In Case You Missed It - Videos from RWA Nationals

Were you unable to make it to the RWA National Conference in New York this year? Did you get caught in a meeting or sleeping in after a fancy publisher party or running out to catch a Broadway show and you missed some parts? This year, whether you were there in the ballroom or not, RWA is giving us the opportunity to watch (or rewatch) the Keynote and Featured Speakers, as well as the RITA and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony!
Behold!
The first speaker was Keynote Barbara Freethy, who talked about the ups and downs in her long career (and the curse of the cartoon cover):

On Friday, Julia Quinn spoke (and her story about her mom made me grin):

Saturday morning was Nalini Singh (and I might have mentioned once or twice that I'm a total fangirl where this goddess is concerned) - and as I mentioned in my post-conference post, she spoke of protecting the joy (among other things):

And then it was time for the RITA and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony. I was delighted that we were able to stream this year and able to debut our new theme song (composed by Carl Wishneusky and underwritten by Stephanie Laurens). I was truly thrilled to be part of putting this awards ceremony together - along with my extraordinary committee (Linda Needham, Victoria Alexander, and Terri Reed), our brilliant MC Lisa Kleypas, and our goddess of an Office Liaison, Judy Scott, as well as the fantastic gentlemen and lady of our production company. If you loved it, I can't take the credit, because the awards shows are defined by the host and the speeches of the honorees (and the videos were a labor of love from one of our esteemed committee ladies), but it was fun to be a cog behind the scenes. So here it is, in case you missed it, this year's Golden Heart and RITA Awards Ceremony:

And, just in case you're interested, you can also view and purchase RWA2015 photos: https://brutus.smugmug.com/Corporate/RWA-2015-New-York (download free RWA2015 headshots here)
And purchase RWA2015 audio recordings: https://www.rwa.org/p/cm/ld/fid=1343
This way we can be there even if we weren't, and remember even the details we forgot. So let's celebrate romance together! :)

Conference Bound!

I'm off to the Romance Writers of America's annual national conference.  This year we're in sweltering New York City (and you can bet I'll be trying to squeeze in a Broadway show around the edges of all the conference action!).

If you're in the New York area, you can join us for the Literacy Signing on Wednesday - over 400 fabulous authors in one room, all with stacks of books to sell and all the proceeds going to a good cause.  It's a reader's paradise.

And no matter where you are, you can tune in to the RITA and Golden Heart Awards Ceremony on Saturday night (8pm EST).  It's our industry's biggest night, our version of the Oscars, and you won't want to miss being able to watch it stream live for the first time ever!  Visit www.rwa.org for more details.

Come Visit Me in NYC!

Are you going to be in the New York area next week?  Come visit me at the Romance Writers of America Literacy Signing!  One of the biggest signings of the year with HUNDREDS of amazing authors all in one room.  It's Book Nerd Mecca.  Come fangirl squee at all the awesome authors and swing by to say hi to me while you're at it!  :)

Off to RWA!

I'm headed to San Antonio to join other romance writing chicas and chicos at the RWA National Conference! So if you don't hear from me for a week, don't be surprised.  And if you're going to be there yourself, look me up!  I'll be at the Literacy Signing on Wednesday, at the Samhain Signing on Saturday, and generally "around' so if you see me, say hi!

Hasta la vista, boys and girls!

Romantic Times Conquered!

I have returned from New Orleans triumphant - or at least exhausted and happy.  RT was a blast - met lots of fabulous readers, fangirled over some of my all time favorite authors, and played hard in New Orleans (though not as hard as some - that city is for partiers of a different caliber than yours truly).  Now I'm back and more excited than ever for the new series - and pumped up to dive back into my writing cave.  Onward, reader friends!

Off to RT!

My bags are packed, I'm ready to go, and the biggest convergence of romance reading book nerds waits for me in New Orleans!  (Can I get a woohoo?)  Good food, good company and great books, what more can a girl ask for?

If you're coming the convention (and really, what could possibly keep you away?) be sure to find me!  I'll be hosting a table at the Samhain Saints & Sinners party on Thursday night, participating in the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood's Burlesque Class & Revue (with feather boas and goodie bags for the first 25 attendees) on Friday, and signing at the Big Book Fair on Saturday (look for me in the traditional section). 

You know it's a professional conference when you pack your new corset and your shiny new halo.  I'll be back with many stories! In the mean time, read on, reader-friends.  Read on.

Get Your Romance On

I'm off to the Romance Writers of America National Conference in Anaheim this week. If you're going to be in the area and you love romance, the Readers for Life Literacy Signing is a FABULOUS way to grab some books and meet your favorite authors face to face.  Come to the Anaheim Marriott & Convention Center Wednesday from 5-8pm to score some books and chat up your authors of choice.

And if you're coming to the conference, look for me!  Here are some of the places where you can catch up with me (and some other Rubies) this week at Nationals.  Go forth and romance-ify the world, minions!

Report from Comic Con: Day Four

The final day of Comic Con was a light one for me... mostly because after three solid days of All Comic Con All The Time, we're all ready to pass out where we stand... in line... waiting... forever... like the most colorful production of Godot ever performed...

I attended a few book panels in the morning, including a YA panel featuring my personal deity Scott Westerfeld (Uglies!  Leviathon!).  He, like Joss Wheadon, Orson Scott Card and Bryan Fuller, was everything I imagined a genius of his caliber to be.  He talked a bit about specificity in YA - how the characters are extraordinary in some unique way, and that shiny-snowflakeness appeals to us, at any age.  The idea that there will be a moment (a fairy godmother moment, as another panelist put it) when it is revealed that you really are more awesome than all those other people out there in the world.  When a Hagrid, or an Edward, or an Effie Trinket will pull your name out of a hat and you will be put on the path to the greatness you may never have suspected lurked inside your normalcy.  Then they went on to speak about the importance of setting - how many books are defined by the phrase "on a a world where" making the uniqueness and specificity of setting a defining element in YA.  In a genre that is broad and wild in its possibilities, it was a fabulous panel.

