RT Convention Highlights
To sum it up in a word — WOW!
From the moment I arrived on Wednesday to the day I left on Sunday it was nonstop fun!
The workshops were extraordinary — all 125!!! The Urban Fantasy panels, which were added only a month or two ago, were packed to capacity, largely due to the illustrious panel, which included Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Charlaine Harris and several other UF favorites. In fact, all of the genre workshops were a big hit! Todd A. Stone’s Novelist’s Boot Camp was also well received by both aspiring and published authors who need to incorporate discipline into their daily writing schedule. We have invited Todd back for Pittsburgh for anyone who missed it this year.
I wish I could capture in writing every minute for you but it is impossible because of how much goes on concurrently!
Imagine having to choose what to do in any given hour with: twelve concurrent workshops going on; private parties for readers and booksellers; scheduled author and cover model appearances in Club RT; shopping in Club RT (with vendors selling jewelry, shawls and ruanas; denim jackets with appliquéd collages not to mention artwork and shawls, book slogan T-shirts, Austrian crystal pins with names or book titles or BOOK LOVER and a perennial favorite, Hidden Secrets, which specializes in the coolest cloth book covers in paperback, trade and hardcover sizes). Then there are the gatherings in the hotel lounge with readers and authors, not to mention editor/agent appointments on the hour. All of that in just one hour of one day!!!
There were more parties than ever before. We began each day with a morning mixer and ended it with an evening mixer sponsored by authors and publishers — and of course there were books given away at EVERY party! The food was to die for, which is saying a lot for hotel food. RT Convention Director Jo Carol Jones worked closely with the chef and instructed him to serve “something different” at each mixer and boy did he deliver!!! From mini-chocolate soufflé cakes to pancake swirl sticks served with warm syrup and cinnamon sugar to cinnamon buns to scrumptious cookies and good old-fashioned bagels. And that’s just the mixers!!!
WEDNESDAY
After our Tex-Mex Welcome Party, Ellora’s Cave hosted another fun-filled Fantasy Party with a fun theme — Moulin Rouge. The costumes were extraordinary, the food exquisite and the giveaways plentiful. With dancing ‘til midnight it was the perfect beginning for the days to come.
THURSDAY
Christina Skye and Bobbi Smith kicked off Thursday with a morning mixer complete with great food and lots of giveaways. In fact, one lucky winner received a basket that included a bikini compliments of Skye in honor of her upcoming release, CODE NAME: BIKINI.
The luncheon on Thursday was delightful and quite informative. It was hosted by eHarlequin (Harlequin’s e-book division), Sony ebook reader and Harlequin author Brenda Joyce. Harlequin’s director of digital content and interactivity, Malle Vallik, made a superb presentation about the company’s e-book program and a Sony rep was there to showcase the company’s new ebook reader, which attracted the attention of readers when he said you could walk around with over 80 books in one device!! The only mistake they made was that they did not have them for sale at the convention. They did, however, give away four at the luncheon. Brenda Joyce fans were thrilled to hear from this veteran author who paid tribute to readers and booksellers thanking them for their support of her 19-year career.
The evening mixer was hosted by Silhouette’s Nocturne and it was packed to capacity! Readers flocked to meet the authors and scoop up all the free books. I literally could not get near the authors because of the crowd but I clearly could see everyone was thrilled to be there.
The Faery Ball was even more magical than last year’s. Scanning the room I could not help but notice that EVERY pair of wings was different and each was more beautiful than the other. Since the theme was medieval, there were covered bleachers for the Royal Faery Court to sit at which were set up on either side of the stage and a dragon whose eyes flashed red stood menacingly in the corner next to a faery garden with sounds of chirping birds. Exquisite!! A huge THANK YOU to our events coordinator Connie Perry, who delivered another magical event.
Following the Faery Ball was Helen Rosburg’s Midnight at the Oasis party, which was spectacular!! The room was decorated with Bedouin tents (customarily divided into two sections by a woven curtain known as a ma'nad) surrounding decoratively covered mattresses and huge silk and woven pillows. Passion fruit mimosas and edible chocolate cups containing delicious cordials like Grand Marnier and Baileys Irish Cream were served. The perfect cap to a perfect evening! Unfortunately Helen had a medical scare right before the convention and was unable to attend but her representatives did her proud. And we are happy to report that Helen is doing fine.
FRIDAY
Delectable cinnamon buns only added to the fanfare of Friday’s morning mixer. It was the authors everyone was there to meet: MaryJanice Davidson, Michele Bardsley and Jackie Kessler greeted their fans with lots of fun, promotional items including tote bags, pins and cute business cards making you an official member of the vampire PTA! With these three characters it was no surprise great fun was had by all!
