very strange computer-thingy, (Acer? Maybe?) that’s like a third of the size of a normal laptop.
All in all, rather normal. But still-I think the horns would have been interesting.
KindleMad Anthony Book Festival
Sorry for the last minute notice. April has been a month of sheer insanity.
For those who live in or around the Cincinatti area, I’ll be signing at the Mad Anthony Book Festival on Saturday, April 26, 2008.
Details:
Harry T. Wilks Conference Center
Miami University Hamilton
April 26, 2008 1:30- 4:30
You can read about Mad Anthony here
KindleEver heard a yeep?
If you aren’t sure what a yeep is, then you haven’t heard one. Because once you hear one, you know exactly what it is, and exactly who is making the sound.
The What:
It’s indescribable. It’s a high-pitched sound you wouldn’t think a human could make. But since I know I can’t describe it, I won’t waste any more time trying.
The Who:
Jennifer is also known as Yeep. For the very odd sound she makes when she starts laughing too hard. Apparently it’s a breathing thing. She forgets to breath, has to remind herself, and when she suddenly starts breathing–YEEP. There are small yeeps-there are big yeeps that make you worry about glass chandeliers and windows.
There are imaginary yeeps in a stairwell…note to all, especially JC Wilder. Do not go into a stairwell with Yeep. If she’s alone, she’s less likely to yeep.
I haven’t heard a yeep since Chicago. The trip itself was worth it just to hear the yeeps.
KindleI’ve already posted this on my loop, so if you’ve read it twice… *G* just skip today’s post.
So I was in the hall, waiting on an elevator, talking to one of the readers. My husband was there with me-he’s the quiet type, listens, rarely speaks (I probably don’t give him much of a chance)
Angela Knight’s name comes up and I mention her cop. Said something like, “I just love the way he is with her. He’s always like two steps behind, watching, taking care of her”… blah, blah, blah… can’t remember exactly.
The reader there smiled and said, “Oh, don’t you just love that? It’s so sweet when the guy is right there…watching out for you, protecting you.”
My husband looks at the reader. Looks at me. Just shakes his head. “You don’t need protection.”
The reader blinks, then starts laughing. Me, I’m too busy snickering. No matter what he says, he’s always there when I need him-still, I get a kick every time I think about that.
KindleMy interaction with Fred was short. As in maybe three minutes.
I have to share a secret. I’m slightly claustrophobic. I was in a bad car accident in 1996, one that should have killed me. God had my guardian angel on overtime that day, because once the rescue workers busted me out with the jaws of life, I could have walked…well, maybe, if shock hadn’t hit, out on my own. I banged up my knee, scared myself nearly to death, but I should have died. My husband knew one of the rescue workers and if my car had hit two inches to the left, it probably would have exploded on impact, I’m told.
Spending time trapped in a car left me just a little leery of closed in spaces.
Being trapped in one, like…say…an elevator…that starts to sag after too many people try to force their way on? Not good. Yep, that happened. While the doors were still trying to shut and people were still trying to crowd in, one of the elevators started to sink-I forced my way off. (If I elbowed or mauled or maimed anybody, please forgive me, my claustrophobia was in command, not me). I had to step up four inches to get off the elevator, that’s how much it was dipping from the weight.
So later on after that event, I was leery of the elevators. I get on one a few hours later and only one person gets on at the same time, Fred. He asked me what floor (a gentleman!) and as he hit the button and the doors slide shut, I close my eyes, thunk my head against the wall and go, “Thank God.” Then I look at him with a sheepish smile. He’s giving me a curious look and I explain the sagging elevator mess. He gives me a smile and pats my shoulder. “We’ll be okay.”
Momentary panic averted, all from a few considerate words. Thank you!
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