After that I grabbed some lunch to eat while waiting in line for the Buffy 20th Reunion (since the movie) Panel.  The actors playing Jeffrey from the original movie, Glory, Xander and Spike from the show and writer Jane Espensen and two Dark Horse Comic artists/writers filled out the panel.  They talked about the legacy of Buffy - which I think is powerful, no denying that, but when they laid the success of the "entire paranormal romance genre" at the feet of Buffy, I started to twitch.  Yes, I'm sure there is a symbiotic relationship between the popularity of the series and the growth of the genre, but it isn't so simple as to say Buffy spawned paranormal romance any more than you can say Running Man spawned Hunger Games.  (And speaking of Running Man, when is someone going to remake that movie without all the slapsticky one-liners?)  Yes, Buffy was awesome and kickass and I'm sure she did a lot for the genre of paranormal romance, but art is an evolution that is too complicated to be originated by any one show.  The fact that such a sweeping generalization was just accepted and run with by the panel made me a bit twitchy.  Luckily we moved on to favorite lines, favorite plot points, and then... after that panel ended... the traditional end-of-Con screening of Once More With Feeling, the Buffy Musical.  As a sing-a-long.  With heckling.  It was amazing.  Especially the shouting of "you aren't even a real person!" every time Dawn showed up to screw things up and get into trouble.  As a nerd who knows every word, I was in heaven.

It was a brilliant farewell to Comic Con.  I walked away with a big ole grin on my face.  Until next year...

Report from Comic Con: Day Three

DAY THREE:
With my shiny new sunburn on the side of my neck (why the side? why?) I elected not to wake up at the crack of dawn to wait in line all day in hopes of seeing sneak peeks at Iron Man 3 or Family Guy.  Instead, today was my day to throw myself into smaller panels (some of which still had over a thousand people in them, but whatever, it's Comic Con, crowds are a given).

It all began with an Urban Fantasy panel, which was interesting, but turned out to be pretty much a "this is what my book/series is about" chorus rather than any in depth discussion of the genre or where it is heading.  Then I hung out for a preview of the tiny little indie movie Save the Date... which looks sort of Woodie-Allen-esque but the Woodie Allen of thirty years ago.  It was interesting to hear about the distribution of the film in particular because it will be available from IFC video-on-demand before it releases in theatres.  I know, right?  Curious.

Then it was time for the stuff I'd been giddy all day for.  Three Panels.   Three Amazing Talents.  (One ring to rule them all, one ring to... oh wait, no, that was going on in Hall H at the same time and I hadn't camped out so there was no way I was getting in to see it.)  No, my BIG THREE OF DAY THREE were Bryan Fuller (Pushing Daisies!!!), Orson Scott Card (Ender's Game!!!) and William Shatner (Khaaaaaaan!!!).  

It started with Bryan Fuller, talking about his two new reboots - a reworked darker, dramatic Munsters (which looks kinda AMAZING, y'all - Eddie Izzard as Grandpa? Dude.) called Mockingbird Lane (which is just a pilot now, but I seriously hope they make it to the series stage) and a new TV series prequel to Red Dragon called Hannibal - starting when no one knew that Hannibal the Cannibal was a serial killer.  (No clips of that one, but with Bryan Fuller's dark sense of humor, I'm psyched to see where it goes.  And I now have a shiny new "Eat the Rude" T-shirt that cracks me up.)  One audience member did ask how poor Mr. Fuller stays optimistic (he was a seriously chipper guy) considering how many of his shows get killed off (har) mid-season (Pushing Daisies, Wonderfalls, Dead Like Me) when he plans them out for years (he mentioned having plans for the first seven seasons of Hannibal).  He said he'll always find ways work the ideas he loves into the next show and joked about not seeing death as a final thing (his "bag of trick"). 

Then it was off to the Wrinkle In Time panel, which a host of AMAZING speculative and sci-fi authors including the incomparable Orson Scott Card and David Brin - the two of whom GOT INTO IT.  It was kinda awesome watching them grow testier and testier as they verbally bitch-slapped each other as the panel went on.  It started out civil.  When talking about speculative fiction and predicting the future it became quickly evident that Orson Scott Card was on the "human nature doesn't change" side of the spectrum while Brin was on the "we're entering an age of enlightenment" side.  Card cited the Arab Spring (in what I felt were somewhat oversimplified terms) and referring to it as an unpredictable event followed by the very predictable patterns of human nature.  Brin countered by calling that cynicism and holding up the Turkish revolution for comparison (which, having recently visited Egypt & Turkey, I would like to state is so far from being comparable as to be laughable).  Card replied (correctly, I would say) that there was no comparison between the two and to claim there was only revealed ignorance of the situation... and then things really got going.  It was Brin citing racial and sexual equality as the great advancements of our age (which aren't new concepts to humanity, just recent in our cultural corner of it) while Card was talking about the fascination of watching Empires fall (though it is probably less fun to be watching from the inside as they outlive their grandeur).  The moderator intervened at one point... and then, after some questions from the audience, one guy got up to the mic and said he'd missed the beginning so he was sorry if this had already been discussed, but did the authors think we were entering a dark age or an enlightenment?  The reaction from the room was priceless.  Deborah Harkness answered it best, I think.  Even the Dark Ages weren't the Dark Ages.  "Be careful of big, baggy historical epoch markers."

There were other moments I loved, beyond the Card/Brin throwdown.  (Team OSC!)  When asked to predict the future (as an author of speculative fiction) Peter Hamilton said, "Sci-fi isn't a template. I'm setting out ideas."  It's up to the reader to be inspired to make them come true.

Earlier Brin also referenced an LA Times article about the rising popularity of TV over movies and how the TV writers were treated like rockstars at Comic Con because the fans recognized where the ideas were coming from.  Which was something I noticed also - the TV shows were the ones people were most excited about, I think in part because they weren't all reboots and sequels as most of the movies coming out these days seem to be.  And in part because watching a TV show becomes a longer term relationship and you already know you love it, you're looking forward to the next installment of awesomeness rather than wondering whether you will like the unknown quantity of the movie that isn't coming out until next year or the year after.  It was interesting to see.  But the idea kind of got eclipsed by the OSC/Brin ruckus. 

After that I rushed over to try to get into the Shatner panel.  I didn't think I had a prayer, but luck was with me and I made it in.  William Shatner, cult favorite director/producer Roger Corman, moderated by Kevin Smith.  It was casual and conversational and deeply awesome listening to these industry greats talking about their beginnings as they discussed their new films - for Shatner a documentary called Get a Life about Star Trek fans and what he learned when he set out to study them and for Corman a 3D campy fabulous pic entitled The Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader.  And, as I'm sure happens every time he speaks, a fan asked Mr. Shatner to shout "Khan!" and this time he suggested we all do it instead.  So, en masse, the entire audience bellowed, "Khaaaaaaan!"  And it was just as badass as you might imagine. 