At 11am sharp Kennington Publishing put on a spectacular spread just outside of Club RT with more cookies than should be legal for a mostly women’s event! But the real draw was the authors who sat at their company’s imprint tables signing books galore for fans of Brava, Aphrodisia, Dafina and Zebra books.
The awards luncheon was nothing short of spectacular largely due to our host, Triskelion Publishing, which delivered a glitzy red carpet event. Twenty of Triskelion’s authors dressed up in Oscar-worthy ensembles to celebrate this year’s RT award winners. The luncheon opened with live music provided by Anders Holst, who is from Stockholm, Sweden. His romantic ballads added just the right touch to the ceremony.
Robin Schone and Renee Bernard added an air of sophistication to the weekend with their champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberry mixer but it was the author autographing that wowed the crowd. Renee looked stunning dressed in an exact replica of the plum-colored dress her heroine wore on A LADY'S PLEASURE. She also has a replica of the gorgeous necklace (the heroine on the cover wore) created by her talented husband and jewelry designer Geoff Ferguson. The necklace was raffled off and although I’m not sure who won I do know it was a prize valued at $1,400! That’s one lucky winner!!!
What would an RT convention be without a Heather Graham Vampire Ball? And boy, did she deliver this year, with the theme Vampires of the Wild, Wild, West. In addition to her friends who usually join in on her dinner theater this year she had all five of her children in the production ranging in age from 16-32. They all are a chip off the old block and performed brilliantly with their author mom.
At midnight a private Pajama Party for booksellers was hosted by Vamps and Scamps Erin McCarthy, Dianne Castell, Karen Kelley, Janice Maynard and LuAnn McLane, complete with a queen-size mattress, bedding and huge pillows to set the mood. Caramel corn dipped in chocolate was one of the items on the menu but the big hit was the tote bag overflowing with promo items from the gracious hosts. Booksellers loved the attention and enjoyed the time to talk books into the wee hours!!
SATURDAY
Bright and early on Saturday morning (BEFORE the Book Fair) the divas of Mystery put on a “Morning Mixer to Die For.” Lori Andrews, Lori Armstrong, Lori Avocato, Frankie Y. Bailey, Lois Greiman, Charlaine Harris, Harley Jane Kozak, Karen MacInerney, Susan McBride, Michele Scott, Jessica Speart jump-started the bleary-eyed crowd who after days of partying could not believe they actually made it to the 9am event.
By 10am the crowds were lined up to enter the Book Fair where more than 300 authors were armed with their latest books and ready to autograph for fans. Doors opened at 10:45 for conventioneers and 11am for the general public. The event was packed for the duration and many authors’ books sold out. Jim Butcher was amazed at his steady stream of fans throughout and authors like Charlaine Harris, MaryJanice Davidson, Heather Graham and Brenda Joyce were among the many authors who barely had time for a break. Promotion on three different popular radio shows brought in hundreds of local fans who were new to our RT event and many told us they’re coming to Pittsburgh!
Directly following the Book Fair was the Military Mixer hosted by SOS America, Inc. and sponsored by authors Pam Crooks, Delores Fossen, Sherry James, Elle James aka Myla Jackson, Jeanie London, Julie Miller and Tracy Montoya. An hour was devoted to the men and women in the military and their spouses. Staff Sergeant Jesse Wiseman and wife Maggie were guests of honor and it was particularly meaningful since the sergeant was days away from leaving for Iraq. He was utterly charming and it was so moving to see the love between the military couple. We wish him a safe return.
Then it was back to the ballroom for the the annual Mr. Romance Cover Model Pageant. The show was pure entertainment as the guys strutted their stuff with style and charisma. The fan favorite was Fred Williams, who worked the crowds all week long until EVERYONE knew his name and fell in love with him. His efforts paid off because not only did he win the Contestants Choice Award selected by his fellow hopefuls but he also won the Readers Choice Award. This was no surprise to the audience as their screams of joy echoed in the room. But it was tall, dark and handsome Jason Santiago who won over the judges and was crowned 2007 Mr. Romance. He will appear on a Dorchester book cover in early 2008 and will also appear in an RT BOOKreviews feature next year. Fans gathered for photo ops with all the contestants, the runners-up and the winner.
Prior to hosting the Immortals Rock ‘n’ Roll Dance Party, Dorchester had a private party for booksellers with all of the Dorchester authors in attendance.
