Conference with pics

Anne here, coming in very late -- with apologies. I'm battling with the effects of jet-lag, and as well, technology is currently not my friend. The good news is that finally my body has adjusted perfectly to Texas time. The bad news is, I'm back in Australia, so I'm still battling jet-lag. (That's me on RITA night)

I was only home two days -- just enough time to unpack, wash my clothes, deal with the 874 emails that had piled up in my absence, then pack again and get on a plane to Sydney, where the Romance Writers of Australia annual conference is this year. So last night at 7pm (which is Wednesday morning US time) I lay down on my hotel bed with a notepad and pen to plan this blog, and... you guessed it, I fell asleep. I woke briefly at 3 am, but forced myself to go back to sleep -- the sooner I can get back to normal hours the better.

Did I mention I'm in a hotel in Sydney now? A very comfortable and nice one too, in the Sydney Olympic area — when it gets light I'll take a photo from my room. But the last person here must have had to get up at 4.30 am. How do I know? Because that's when the alarm clock went off.

I managed to find the button to shut the rotten thing off -- blind luck, I thought -- my eyes were barely open -- and I drifted back to sleep. Unfortunately it was one of those clocks where the alarm sneakily goes off again 10 minutes later, because it knew I'd gone back to sleep, didn't it? And it's louder and more insistent the second time. And this time the search for the right button involved glasses and lights (and a little bit of quiet cursing.)

So now I'm up, awake (sort of) and sitting in the pre-dawn dark in Sydney, writing a very late blog that I fear isn't going to be up to the usual wenchly standards.

Texas, where I went for the RWA conference, was brilliant. I was lucky from the moment I arrived. After my long trip from Australia, I arrived in San Antonio somewhat of a zombie. When I went to check in, the hotel clerk looked a bit worried -- "You booked a room with a king bed," she said.
"Yes, that's right."
"We're a bit short of king beds at the moment."
I told her I didn't mind what kind of a bed I had, that I'd been traveling for the last 26 hours without sleep and that any bed would be just fine by me.
So she gave me a little smile and said if I didn't mind 2 double beds, she could upgrade me. I didn't mind at all, of course. I staggered up to my room, intending to collapse in whatever bed was there, and I found a room with a balcony and this view waiting for me.

Gorgeous, isn't it? I stood there for ages, peering out and grinning and trying to work out what various landmarks were. It put such a complete spin on my mood that after a shower, I felt so completely refreshed and happy that instead of crawling into bed, I met some friends and went out to dinner. (Brazilian — a total, delicious meat-fest.)

The second lucky part for me was that I'd been warned the weather would be unbearably hot and humid. I'm pretty okay with heat but a total wimp with humidity. San Antonio was hot — 100 F (38C) but only about 40% humidity, which didn't bother me at all, so I was able to do a lot of walking and exploring. San Antonio is a beautiful place. I went here. Recognize it?

Maybe this is a more recognizable angle. 

And I caught up with so many people. The first evening after I arrived I went out to dinner (Mexican) with PJ Ausdenmore, of the Romance Dish. We walked down along the Riverwalk to this place. PJ's a romance reader, blogger and reviewer, and she and I have been long-time friends since she was introduced to my books by the wonderful Janga, reader, writer, reviewer, blogger and regular wenchly reader (waving to Janga.) PJ and I drank margaritas and talked and ate (chilli rellenos) and talked some more and it was a wonderful night.

The next day the conference started in earnest, and I went to the Librarians' Day luncheon, where Barbara Samuel made a beauful speech that had most of the audience wiping away tears at times.  I caught up with the lovely Kristan Higgins, who I'd met in Australia the year before.

The next day I attended a heap of good workshops and in the evening I hooked up with another group of writer friends, in which wenches Jo and Mary Jo were included — these were mostly people I'd met at NINC (novelists Inc) and I hadn't seen some of them for ages. So, old friends and some new ones.

The literacy signing was a blast — so many people came up to me and said nice things about my books. As usual I was sitting next to Heather Graham and she's always so lovely. Opposite me were RITA finalists in the historical category, Elizabeth Hoyt and NZer Frances Housden. And I managed to race around and catch up with some other authors I only ever see at conference.

People might imagine there's a lot of competition between writers, but honestly, I find the conferences so warm and friendly and supportive, it's a joy to be there and to meet friends I've made at previous conferences. You can click with someone at a conference, and with email, the friendships can ripen so that by the next conference, that person is like an old friend, even though you've met them at only two conferences.

A highlight of the week was attending the Harlequin party as the guest of my friend Carol Marinelli, who was being presented with an award for writing 75 books. Such a fabulous achievement, and I know how hard she works. I was so proud of her. She's the one in the middle.