Then I dropped in on a panel on World Building in Graphic Novels which was seriously fascinating.  World building for artists is something so different than it is for those of us who spin worlds out of words.  They would research architecture and make models - either by hand or with 3D computer mapping.  They talked about visual vs. dialogue exposition and hearsay vs. fact as the world is revealed to the reader.  Then they talked a bit about the struggle for continuity when you've grown as an artist and want to make them better but are inhibited by what you made them in the first book of the series.  It was so interesting to me to see artists who attack their stories so differently than I do, but who are still related to novelists in that we are all in the same storytelling family.  Loved it.

Next up was the Harper Voyager and Harper Teen sneak peeks (where I scored an advanced copy of Jocelyn Drake's Angel's Ink - about a tattoo artists who can imbue his tattoos with magical powers, how cool is that?).  And then finally it was time for the Comic Con Masquerade - which was campy and ridiculous and, yeah, kinda awesome.  You get a feel for the tone of the evening when the audience is allowed to announce the numbers of the contestants and they bellow en masse "One, ah ah ah" like the Count.  Yeah, baby, we know our Sesame Street.  And it just goes downhill (or up, depending on your perspective) from there.  With dancing and goodies in the Sails Pavillion, it's Comic Con's wild rumpus until the small hours.  And it isn't quite over yet...

Report from Comic Con: Day Two

First off, an apology for not getting these up sooner.  Turns out an eight to midnight conference schedule doesn't leave a whole lot of time for blogging.  Who knew?  Mea culpa and on to the report for Days Two!

DAY TWO:
Day Two started out with a line.  Of course.  I lined up at 9am, which I stupidly thought would be early enough for the 2:45pm panel on Game of Thrones. No such luck.  (Even the folks in front of me in full on Khal Drogo & Daenerys outfits were denied.)  Having already waited it out for six hours, I stuck with it until I made it into Hall H after GoT for the rest of the evening's panels and then hied myself on over to the playback (which they had to move to a bigger ballroom because there were so many people who'd missed out on seeing their preferred panels like me).  So, in the end, I got to see what I wanted (just not all of it in person), but what bothered me the most was that even as there were hundreds and even thousands of people waiting outside in line, there were empty seats in Hall H.  Never once while I was in there (finally!) was anyone asked to scoot down to make room for the people waiting outside.  In the smaller panels, it is common practice to fill every single seat and have standing room in the back until the fire marshal cuts them off.  But Hall H never felt full when I was in there - I saw dozens and dozens of empties just near me - which, when you consider how long people had to wait to get in there, kinda pissed me off and soured me on the idea of waiting in line to get in there again. 

But enough bitching.  Let's talk movies!

The first panel for me that day was Resident Evil: Retribution in 3D.  Director Paul Anderson, his wife/leading lady Mila Jovovich, and a deeply kickass supporting cast - two of whom are my FAVORITE actors who were killed off in previous films in the franchise!  Back from the dead and still kicking ass, it's Michelle Rodriguez (love love love love) and Oded Fehr!  Can I get a woohoo for resurrecting a dude who blew himself up and a chick who got shot in the head?  Bonus!  The footage they showed looked pretty sweet - very classic Resident Evil badassery -and then there was talk of the series drawing to a close after the next film (or at least Alice's part of it).  And I learned that Michelle Rodriguez will come back from the dead in the Fast & Furious franchise also (squee!) and that if you are a creepy stalker in her backyard, you should be warned that she will call the cops while holding a sword and the gun Samuel L. Jackson gave her, so... you know... perhaps not the best idea to bug her.

Continuing the trend of directors married to their ass-kicking leading ladies, next up was the new Total Recall, helmed by Kate Beckinsale's significant other, Len Wiseman. It looks well worth seeing - without any of the annoyingly cute Ahnold one liners and without the trip to Mars (but with the chick with three breasts as a nod to the original).  Much more actiony and who-am-I mystery-ish with some nice grit to the design.  And Kate Beckinsale kicking Colin Farrel's teeth in?  I'll watch that. 

But then... oh then... it was time for the ORIGINAL coolness.  Looper.  Time travel.  Joseph Gordon Levitt (in a part that was actually written for him) wearing a light facial mask to play a young Bruce Willis in an assassin vs. the older version of himself badass time-travel ride.  I gotta say, I really wanna see that one.  It's a major picture but with a more indie sensibility - focused on the ideas and characters rather than the special effects tricks - with an insanely awesome cast.

And the fun was just beginning folks.  Up next was footage from Elysium, the second film by Neil Blomquist who was the mind behind District 9.  I'd never heard anything about this one - just that it had Matt Damon and Jodie Foster in it (along with the star of District 9 & A Team, Sharlto Copley).  I wasn't sure what to expect, but when they showed us the footage, I actually got chills.  By the time it was over I just said Damn as several people near me muttered "Whoa" and "Wow" aloud.  The premise of the story is that the uber-rich have built a paradise in space called Elysium where they have the cures to all diseases and everything is perfect and utopian - but they've abandoned the rest of humanity to live in squalor on the heavily polluted planet Earth.  Matt Damon is our earthbound hero with a questionable past, who finds himself with only a few days to live unless he can hijack his way up to Elysium and get the cure.  A man with his life on the line, nothing to lose... you can imagine how it escalates in a hurry.  And from the sounds of things, the filming was flat out intense - on location in the second largest dump in the world at one point, with helicopters spraying a mist of you do not want to know what that is all over the place.  Crazy.  But it looks incredible.  It's out next March.  Go, you guys.  You will want to see this one.

After that, I made my way out to the Penguin Books panel where they flashed new covers for dozens of upcoming urban fantasy, sci-fi, and young adult books.  I really want to check out Matched by Ally Condie.  I'm intrigued by the idea of rebelling against a genetically perfect match.  Have any of you read that series yet?  Then I won an ARC of a new sci-fi book by Jean Johnson!  (And then felt guilty for winning, even though they were giving away tons of books... I don't know why I have this weird guilt when people give me stuff.  I need a couch and a few hours with Freud to figure it out.)