Then it was on to the Immortals Party where popcorn and steamed pretzels were served along with a colorful array of fresh fruit. But anyone there will tell you that the big hit was the armful of books given away to everybody in attendance. For a visual, picture tables filled with books one minute, then an announcement inviting readers to take as many books as they could carry. Then, like magic, in the next few minutes the tables were completely wiped out stripped down to the white table cloths. Need I say more!!! As with all the parties there was serious dancing until midnight!!
SUNDAY
The final day of the BOOKLOVERS EXTRAVAGANZA began a little later so that we all could catch a few hours’ more sleep.
A lovely brunch was hosted by Samhain Publishing, which created a buzz for the company and gave everyone a much-needed lift with chocolate brownies and other chocolaty treats, beverages and lots of gift basket giveaways.
Our second annual Psychic Sunday was a huge success and over 50 attendees enjoyed the motivational stories and lecture from Kathryn Falk, Marilyn Campbell and guest speaker Michelle Lam, who intrigued the audience with her compelling story of survival and faith. Psychics and mediums were on hand for those who wanted their cards read.
New Concepts Publishing closed the five-day event with its third annual Pajama Party, where the last of the attendees gathered to reflect on the week’s event and party one more time with old friends and new.
Although this is a looooog description of events, in no way does it capture the fun and excitement of what we all experienced. To find out, you’ll have to join us in Pittsburgh April 16-20, 2008. Start saving those pennies now and planning your trip, we’d love to see you there!!
Carol Stacy
Publisher of Romantic Times BOOKreviews
From the moment I arrived on Wednesday to the day I left on Sunday it was nonstop fun!
The workshops were extraordinary — all 125!!! The Urban Fantasy panels, which were added only a month or two ago, were packed to capacity, largely due to the illustrious panel, which included Jim Butcher, Rachel Caine, Charlaine Harris and several other UF favorites. In fact, all of the genre workshops were a big hit! Todd A. Stone’s Novelist’s Boot Camp was also well received by both aspiring and published authors who need to incorporate discipline into their daily writing schedule. We have invited Todd back for Pittsburgh for anyone who missed it this year.
I wish I could capture in writing every minute for you but it is impossible because of how much goes on concurrently!
Imagine having to choose what to do in any given hour with: twelve concurrent workshops going on; private parties for readers and booksellers; scheduled author and cover model appearances in Club RT; shopping in Club RT (with vendors selling jewelry, shawls and ruanas; denim jackets with appliquéd collages not to mention artwork and shawls, book slogan T-shirts, Austrian crystal pins with names or book titles or BOOK LOVER and a perennial favorite, Hidden Secrets, which specializes in the coolest cloth book covers in paperback, trade and hardcover sizes). Then there are the gatherings in the hotel lounge with readers and authors, not to mention editor/agent appointments on the hour. All of that in just one hour of one day!!!
There were more parties than ever before. We began each day with a morning mixer and ended it with an evening mixer sponsored by authors and publishers — and of course there were books given away at EVERY party! The food was to die for, which is saying a lot for hotel food. RT Convention Director Jo Carol Jones worked closely with the chef and instructed him to serve “something different” at each mixer and boy did he deliver!!! From mini-chocolate soufflé cakes to pancake swirl sticks served with warm syrup and cinnamon sugar to cinnamon buns to scrumptious cookies and good old-fashioned bagels. And that’s just the mixers!!!
WEDNESDAY
After our Tex-Mex Welcome Party, Ellora’s Cave hosted another fun-filled Fantasy Party with a fun theme — Moulin Rouge. The costumes were extraordinary, the food exquisite and the giveaways plentiful. With dancing ‘til midnight it was the perfect beginning for the days to come.
THURSDAY
Christina Skye and Bobbi Smith kicked off Thursday with a morning mixer complete with great food and lots of giveaways. In fact, one lucky winner received a basket that included a bikini compliments of Skye in honor of her upcoming release, CODE NAME: BIKINI.
The luncheon on Thursday was delightful and quite informative. It was hosted by eHarlequin (Harlequin’s e-book division), Sony ebook reader and Harlequin author Brenda Joyce. Harlequin’s director of digital content and interactivity, Malle Vallik, made a superb presentation about the company’s e-book program and a Sony rep was there to showcase the company’s new ebook reader, which attracted the attention of readers when he said you could walk around with over 80 books in one device!! The only mistake they made was that they did not have them for sale at the convention. They did, however, give away four at the luncheon. Brenda Joyce fans were thrilled to hear from this veteran author who paid tribute to readers and booksellers thanking them for their support of her 19-year career.
The evening mixer was hosted by Silhouette’s Nocturne and it was packed to capacity! Readers flocked to meet the authors and scoop up all the free books. I literally could not get near the authors because of the crowd but I clearly could see everyone was thrilled to be there.