I attended parties given by Kensington (which published the wenchly Christmas Anthology) and my publisher, Berkley, as well as having lunch with my editor and the editorial director of Berkley. Other highlights were having a quiet evening in my room talking and having a glass of wine and talking with the other wenches attending -- Mary Jo, Nicola and Jo.

One lunchtime I raced down to the foodcourt to snatch some food and found myself sharing a table with two new young writers — one a golden heart finalist. I love meeting new writers — their excitement and passion for writing is so infectious. Another highlight was the ANZ (Australia/NewZealand) breakfast — Mary Jo and I were meeting for breakfast and she suggested I bring along a few of my aussie friends. I told her there was likely to be a mob — and she said she didn't mind, there was. It was a lovely breakfast and everyone had a great time.

From left: Kelly Hunter, Lilian Darcy,Nalini Singh, Stephanie Laurens, Carol Marinelli, Mary Jo Putney (honorary ANZer) and Golden heart finalist and newly contracted writer, Vanessa Barneveld. Also attending but not in the picture were Jo Beverley, Frances Housden, Melanie Scott, Trish Morey - and I might have forgotten one of two -- sorry if I have.

The RITA night was a blast ‚— I was sitting at the Berkley table with my editor and the Berkley editorial director and Sherry Thomas and others. With 17 finalists in the group, I wasn't too nervous, so I enjoyed the night, even though I didn't win a RITA. I love awards night, and the speeches and excitement, and I was thrilled because several of my friends won a RITA — including Susanna Kearsley, Leah Ashley a fairly new, young Australian writer (that's her in the pic) and my good friend Jane Porter, who I've known for years. So we celebrated the RITAs in a group. 

Bizarrely the Marriott hotel bar didn't have champagne available to buy -- how crazy is that? After a huge awards ceremony. I tried to buy some bottles to share with my friends, and all they had were two (2!) tiny bottles, smaller than a can of soda — for eight people. We managed to celebrate anyway.

After the conference I spent a couple more days in San Antonio, moving to the Mokara hotel, which was simply gorgeous. I was lucky there, too and got a beautiful room with this view.I enjoyed every aspect of my stay there and will stay there again, if I go back to San Antonio.

And I left the USA with these two souvenirs of a very happy time in Texas. (See below -- that's a bootjack between them. I'll be wearing these boots at the aussie conference this weekend.)

So there it is, a very brief outline of my conference. And now I'm about to shower and go down for breakfast at the Aussie conference.

This afternoon I'm involved in a debate, an entertainment that will be held with afternoon tea (cream cakes etc) as part of the Author Day. Our topic is "That Alpha Heroes are better than Beta Heroes" — and I'm first speaker on the negative side, arguing for beta heroes, along with Amy Andrews and Sarah Wendell. Our opposition is Cherry Adair, Jennifer St George and Christina Brooke. Wish us luck.

So where are you now, and what are you doing?

Comments

[Mary Jo Putney]

This brings back good memories and it's only been 10 days! I was lucky enough to enjoy San Antonio with only a hour's time zone difference, which certainly made it easier. I'm glad you had such a fine time, since it' a clear sign that you need to come back for more conferences. *G*

[Anne Gracie]

Mary Jo, I'm still grinning about San Antonio — I had such a lovely time. And so many people have commented on how lovely that ANZ breakfast was, so maybe we should do it again.

I just need to take longer to get myself to the US -- maybe stopping off in Hawaii for a few days on the way to the mainland, so I'm not such a zombie.

[Shannon]

RWA sounds like so much fun, even with jet lag. I loved San Antonio when I visited.

I'm mainly at work these days. For a change, I have two big writing projects there, one with a very high level audience/client. I'm co-writing with three people, so it's really exciting to see how good people can make me better.

[Anne Gracie]

Shannon, there is real joy — and perhaps some creative frustration— in writing with other people. I always find it stimulating, even when the other parties and I differ in our approach -- and in those differences there is always some good learning to be achieved. Best of luck with your projects.

[Carol Marinelli]

It was such a wonderful conference. I can't wait to see the cowboy boots in person when i get to Sydney on Saturday!! One of many highlights for me was the ANZ breakfast and meeting Mary Jo again. It really was lovely to all meet up and catch up. Just fantastic cxxx

[Mary Jo Putney]

Anne--I think the ANZ breakfast should definitely be done again. The good time wasn't dependent on any one person--Aussies and Kiwis carry fun with them! I hope there will be such gatherings in the future--and I hope I can be there as often as possible!

