RT10

Columbus was a fabulous place for a conference. I wouldn't have believed it before I went, but I loved the city. The hotel and conference center were right next to the High Street area, a very lively part of town. We walked down there to a couple of wonderful restaurants. And on Sunday we went over to the North Market where there were lots of food stands. We munched on ham and cheese croissants for lunch.

The conference center, next to the hotel, had a good food court where we had several lunches. We loved the Greek restaurant there.

I think that if you can't be outrageous at RT, where can you be? So I decided to wear the saris I'd bought in India--and also the ones I got at home after our trip to India. Lots of people commented on them. I was planning to also wear them at RWA. Wonder what's going to happen at RWA this year?

Here I am w/ Kathryn Falk at Club RT.

I did a couple of panels--one on Thrillers and one on Paranormal. The most interesting thing to me was hearing how other writers work. I can't imagine doing a suspense plot by the seat of my pants. But apparently a lot of people do it. Also fun to hear what paranormal elements authors are putting into their books. I would not have believed you could sell shape-shifter snakes. But they exist.

At the Thriller Panel with Gennita Low, Cindy Gerard, CJ Lyons, Heather Graham and Robert Gregory Browne.

Here are some of my impressions of RT10.

It was fun hooking up with old friends at the conference, like Angela Knight and her husband. But I also got to know some people I hadn't really talked to before.

Michael Woodcock, Angela Knight, me and Norman at the Vampire Ball.

Norman w/ Barry Eisler.

At the Book Fair with Sarah Zettel.

RT makes writers pay to put their promotional materials on promotion lane and limits the amount of space they have. Actually, I think this is a good idea because it keeps down the amount of stuff sitting around. It's fun going through the materials, picking up things from other writers and deciding what works and what doesn't. I personally think that if the thing you're giving away doesn't have your name on it, you shouldn't bother. (I don't mean a business card tied to a back scratcher.)

RT runs a good awards ceremony that clicks along fairly quickly. This year they had the editor of Cosmo as an award ceremony speaker. Since they gave a special award to Barbara Taylor Bradford, she was also on hand. She told a hilarious story about a fan who'd brought a lot of books for her to sign. One had a bullet hole in it. The woman's husband had shot the book, but not to worry. They are now divorced.

I won the award for best Harlequin Intrigue. Here I am with other winners, Charlaine Harris, Barbara Taylor Bradford and Sue Grimshaw.

Here I’m giving Borders Romance buyer, Sue Grimshaw, her Melinda Helfer Fairy Godmother Award.

RT makes it easy to connect with fans at Club RT, where you can sit at a table and talk to readers. I always enjoy that. And there's also a dealers room in the same location, where you can buy unique clothing and jewelry.

Here I am with Lisa Childs at Club RT.

I also did interviews with Between Your Sheets (video--which will appear on NovelsAlive.tv) and with Circle of Seven for one of their podcasts later this month.

The hotel was comfortable but strangely didn't have an upscale restaurant, only a coffee shop and a bar. Because the conference was spread out, there wasn't one central place where you could see people. But the bar was usually crowded, as you might expect. Some of us got breakfast at Einstein Brothers Bagels. Really yummy! Unfortunately, they were closed on the weekend, and we had to get inferior bagels at a coffee shop (also in the hotel).

In the past few years, I was seeing a lot of e-pub authors at RT and not so many print published, but I see this shifting. There were a lot of NY published authors on hand in Columbus.

RT is also a party blast. The Faery Ball is always fun. You wouldn't believe how much effort some people put into costumes. Also at the Vampire Ball. As promised, I wore my transvestite vampire outfit and had a great time. Norman wore his tux to both balls. (See above)