The Faery Ball was even more magical than last year’s. Scanning the room I could not help but notice that EVERY pair of wings was different and each was more beautiful than the other. Since the theme was medieval, there were covered bleachers for the Royal Faery Court to sit at which were set up on either side of the stage and a dragon whose eyes flashed red stood menacingly in the corner next to a faery garden with sounds of chirping birds. Exquisite!! A huge THANK YOU to our events coordinator Connie Perry, who delivered another magical event.
Following the Faery Ball was Helen Rosburg’s Midnight at the Oasis party, which was spectacular!! The room was decorated with Bedouin tents (customarily divided into two sections by a woven curtain known as a ma'nad) surrounding decoratively covered mattresses and huge silk and woven pillows. Passion fruit mimosas and edible chocolate cups containing delicious cordials like Grand Marnier and Baileys Irish Cream were served. The perfect cap to a perfect evening! Unfortunately Helen had a medical scare right before the convention and was unable to attend but her representatives did her proud. And we are happy to report that Helen is doing fine.
FRIDAY
Delectable cinnamon buns only added to the fanfare of Friday’s morning mixer. It was the authors everyone was there to meet: MaryJanice Davidson, Michele Bardsley and Jackie Kessler greeted their fans with lots of fun, promotional items including tote bags, pins and cute business cards making you an official member of the vampire PTA! With these three characters it was no surprise great fun was had by all!
At 11am sharp Kennington Publishing put on a spectacular spread just outside of Club RT with more cookies than should be legal for a mostly women’s event! But the real draw was the authors who sat at their company’s imprint tables signing books galore for fans of Brava, Aphrodisia, Dafina and Zebra books.
The awards luncheon was nothing short of spectacular largely due to our host, Triskelion Publishing, which delivered a glitzy red carpet event. Twenty of Triskelion’s authors dressed up in Oscar-worthy ensembles to celebrate this year’s RT award winners. The luncheon opened with live music provided by Anders Holst, who is from Stockholm, Sweden. His romantic ballads added just the right touch to the ceremony.
Robin Schone and Renee Bernard added an air of sophistication to the weekend with their champagne and chocolate-dipped strawberry mixer but it was the author autographing that wowed the crowd. Renee looked stunning dressed in an exact replica of the plum-colored dress her heroine wore on A LADY'S PLEASURE. She also has a replica of the gorgeous necklace (the heroine on the cover wore) created by her talented husband and jewelry designer Geoff Ferguson. The necklace was raffled off and although I’m not sure who won I do know it was a prize valued at $1,400! That’s one lucky winner!!!
What would an RT convention be without a Heather Graham Vampire Ball? And boy, did she deliver this year, with the theme Vampires of the Wild, Wild, West. In addition to her friends who usually join in on her dinner theater this year she had all five of her children in the production ranging in age from 16-32. They all are a chip off the old block and performed brilliantly with their author mom.
At midnight a private Pajama Party for booksellers was hosted by Vamps and Scamps Erin McCarthy, Dianne Castell, Karen Kelley, Janice Maynard and LuAnn McLane, complete with a queen-size mattress, bedding and huge pillows to set the mood. Caramel corn dipped in chocolate was one of the items on the menu but the big hit was the tote bag overflowing with promo items from the gracious hosts. Booksellers loved the attention and enjoyed the time to talk books into the wee hours!!
SATURDAY
Bright and early on Saturday morning (BEFORE the Book Fair) the divas of Mystery put on a “Morning Mixer to Die For.” Lori Andrews, Lori Armstrong, Lori Avocato, Frankie Y. Bailey, Lois Greiman, Charlaine Harris, Harley Jane Kozak, Karen MacInerney, Susan McBride, Michele Scott, Jessica Speart jump-started the bleary-eyed crowd who after days of partying could not believe they actually made it to the 9am event.
By 10am the crowds were lined up to enter the Book Fair where more than 300 authors were armed with their latest books and ready to autograph for fans. Doors opened at 10:45 for conventioneers and 11am for the general public. The event was packed for the duration and many authors’ books sold out. Jim Butcher was amazed at his steady stream of fans throughout and authors like Charlaine Harris, MaryJanice Davidson, Heather Graham and Brenda Joyce were among the many authors who barely had time for a break. Promotion on three different popular radio shows brought in hundreds of local fans who were new to our RT event and many told us they’re coming to Pittsburgh!