[Annette N]

I am from Texas so I am glad y'all had a good time. Y'all come back now, y'hear?

[Anne Gracie]

Carol it was such fun, I agree,
Thanks for dropping by, x

[Anne Gracie]

LOL, Annette, Id come back in a heartbeat. I loved it. Thank you.

[Mary Jo Putney]

Carol--

It was lovely to see you again! Next time, we'll have to sit at the same end of the table so we can chat more. *G*

[Glenda]

Glad to hear the humidity wasn't awful for you Annie! I live just north of Austin, TX and we don't generally get as high humidity as San Antonio. Houston has it much worse.

At the moment I'm in Grand Tetons National Park in Wyoming. It is beautiful up here! We did a 12 mile hike today and if I weren't hungry, I'd be asleep. :-D

[Janga]

Janga here, waving back. :) I loved reading your account of the conference, Anne, and the photos are great. I've never been to San Antonio, but all the conference attendees whose comments I have read have been so enthusiastic that I am persuaded I should visit.

Today I am enjoying some rare free time, reading a handful of ARCs of Christmas romances, and relishing all the signed books that my friend the wonderfully thoughtful PJ sent me from the conference. My signed copies of The Winter Bride and Dangerous Joy have a special place on a keeper shelf. Thanks to you and Jo.

[HJ]

I think this is a wonderful post (love your jacket in the first photo), and I really hope that the jet lag improves. After some bad experiences I always check the radio-clock thing in a new hotel room. Nowadays some TVs can be set to come on as an alarm clock, too; I'm still not sure how I turned that one off!

I was sorry you didn't win a RITA, but you certainly made the most of being at the conference. Hope the Aussie one is just as much fun.

[Donna]

Thank you for a wonderful post! I feel as if I attended, and am sorry that I didn't. Great pictures too. Enjoy the Australian conference, and try to catch up on your sleep! Writers need sleep to refresh those creative brain cells. ;-)

[MJ]

Anne: So glad you had a great time in San Antonio. We have a house about 40 minutes north of there and will be moving there permanently when retirement arrives in about 4 years. The Riverwalk is a great place to eat, drink and people watch. My friend overheard some gals saying they weren't going down to the heart of the Riverwalk because they heard it wasn't safe, but I think it's the safest place in town. They surely missed some great margaritas!

[Bona]

This is a very interesting issue for all of us who cannot go to a RWA conference.
I'm one of those that -usually- prefer beta heroes to Alpha Heroes, so will you publish anything about that debate? Do you know any place where we can read about it?

[Vanessa Barneveld]

Ah, your post brought back such great memories of the conference and San Antonio, Anne. Loved seeing you there. :) Thanks again so much for inviting me to brekky — I was quite starstruck!

[Anne Gracie]

Glenda, I enjoyed San Antonio so much. For me the heat was quite dry easily and bearable, but some other authors didn't agree with me. *g* Your hike sounds beautiful -- I didn't get to see much of the countryside, alas.

[Anne Gracie]

Janga, you were certainly missed -- and there in spirit, having dinner with PJ and me. Hope you enjoy the books. San Antonio is a lovely place to visit — I'd encourage anyone to go there.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, HJ -- the clock in the room was a kind I'd never come across before and wasn't exactly intuitive to operate. Even after I unplugged it, it still went off!
Thanks for your good wishes, but I was very happy to be included in the finalist line-up, and I had a lovely time celebrating with my friends who did win.
The Aussie conference was a blast, thank you — our conferences are always a lot of fun.

[Anne Gracie]

Thanks, Donna, I'm, back at work now, thanks, working hard on the next story.

[Anne Gracie]

MJ I wandered all around the riverwalk area all on my own and found it very safe and comfortable and interesting. I ate some great food, drank one or two fine margaritas, heard some good music and honestly, I couldn't have been happier. I thought it was brilliant.

[Anne Gracie]

Hi Bona -- I'm not sure if we'll publish anything about the debate — it was primarily an entertainment and there was a good deal of laughter and joshing around. But it has raised some thoughts — I really think we need better definitions of alpha and beta heroes. The wenches have been discussing it off line.

[Anne Gracie]

Vanessa, it was great that you could come. It was a lovely gathering, wasn't it?

[pjpuppymom]

Wonderful memories of a great conference in San Antonio! I had such a lovely time visiting with you, Anne. Our dinner was one of the highlights of my week. And the margaritas weren't bad either! *grin*

I hope RWA takes the conference back to San Antonio in the future. It really was a terrific location.

[Anne Gracie]

It was a wonderful location, PJ -- and I had a great time with you, too. Thank you.