By then it was night, but Comic Con was still going strong, with playback of the earlier panels that we, the huddled masses, hadn't been able to get into.  Firefly, Game of Thrones, The Big Bang Theory and The Walking Dead (though I admitted defeat at midnight and missed the Zombie-ness). 

The Firefly 10-year reunion panel was flat out amazing.  Nathan Fillion and Joss Wheadon were in rare form (and both teared up in very manly ways as they talked about what the short-lived series had meant to them).  Adam Baldwin gave away a replica of the hat he'd worn as Jayne, but to me the best part was learning that Baldwin had gone down to say hello to the fans camped out on the sidewalk for the Firefly panel around midnight and Joss Wheadon himself had woken them up at three a.m.  How kickass is that?  If I am ever lucky enough to write something that develops such a devoted fanbase that they will actually camp out (and I'm in the same city and I know about it) I am here and now vowing that I will visit the campers.  And bring donuts.  Because how amazing are they, to love something so much, and what better way to honor them than to show up for them when they are showing up for you?  I love that.  Love love love.

The Game of Thrones panel was, by comparison, somewhat less than awesome.  They introduced new cast members, which was cool, but my main takeaway was that George R. R. Martin, for all his brilliance as a writer, should probably avoid moderating panels as his talents apparently lie elsewhere.  The tone was... I dunno, awkward.  He asked the actors portraying Theon Greyjoy and Rob Stark about their sex scenes and questioned the actress playing Daenerys why the traditional dresses of Qarth were not the breast-baring ones in the books (though if I'm being accurate the word "boobies" may actually have come out of his mouth).  I know he's a genius, but a moderator needs to put the panelists at ease and make them feel comfortable talking and there was just no comfort there.  Overall, it was peculiar - but I loved hearing the actor playing Rob Stark (who was wearing a wolf T-shirt under his suit jacket) say he'd pick a wolf as his sigil in real life, and Emilia Clark got a big cheer when she said she would definitely keep her dragons as a sigil.

And last, but certainly not least, was the Big Bang Theory.  The panel was hosted by Adam from Mythbusters (amazing) and featured two of the writer/producers as well as Mayim Byalik (Amy), Jim Parsons by Skype from New York (Sheldon), Kaley Cuoco (Penny), Kunal Nayyar (Rajesh), Simon Helberg (Howard) and Melissa Rauch (Bernadette - who does an amazing impression of Howard's mother).  The writers waved their uber-geek flags with pride when the Higgs Boson particle came up as the actors willingly admitted to not understanding a word of the science stuff coming out of their mouths on the show.  The panel was charming, funny, and overall a delight... and then the conversation turned to space.  In what was (I think?) a prearranged schtick, Simon Helberg was asked if he would want to go into space like his character had and when he said "who wouldn't?" they brought out an astronaut from XCOR Aerospace and offered him a trip into space.  Helberg then said he hadn't known they were serious and he had a "thing" about altitude and it was quickly changed to giving one of the audience members the space flight.  The fans who had asked questions (who were over eighteen - a stunning number of the questions were asked by little kids, prompting Kunal to repeatedly wondering what was going on here and where everyone's parents were) were all brought up on stage and given shiny envelopes.  When they tore them open simultaneously, one contained a golden ticket for a flight into space.  How badly do I wish I were that chick right now?  (Though I know I wouldn't have been even had I managed to get in, since I never have the gumption to ask questions.)  Lots of panels gave away swag, but how do you top a trip into space?  SPACE, you guys!  I don't care if it's only lower orbit or upper atmosphere or whatever.  It's SPACE.  I have to think that within my lifetime it will be a popular tourist jaunt.  And I'll be there.  I'll definitely be there.

What about you?  If someone offered you a chance to see the earth from space, would you take it?  Would you strap yourself to a rocket? When do you think it will be as common as taking a cruise?  Oooh, is that the next step?  Carnival Space Cruises?  Does make one a bit more nervous about events like the Costa Concordia, doesn't it?  But it makes me think of the Fifth Element.  Would you got to paradise in orbit?

Report from Comic Con: Day One

First Impression of Comic Con?  Fun!

Second Impression of Comic Con?  Massive sensory overload.

Third Impression of Comic Con?  Oh-my-freaking-gods, the crowds.  There are people everywhere.  And the lines. 

My first day at Comic Con was awesome and a huge learning experience.  I learned that you've gotta have strategy to navigate this behemoth Con successfully - the lines for Hall H and Ballroom 20 could easily suck up hours of your day and that was on Thursday!  The least crowded day of the Con!

I got my badge (quick and easy, it was running smooth when I was there) and immediately went to the Exhibition Hall to gawk. 

I meant to go to a Stan Lee panel (with Mark Hamil, y'all!), but ended up in 6A rather than 6BCF and what should I find instead?  A panel on the upcoming Dreamworks/Cartoon Network weekly cartoon series Dragons: Riders of Berk which follows Hiccup, Toothless and their cohorts as the dragons and their riders learn how to live in harmony.  The first two seasons of this show will apparently flow smoothly into the second How to Train Your Dragon movie.  Cool beans, huh?  They got a lot of the same actors to do voices as well as adding some new talent (America Ferrera as Astrid, Mark Hamil as a villain, and Tim Conway (!!!!) as comic relief).

After that, I grabbed some lunch and got in line for the Tim Burton/Sam Raimi/John C. Reilly panel (or as everyone called it "the Disney panel" since they were doing Frankenweenie, Wreck It Ralph & Oz.  I was lucky to be next to some fantastically awesome people in line, so fun was had by all, but we didn't get into the panel... after over an hour of waiting.  (Ugh.)  I did however learn, while chatting with some guys from Warner Brothers who shall remain nameless that they canNOT (wink wink) confirm that they are positioning themselves with the new Superman for a new Justice League franchise.  HOW COOL WOULD THAT BE???  I just need a second to geek out.  (Except for the fact that they would all be from the UK.  Seriously, what is with all the superheroes turning British?  Batman, Superman, Spiderman... at least they can all fake American.)

Because I'm an academic nerd, next I went to a panel on The Future of Superhero Studies in academia.  It was interesting and I have some thoughts of validity of pop culture, the cultural studies approach, and the adaptation and iterations of comic franchises... but that's too much for this lil update.  A blog for another day.