Directly following the Book Fair was the Military Mixer hosted by SOS America, Inc. and sponsored by authors Pam Crooks, Delores Fossen, Sherry James, Elle James aka Myla Jackson, Jeanie London, Julie Miller and Tracy Montoya. An hour was devoted to the men and women in the military and their spouses. Staff Sergeant Jesse Wiseman and wife Maggie were guests of honor and it was particularly meaningful since the sergeant was days away from leaving for Iraq. He was utterly charming and it was so moving to see the love between the military couple. We wish him a safe return.
Then it was back to the ballroom for the the annual Mr. Romance Cover Model Pageant. The show was pure entertainment as the guys strutted their stuff with style and charisma. The fan favorite was Fred Williams, who worked the crowds all week long until EVERYONE knew his name and fell in love with him. His efforts paid off because not only did he win the Contestants Choice Award selected by his fellow hopefuls but he also won the Readers Choice Award. This was no surprise to the audience as their screams of joy echoed in the room. But it was tall, dark and handsome Jason Santiago who won over the judges and was crowned 2007 Mr. Romance. He will appear on a Dorchester book cover in early 2008 and will also appear in an RT BOOKreviews feature next year. Fans gathered for photo ops with all the contestants, the runners-up and the winner.
Prior to hosting the Immortals Rock ‘n’ Roll Dance Party, Dorchester had a private party for booksellers with all of the Dorchester authors in attendance.
Then it was on to the Immortals Party where popcorn and steamed pretzels were served along with a colorful array of fresh fruit. But anyone there will tell you that the big hit was the armful of books given away to everybody in attendance. For a visual, picture tables filled with books one minute, then an announcement inviting readers to take as many books as they could carry. Then, like magic, in the next few minutes the tables were completely wiped out stripped down to the white table cloths. Need I say more!!! As with all the parties there was serious dancing until midnight!!
SUNDAY
The final day of the BOOKLOVERS EXTRAVAGANZA began a little later so that we all could catch a few hours’ more sleep.
A lovely brunch was hosted by Samhain Publishing, which created a buzz for the company and gave everyone a much-needed lift with chocolate brownies and other chocolaty treats, beverages and lots of gift basket giveaways.
Our second annual Psychic Sunday was a huge success and over 50 attendees enjoyed the motivational stories and lecture from Kathryn Falk, Marilyn Campbell and guest speaker Michelle Lam, who intrigued the audience with her compelling story of survival and faith. Psychics and mediums were on hand for those who wanted their cards read.
New Concepts Publishing closed the five-day event with its third annual Pajama Party, where the last of the attendees gathered to reflect on the week’s event and party one more time with old friends and new.
Although this is a looooog description of events, in no way does it capture the fun and excitement of what we all experienced. To find out, you’ll have to join us in Pittsburgh April 16-20, 2008. Start saving those pennies now and planning your trip, we’d love to see you there!!
Carol Stacy
Publisher of Romantic Times BOOKreviews
posted at 2:34 PM
4 Comments:
I think the highlight for us (by us I mean www.manloveromance.com - a consortium of m/m writers) was having all of our promotional material confiscated by Hyatt.
Leaves a rather bad taste in the mouth, that, when our promotional material was far less naked than many other heterosexual displays.
Please go to Laura's website for my response. I will not diminish the hard work that went into this huge undertaking and the tremendous success we had by discussing this issue here. Those who are interested can also go to Ms. baumbach's site for my response.
Sincerely,
Carol Stacy
Carol
RT this year was fabulous. Too many things to do and see, not enough time to do it all! While I might have had a few minor complaints they were so minor as to be nonexistent. I'm very glad we stayed till Monday as Sunday's metaphysical panels were great!
I can't say enough for JoCarol. She was a tremendous help for myself and the group of women I came with getting things lined up to come to Houston and enjoy the convention. From my own experience of 23 years of either running a SF convention or working on one I know the tremendous amount of work involved. So Thank You to ALL of the staff involved with putting on such a great convention.
MY congratulations on ce again to you Carol, Jo Caroll and the wonderful staff and volunteers who each year make the Rt conventioin refreshing and exciting for so many.
Having the small glimpse I do of seeing how all of this comes together, makes me even more appreciative of the labor involved. My thanks to all you formed workshops, created fantastic topics, and gathered panelists for the genre programs. you all play a great part in the success of the conferences.
There is no other conference exisitng in the northern continent that has the networking capabilities and the melding of all aspects of the publishing industry as RT.
A toast to Houston and a invitation to all aspiring writers, to all avid readers, and those professionals in the industry--come join us in Pittsburgh in 2008 and experience the magic yourself!
Amanda McIntyre
Author & RT Workshops
Diary of Cozette-Coming from SPICE Harelquin
www.amandamcintyre.net
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