Comments on: RT Recap Day 4: Saturday

By: Jane

Jane — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:32:02 +0000

@alisa sheckley kwitney I took your picture! I was too shy to introduce myself. If you are at RWA, I'll be more pushy.

By: alisa sheckley kwitney

alisa sheckley kwitney — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 19:02:57 +0000

Wish I’d realized you were at RT. Would have been nice to meet you. I wandered around trying to find my room most of the time, and was bemused by the musical chairs with male models dressed as Spartans. I personally don’t sit on Spartans — it would just make me want to make jokes about Trojans.

By: Jessa Slade

Jessa Slade — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:18:59 +0000

Thanks for the recaps. Between these and the tweets, it was… well, not like being there at all, but helpful still. And an incentive to make a way to go next year.

See some of you in DC!

By: Leeann Burke

Leeann Burke — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 17:13:38 +0000

Hi Jane,

Thanks for sharing your experience at RT this year. I lived vicariously through your tweets and blogs since I couldn’t attend this year.

Also thanks for the information from Borders romance buyer on the good news about Borders. It’s great to hear.

Will you be attending RWA Nationals this year in Washington/

By: Terry Odell

Terry Odell — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 13:16:45 +0000

This was my first RT, although I’ve been to 3 RWA conferences and a number of smaller ones, including one that focuses on mystery. I’ve got to say, RT is a different game. I loved being able to meet readers (and was shocked when a few of them said, “I read your books and I love them”). I did both the e-book and the print book signings, and found the e-book folks tended to be very much into either the erotic or the paranormal (neither of which I write), but the print fair was a completely mixed bag. I did have to learn to get over my shyness and mention that my books were mystery-romances as people glanced at the display. A lot of them stopped to chat, and I sold more than I’d expected, so I felt good about the experience.

Had to leave before the Mr. Romance competition, though. I thought that Konstantinos, who freely admitted to being 40, was the most interesting — most of the others schmoozed for votes, but he stopped and conversed. Good to see someone breaking the ‘only the young can be models’ mold.

By: Evangeline

Evangeline — Mon, 27 Apr 2009 07:05:57 +0000

Do you wish there was more discussion about books, Jane? One thing I find interesting about the romance genre is how RT and Nat’ls dominate the romance genre. Sure, Lori Foster hosts an event, Sherrilyn Kenyon did (does?), there’s Celebrate Romance, and the Romance Slam Jam for African-American romance writers and fans, but other than that, the internet is the only place where a variety of people within the romance community come together. It would be very interesting for a greater number of reader/writer conferences to exist for romance.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 22:03:02 +0000

Columbus? Super! That’s practically in my backyard! I’ll have to mark my calendar for that! Thanks for the info!

By: KristieJ

KristieJ — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 21:45:11 +0000

And I believe RT is always in Florida. Another reason I'll try to go next year. ;-)

And the year I went it was in Toronto Canada.

By: K. Z. Snow

K. Z. Snow — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:56:48 +0000

The booksigning looks like fun. Sometimes, I think I’d rather go as an anonymous reader — not that I’ve ever been to RT in either role. Must be kind of a tense situation for writers, as much as they might hate to admit it. Imagine sitting there and watching attendees glom onto certain authors while you’re essentially being ignored. (Yikes, that can’t do much for one’s confidence! But I’m sure it happens.)

By: Zoe Archer

Zoe Archer — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 20:43:12 +0000

@Sandy:

And I believe RT is always in Florida.

Next year, it's in Columbus, OH, and last year was Pittsburgh, PA, so it does move around.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:29:44 +0000

Author Lori Foster hosts a fantastic event in June for authors and fans to get together. It's both social and a great networking opportunity. It's also in the midwest, which is unusual. The only time RWA goes midwest is when Nashville hosts the conference. And I believe RT is always in Florida. Another reason I'll try to go next year. ;-)

By: Jessica

Jessica — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 18:19:19 +0000

@Jinni:

now I'm thinking that maybe RWA should join up with RT to provide a reader experience and work to make Nationals a more writer focused experience.

I think it would be fun to attend an event where I could meet some of my favorite authors and fellow bloggers and readers, and actually talk romance with them. But the RWA is for writers and the RT seems more social and zany. Perhaps there could be a a preconference event or a mini-conference at the RWA for the serious-minded, not to say uptight, introverts. Not that I would know any of those.

By: Jinni

Jinni — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 17:49:11 +0000

Though I was a romance reader years before writing, I never though of going to RT. But now I’m thinking that maybe RWA should join up with RT to provide a reader experience and work to make Nationals a more writer focused experience. I’m debating on Nationals this year (DC in JULY – humidity) because I felt there wasn’t a lot to do for the serious, career-focused writer.

By: Sandy

Sandy — Sun, 26 Apr 2009 16:03:44 +0000

I’m jealous, but I’m glad you had a good time. And thanks for all the great updates so I can live vicariously through you. I’m definitely going to have to make plans to go to RT next year. By then, I’ll have my books in print format and will, hopefully, have a few fans who might like to meet me. A girl can dream…