After that it was back in line, this time for Dexter and this time I did get in!  We got an EXCLUSIVE SNEAK PEEK at the first two minutes of next season and OMG I can't wait for September!  Then two of the executive producers and three cast members (Michael C Hall, Jennifer Carpenter, and... drumroll please, this season's guest star, Yvonne Strahovsky from Chuck fame! who sounds so different with her natural accent...) chatted about the show and answered questions. 

I hurried from there off to another panel about composing music for video games - particularly video games based on film franchises with distinctive film scores (Star Wars, Harry Potter, Dark Knight, etc.).  It was seriously cool listening to these five composers talk about their work - even though they weren't allowed to say much about upcoming projects.

By then it was getting late and even though there was a Dr. Horrible Sing-A-Long coming up, I was running on empty and admitted defeat.  Hopefully tonight I'll have more stamina.

Today involved the dreaded choice between waiting in the ungodly line for The Big Bang Theory or waiting in the ungodly line for Firefly.  Normally, I'd go with Firefly (because my epic love of it knows no bounds), but if I don't go to Big Bang Theory, I might not get into Game of Thrones (because they don't clear the room between panels).  It's all about the strategy.  Wish me luck and much geeking out! Until the next update... don't cross the streams!

RWA 2011 Photos!

As promised, and only a few days later than I said I would put them up (let's all pretend to be surprised that I'm slightly behind schedule, okey doke?) we have the RWA Nationals photo album!

I arrive early in NYC to see some of The Broadway. It was quite awesome.


I get gussied up to go to the ballet at the Lincoln Center, wearing my brand new favorite shoes... (I love you, Strappy Heels! I love you so hard!)


Then, while sight-seeing downtown, I find a good location to dock my yacht, should I ever feel the need/have the stupid money to buy a yacht. (If you squint you can see the Statue of Liberty...)


And finally, it's conference time, baby! The conference kicks off with the Literacy Signing - for which eager readers lined up over five hours early!


Five hundred authors in one room... luckily the air conditioning worked so it was only the temperature of the second circle of hell...


Even amid all the conference hustle and bustle, I still manage to take time out to grab one more show (Jersey Boys) with some Ruby cohorts.


On Thursday, at the Carina Cocktail Party, I reconnect with some of my all-time favs: Leah Braemel, K.A. Mitchell and Vivian Arend.


And Leah Braemel scolds Viv Arend & I for tempting the universe to implode by being in the same place at the same time. Had Vivi Anna been there, Mayan Prophecies might have started coming true on the spot...


We zip over to the Harlequin Black & White Ball at the Waldorf Astoria (where we are issued dancing socks, though I resisted wearing them for at least two hours because I am IN LOVE with my new strappy black shoes)


I party it up with fellow Rubies Rita Henuber & Anne Marie Becker...


The always elegant Jeannie Lin...


The delectable Liz Talley...


And there is much dancing...


And as the clock strikes midnight, we put our shoes back on (reverse Cinderella!) and are whisked home in a white limousine.


The following day, Samhain has it's inaugural Publisher Signing at Nationals and I get to give away books! This was hands down the most fun I had at Conference, because Samhain readers are beyond awesome. I was high for hours afterward. Which may have been entirely due to the fact that I got to gaze across the aisle at Viv Arend. ;)


That night, it was the Rita & Golden Heart Ceremony. The lovely and talented Sara Ramsey snuck me into the VIP section as her plus one...


And we enjoyed Meg Cabot's playful MCing as the ceremony zipped along.


Sadly, no one at our table took home necklaces or trophies, but I did nab a blurry picture of a nearby Rita...


Afterward I said my goodbyes to fellow Rubies Vanessa Barneveld and Sara Ramsey (and everyone else I ran into in the bar)


...and went up to my room to pack up for my morning flight to the Family Fourth Festivities. Thus Endeth RWA 2011.

RWA 2011 Recap: Writer, Know Thyself

I have returned from the Romance Writers of America National Conference and I am full of gushy admiration for my awesomesauce publisher, Samhain, after they took such good care of me at both signings, the speakers who were all fabulous and inspiring, and a giddy delight that may or may not be related to a case of mistaken identity. You ready for the stories? Cuz I'm about ta hit ya with 'em. (Pictures'll be coming tomorrow... as soon as I can figure out how to get them off my new phone.)

The theme of this conference could have been Writer, Know Thyself. Or at least that's what I took away from it. Maybe it was the message I needed to hear amid all the others. Jennifer Crusie, in a fabulous workshop entitled "Everything I Know About Publishing I Learned from Wonderwoman" (yes, I am wearing my secret decoder ring as I type this), told us that we have to know who we are, because if we don't there are people lining up in this business to tell us. If we don't have a vision, we can't get mad at someone else for filling in the blanks, so know your vision! Sherrilyn Kenyon, in her moving keynote speech, proclaimed she would rather be a first rate version of herself than a second rate version of anyone else. And Susan Elizabeth Phillips, in her craft chat, advised all the hopefuls in the room to put her advice through the "stomach test". If it made your stomach twist, then it wasn't right for you.

I loved that truth, that all writers are different, that we all need to cultivate our own awesomeness rather than getting caught up in the latest trends and waves. I've never tried to be anyone but myself, but every now and then its nice to be reminded that we don't have to be someone else's version of fabulous to succeed.

And speaking of someone else's version of fabulous... I had more than a few fangirl moments at conference when I saw authors I worship to a startling degree.

I am still, apparently, completely incapable of being cool and suave (or even semi-human) when I meet authors whose work I adore. I spaz out gracelessly and make everyone uncomfortable with my fangirl frothing. I did, however, have three fabulous goddesses still deign to talk to me whilst I was mid-spaz.

On the Wednesday luncheon, who should happen to sit at my table? Joanna Bourne. Yes, that Joanna Bourne. When she introduced herself I nearly swallowed my tongue and gasped, “Omigodiloveyourbooks.” At which point she was the picture of poise, smiling and thanking me. AND THEN after lunch was over she made a point of coming over and saying she’d appreciated my kind words about her books and chatting so graciously with me and fellow fangirl Sara Ramsey. We talked about being small towners in the big city, moose and coyotes, and her genius grandchildren (good genes). That conversation alone would have made my conference…

But wait, there’s more! On Saturday when I was sitting in La Guardia, waiting for my plane, who should sit next to me and say I look familiar, but Celeste (Holy Crap No Way!) Bradley. Seriously, how often do you get to chat with TWO of your autobuy authors in one week? We talked about pets and the similarities between Albuquerque and Alaska (more than you might think!) and generally passed the time until our flight. (And I didn’t hyperventilate once! Though I did mention with freakish regularity how amazing her books are.)

You think that’s all? Oh no. Ooooh no. On Friday afternoon, at the Samhain signing, I’m happily scrawling my June Hancock all over books. (And if you got one of those books, please forgive the inverted letters in my dedications. I’m not full on dyslexic, but I have trouble keeping letters in the right order when I’m writing things by hand. And I’m pretty sure I spelled laughter with an “f” a couple times. So that was a speshul moment.) So I’m at the signing, right? And this familiar-looking redhead comes up to my table and I glance at her nametag and literally hide behind my hands because I can feel my face turning bright red. Jacquelyn Frank. I LOVE Jacquelyn Frank. Her books rock my little socks right off my feet. So I tell her I love her work (and COMPLETELY lose my cool… cuz I’m normally so cool and composed, right? Heh. Right. I said, “I’m high energy” to my roommate about halfway through the conference – while talking about working relationships and chemistry with editors & agents – and the fabulous Sara Ramsey laughed at me while pretending to be stunned by my revelation. So yes… I have a slight tendency to bounce. Even in four inch heels… Dude the Harlequin party was so fun! And I also tend to flit off onto tangents whenever I see something shiny… and people probably think I’m ignoring them because I have a hard time maintaining eye contact when things are shiny or moving nearby… but it’s not ADD, cuz I’ve never been tested and if you aren’t tested then you don’t have it, right?).

So JACQUELYN (OHMYFLYINGMONKEYS) FRANK is standing in front of my table and she says she knows who I am.

At this point, I must ruthlessly suppress my desire to tell her that she is mixing me up with someone else and she is Wrong, I am not this cool person she thinks I am. I am still, I confess, CONVINCED that she thought I was Vivi Anna. She couldn’t have mixed me up with Vivian Arend because my darling Viv was sitting right across from me at the signing. But seriously, I think she thought I was the other Vivi (whose books are also awesome). And it is a totally understandable mistake (and one that would make the world feel like it makes sense to me. Jacquelyn Frank is too awesome to know who I am. It’s a world gone mad, I tell you!).

But the thing is, I was kind of recognized a lot (or a lot for me at least) at conference this time. One reader got her picture taken with me (my first!), one dedicated reader had printed out a poster-sized print of the Serengeti Sunrise cover art for me to sign (how cool is that?!), and others stopped me with kind words about my blogging here or at the Ruby site and clearly knew who I was. But still, even when I can’t immediately argue that they are mixing me up with that Other Better Vivi (i.e. Vivian Arend or Vivi Anna), I STILL feel like there is this other, much cooler Vivi Andrews out there that these people admire. It couldn’t be ME.

It’s not a self esteem thing – I have a VERY healthy self image. It’s more like the disjointed feeling I get when I meet people who read my books. Like the readers are really just a figment of my imagination until they are standing in front of me and I don’t know how to react when my imaginary readers are suddenly real. (Yes, my beloved blog buddies, you are all inside my head and if we meet in person, I will be weird and awkward at first because your existence will be shocking to me. Just embrace the crazy.)

But even believing in my heart that Jacquelyn Frank didn’t REALLY know who I was, I still called my mom after the signing to tell her about it. She was duly impressed… then asked, “Who’s Jacquelyn Frank?” At which point there may have been some horrified yelps of “You call yourself a romance reader?” which I would now like to publicly apologize for. Sorry, Mom! (Go buy Jacob right now. Go go go. Commence addiction.)

And if you haven’t read Joanna Bourne, I recommend starting with Spymaster’s Lady. And Celeste Bradley’s Liar’s Club books are always a FABULOUS place to begin your Bradley addiction. (The first is called The Pretender.)

Speaking of books I love, I’m thinking of adding a recommendations & “if you liked…” section to the website. What do you think? Good plan? Like If you liked the Karmic Consultants, you’ll love Stephanie Rowe’s Date Me Baby One More Time, Molly Harper’s How to Flirt with a Naked Werewolf, and Mary Hughes’ Bite My Fire. Sound good?

Little Town Blues Melting Away

Today I went walkabout in Manhattan. It's been a couple years since I visited and a decade since I lived here and New York can always be counted on to change. It is a city in constant evolution. Gotta say, it's impossible to be bored here. I definitely understand the appeal.

I wandered from Times Square (where the RWA conference will be held) down to my old office in Chelsea - which no longer houses the film company I once worked for. I discovered the High Way (new since I lived here) walkway - a lovely landscaped elevated pathway that runs along tenth from 30th almost all the way to the village. I wandered through Greenwich and down to see Ground Zero (very different from when I lived here only months after the attacks). The high rise at Liberty Plaza is creeping toward completion, but the mall at the World Financial Center is already in action, so I stopped in at the food court to cop their wifi and write this (after taking a moment to wander through Battery Park and pick out a good spot to dock my yacht if I ever have Stupid Money to spend).

I've caught two Broadway shows so far - Catch Me If You Can, which was surprisingly romantic and a delightful theater experience ("a spectacular spectacular" according to New York magazine), and the ballet of Cinderella, which definitely primed me for romancey-goodness this week. (And the step-sisters were BRILLIANT. I love when they are played with such comedic flair.)

But playtime (at least of the non-writing variety) is almost over. Tomorrow the conference begins! If you are in the New York area, the Literacy for Life signing is open to the public, 5:30-7:30pm at the Marriott Marquis. Over 500 of your favorite romance authors will be signing their books and visiting with readers. Don't miss it!

And if you don't hear from me for a couple days, I promise to have beaucoup tales from the trenches as soon as I recover my sanity post-conference! Have a great week, y'all!

Romance Trading Cards!

Greetings, reader minions!

I'm getting set to venture forth to the RWA National Conference in New York City (departure in T-minus eight hours!). The last few days have been packed with my usual last minute shopping frenzy as I cram a year of purchases into seventy two hours. I also got my very first ever pedicure. Do you like those? I wasn't really expecting to love it but the experience was soooo relaxing. I might become a spa convert yet... though my pretty manicure is making me nervous of chipping a nail as I type - excellent reason not to have a pretty manicure, but it's fun to have hands that look like they belong to someone older than a five year old for a change. (My hands are freakishly small. Seriously. I could be a sideshow act.)

Many awesome things will be happening at conference (Broadway! Broadway!) and I will be signing books and chatting with readers at both Samhain signing (next Friday 3pm) and the RWA Literacy event. The massive Literacy signing is Tuesday afternoon at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square and open to the public if you live in the area (technically also open to the public if you don't live in the area, but kinda expensive once you factor in plane fare...). All your favorite romance authors in ONE ROOM. (Don't worry, it's a BIG room.) Come for the books, come for the authors, come for the trading cards!

That's right, boys and girls. For those of you who haven't already heard, the newest trend (which I kinda love) is collectible romance trading cards. Visit the website to see the bevy of awesome and collect them all.

I have three available at the Literacy Signing - where the Rubies will also be having a scavenger hunt & giving away a gift card to someone who collects a certain set of cards.










Here are mine.




What do you think? (And if you think Zoe's looks a little different than the one I previewed here, you're right. I changed it up because it was bugging me.)

And if you won't be at conference (oh, the sadness!) you can still collect them. Just email me (vivi AT viviandrews DOT com) with your snail mail address and the number of my cards you would like and I will send them off to you. Sound good?

And the RITA goes to...

Boys and girls! It's the big day! The day of the Romance Writers of America's RITA/Golden Heart ceremony. What's that, you ask? Only the biggest award out there in the romance writing industry. The Oscars of romance, if you will. The RITAs are for published books, while the Golden Heart represent the unpublished up-and-comers we hope to see on best seller lists in years to come.

And who won this year? Oh, baby. There's a lot of awesome in this group.

There's a link to the complete list of winners below, but I'm gonna gush about a few notables. On the Golden Heart side, two Rubies won this year! Mad congrats to CJ Eernisse Chase (Inspirational) and Elisa Beatty (Regency Rockstar Goddess of Epic Proprotions who also won two categories of the Royal Ascot Historical Romance competition this year, why the hell is this woman not published yet?). Yay, RUBIES!

And in my category, the Single Title Contemporary Golden Heart baton was passed to Lizbeth Selvig - who I met a couple years back at the Emerald City Writers Conference and who it is safe to say rocks some serious socks. Congrats, Lizbeth! (I wasn't able to be there to give out the Golden Heart, so they got Roxanne St. Claire to fill in. I'm sure Lizbeth didn't mind the substitution... given that it was Rocki-freaking-St.Claire. Dude.)

Roxanne St. Claire with RITA winner Kresley Cole.

On the RITA side, there was much "woot, woot"-ing at Casa Andrews as the announcements went out and some of my All Time Favorite Authors got the nod. (Oh, the awesome! I can hardly contain myself!)

Sherry Thomas won Historical for Not Quite a Husband (which I will confess I haven't read yet though it is on my TBR pile right now but I was lucky enough to crash a dinner with her at RT this year and I can vouch for the deep, deep awesomeness she possesses). Congrats, Sherry!

Then two of my hero-worship favs won back-to-back! Julia Quinn for What Happens in London (Oh-my-freaking-god, I loved that book) won the Regency Historical and joined the RWA Hall of Fame for winning her third RITA! And then Kresley Cole took home her second Paranormal Romance RITA for Kiss of a Demon King (which was that one with Sabine the deeply badass anti-heroine and I love to see the tough-girl heroines getting the RWA love).

Finish the night off with Kristan Higgins taking home the Single Title Contemporary RITA for Too Good to Be True (brilliant!) and... well, it's a pretty sweet line-up.

Mad congrats to all the RITA and Golden Heart winners and nominees! Enjoy every second of your most deserved recognition!

Shy Writers Unite!

Today I'm over at the Once Written, Twice Shy Blog chatting about handling my introverted tendencies at conferences. Stop of by and learn how I'm like Dana Carvey.

Golden Heart & RITA Finalists Announced!

This time each year, Romance Writers of America announce the finalists for their big awards - the RITA for published books & the Golden Heart for unpublished manuscripts. Last year I was one of the lucky honorees in the Golden Heart (for which I am now ineligible). The Golden Heart was a great experience, a fun ride, and now a new set of finalists get to take a spin.

Yesterday was a day of much frenzy and excitement for many a romance writer - aspiring & established alike. Don't believe me? Just check out the frantic activity at the Ruby blog yesterday as finalists cyber-toasted one another. Or swing on by the RWA official list to see if any of your favorite books from 2009 got the nod. I know some of mine did. Kresley Cole... Julia Quinn... Marjorie Liu...

I meant to be running about yesterday flinging congratulations far and wide, but things didn't quite turn out that way. For the last week I've been doing battle with local printers who "don't know why it isn't working" & screeching over insane shipping costs from online printers (Alaska is not in Antarctica for crying out loud!). I've been trying to get promo stuff lined up for the Romantic Times convention next month. And now, at long last, I finally have a plan that isn't going to force me to sell a kidney to cover the shipping costs and bookmarks & cover flats have officially been ordered. Woot!

So now I plunge myself back into the fun side of the writing world to say... HUGE CONGRATULATIONS to all the RITA & Golden Heart finalists!

Enjoy your year! (And prepare a speech. Trust me, you'll kick yourself if you don't.)

RWA Photo Journal #2 - RITA/Golden Heart Awards Ceremony

My pictorial accounting of the RWA National Conference continues... it's Saturday, the day of the big ole RITA/Golden Heart Awards Ceremony.

Photo #13: At the Golden Heart Rehearsal thingy, I see The Room. It's... uh... kinda big. (This photo is taken from beneath the giant floating head screen.)


Photo #14: Kelly Fitzpatrick and I primp for Awards Night and this is the result. I couldn't make my hair do anything I wanted it to all night. *sigh*

Photo #15: We arrive early (because we're supposed to and I'm nothing if not an obeyer of rules - when I like the rules). The room is slowly starting to fill. Please note 1) the room is freaking huge. Yes, that is the screen on which people's giant floating heads are projected. And 2) everyone who is already seated is texting. Yee-haw technology.
Before the ceremony starts, I go a little nuts and take pictures of everyone...

Photo #16: It's Sara Ramsey & Terry!

Photo #17: Jenn Bray-Weber looks too gorgeous for words seven months pregnant. (This is a very early shot of her precious little girl.)

Photo #18: Heather McCollum and her kilt-wearing hubby. (I know, I know, I should have gotten a shot of the kilt. Mea culpa.)

Photo #19: Me and Amanda Brice.

Photo #20: Best Picture Ever! Is it me and Sara Ramsey? Why, yes, it is. But what's this? Who's that in the background? Could that possibly be ELOISA-areyoufreakingkiddingme-JAMES and JULIA-ohmyfreakinggod-QUINN sitting right behind us? Why, yes. I do believe it is. (And we totally knew they were back there and slouched down as much as we could to try to squeeze them into the shot. Fan-obsessed? Okay, maybe a little.)

The ceremony commences.

Photo #21: Sara looks like a rockstar giving her speech. She sounds poised and fabulous.

Photo #22: I look like an idiot giving my speech. What the hell kind of face is that to make? I must have made it the entire time because every picture of me looks like that. Ugh.


Photo #23: Oooooh... Is that a Golden Heart? Or, dare I say, two?

Photo #24: Doesn't Shelli Stevens look fabulous?

Photo #25: Look, Ma! It's a speech! Note: The scribbling random words on your palm method is not a recommended speech-giving procedure.

Photo #26: Because Golden Heart Winners are totally dignified. Heh. Yeah. Dignified.

RWA Conference Photo Journal

Okay, this took a couple months for me to get around to posting, but I will now attempt to make up for my tardiness by being brilliant and witty as I narrate the pictorial proof that I was really there.

Tuesday... Sightseeing:
Photo #1: Even though I used to live in DC, I tag along on a sightseeing blitz of the National Monuments guided by the fabulous Ms. Amanda Brice, 2008 & 2009 Golden Heart Finalist in the YA category (she's the one on the far right... at least, I think it's right. Do you know your right from your left? Am I the only one who flunked that part of kindergarten?). Along with Shelli Stevens, Crystal Jordan, Loribelle Hunt, and Robin L. Rotham, we take on the National Mall and emerge victorious (and exhausted).

Photo #2: Washington just isn't Washington without a giant phallic symbol.

Photo #3: Amanda and I ham it up with The Ruby Slippers, as members of the Sisterhood should.

Photo #4: George Washington was a stud without his shirt. Who knew?

Photo #5: Following our Capitol tour, Amanda & Robin rejoice in finding the dastardly nail scissors which would have been a threat to our national security if we had taken them inside the building.


Golden Heart Dinner:
Photo #6: Later Tuesday Night. I meet up with the other Golden Heart finalists for the first time. Tamara Hogan, Jenn Bray-Weber, Amy Talley and Cate Rowan keep me laughing all night long.

I forgot my camera on Wednesday & Thursday during the day. On Tuesday night, I went to a midnight showing of Harry Potter with some old non-writing chums from DC. Got to bed after four. Then it was time for the Golden Network Retreat on Wednesday afternoon, where the editor & agent panel reviewed some query letters for us - so illuminating! Afterwards Kelly Fitzpatrick and I breezed through the Literacy Signing, but decided it was too overwhelming to wade through and we needed sustenance! We chatted with the lovely Elise Chidley (Rita nominee) well into the evening.

Thursday was conference, conference, conference! Opening session with Janet Evanovich, RWA Annual General Meeting (which lead me to muse that if you want to change the rules, it is important to actually know the rules and the legal procedures for changing them), Keynote luncheon with Linda Howard (cows and crazies!), workshops... it's a busy day. That night, I get gussied up for the Finally a Bride award presentation. Kelly goes along as my date when they give me my weaponry... er, engraved cake knife and server. Then it's off to the Golden Network Desert Reception.

Photo #7: Ain't we cute? Kelly Fitzpatrick and I in our Thursday Best.

Photo #8: The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood pose pretty, showing off those red shoes at the Golden Network reception.
We then retreat back to the bar (Mecca at a romance conference) where we chat up the marvelous Ms. Sara Ramsey and her cohort, Terry. We also run into Jess Granger and Angie Fox... the latter of whom inspires a fangirl moment where my brain evaporates and I turn into a blithering idiot. Sadly, I do not think Angie Fox was impressed by my inability to form a coherent sentence in her presence. We later hit the Moonlight Madness Bazaar briefly before calling it a night and admitting defeat...

Operating under the We Don't Need No Stickin' Sleep Theory, I am up early again on Friday. Breakfast, PAN Retreat, Workshops, Luncheon with speaker Eloisa James, pitch with Chris Keeslar, Golden Heart Reception thingy where they give me my certificate of Golden Heartiness (there was a dude taking pictures... where are those pictures? Your guess is as good as mine.), then on to the Samhain Wine Reception:

Photo #9: Shelli Stevens and a mystery guest (my memory for faces just sucks) at the Samhain Wine Reception.

Photo #10: Yes, I forced Kelly to come with me. Isn't she nice? She didn't kick or scream much at all!

Photo #11: Here I am chatting with Cate Rowan. Notice how I look like I've been run over by a cement mixer? I'm so tired by this point I can barely form a coherent sentence... or rather I can't form a coherent sentence, which meant bad things during my pitch earlier that day.

A Note on the Importance of Sleep: Sleep is necessary. Really really necessary. If you do not get sleep, your brain will start to shut off non-crucial portions. Luckily, this means it will keep you breathing and ambulatory. Unluckily, this means it will no longer allow you access to the part that comes up with pithy, clever answers when people ask you in depth questions about your books... say, at a pitch session. Or perhaps it will shut off the facial recognition function. And you'll forget who people are... say, editors you've met before. So yeah. GET SOME SLEEP.

After a late workshop Friday night, I give up on being social, go home and SLEEP. I sleep in late Saturday morning, making it to my second pitch with not a second to spare. I am brilliant (sorta). Afterwards, I head off to more workshops but then...

Photo #12: FIRE! It's an epidemic. This is the second conference I've been to where a workshop has been halted due to a sudden threat of incineration. We are just too hot to handle, baby.

Okay, I'm gonna have to break this into multiple posts. More photos from the RWA National Conference and specifically the Golden Heart Awards Ceremony tomorrow.