May 6, 2013 · 11:43 am

RT Convention 2013 – The Parties

Me, René and Amanda

Me, René and Amanda

Last week I embarked on my yearly pilgrimage to the RT (Romantic Times) Convention held in Kansas City. I attended with my friends, René and Amanda. It’s 4 days of being submersed in books and romance and people who “get” you. Writers, readers, booksellers, librarians, agents, and publishers get together to celebrate the written word and have a great time. During the day we attend workshops, but at night, we party!

Amanda, Me and the Cave Men

Amanda, Me and the Cave Men

The first night’s party is always hosted by publisher Ellora’s Cave. Considering they are known for their hot erotic romance books, they know how to throw a party. The tables are full of SWAG (Stuff We All Get) based on the party’s theme. This year was disco. This year, some of their cover models, or Cave Men, danced the Hustle on stage. Many attendees wear costumes and everyone has a blast when the DJ cranks it up!

René and I in our pretty dresses

René and me in our pretty dresses

Night 2 is always the Fairy Ball. This year it was combined with RT’s 30th Anniversary. Everyone wore formal attire and a presentation of Romance Author Legends took precedent. It always amazing me at the elaborate and beautiful costumes people show off.

The third night belongs to Heather Graham and the vampire ball. The night starts off with a skit performed by Heather and friends and then the dancing starts. Of course, more costumes and great times. There were a lot of zombies this year too.

Heather Graham

Heather Graham

The final night belongs to Harlequine. It’s a little tamer than the others, most likely because by this point, everyone is partied out. But, the bags of books they give away is pretty cool. René won a bag this year, only to worry later about how she was going to get her stash home. Don’t worry, she managed.

Amanda getting her groove on.

Amanda getting her groove on.

Next year my friends and I plan on dressing up in costume for each party. We said that last year, too, but we really mean it this time. RT Convention 2014 is going to be in New Orleans. I’m so excited because I’ve always wanted to go and now I have a good excuse. So, if you want to go to a convention to learn about writing or party with some fabulous authors, RT is the place to be.

Next post I’ll talk about the wonderful workshops I attended, what I learned, and what I won.

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April 22, 2013 · 4:10 pm

Another Alan Rickman movie watched

A friend of mine likes to recommend movies for me to watch and last night he told me that Valkyrie is a must watch. Well, I logged on to Netflix this morning to see if it was available, and to my non-surprise, it wasn’t. Very few of the movies I want are on instant streaming. But since I was there, I checked to see if any Alan Rickman movies I 0d4548eb86ecf7d6cc23a9c2f3bfce4bhadn’t seen were on and that’s when I saw it: Blow Dry.

Now, this movie was on Netflix some time last year but when I went to watch it, it had disappeared. So I was super excited to see it available again. I instantly hit play, not willing to let it slip through my fingers a second time.

The movie is about family at its core, and putting aside old hurts and grudges to remember what’s really important in this life. Blow Dry is set around the British Hairdressing Championship. I never knew there was such an event but it did look like fun. It wasn’t the funniest movie but it had its moments. I especially liked seeing all the colorful sheep one of the characters used to practice hair coloring on. They looked like they belonged at a Grateful Dead concert. The characters were charming and had me rooting for them till the end. I could even forgive Josh Hartnett’s abysmal British accent. And, of course, Rickman was sexy as hell. Heidi Klum was even in the movie, playing a model, naturally. I just love her. Not only is she hot, but funny too.

What I’ve noticed after watching this film was that Rickman plays very similar characters, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but I’d really love to see him do something totally unique and different from the understated, soft spoken, dignified man. I think the Sheriff of Nottingham was probably his most wild role. Will this stop me from seeing every possible movie he’s made? Do I even need to answer that?

So, I definitely recommend Blow Dry to anyone who loves a heartwarming story. And to anyone who loves to drool over Alan Rickman, which I suspect is most of the population.

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March 11, 2013 · 1:40 pm

The great experiment

My love for writing began a few years ago when I had immersed myself in Vampire Academy fanfiction. I read hundreds of stories, always subconsciously searching for one story that I could never quite find, at least not in one submission. That’s when it occurred to me to write the story myself. Writing and posting that first chapter was one of the most nerve-wracking and exhilarating experiences of my life. Would anyone read it? Would anyone like it?feather_pen_141556

Well, people did read it and even thought it good. The encouragement and feedback I received spurred me on. Every night I cranked out another chapter, eager to know what my readers—I had readers!—would think of the latest installment. As I wrote the story, I incorporated some of the suggestions left by the readers and, of course, let the characters lead the way. What a wild ride that was.

So, I decided to try that again only using my world, completely new characters, and different storyline. I posted the first chapter of What the Fae? on Wattpad. Each Monday I’ll post a new chapter. The goal is reader collaboration to help mold the story. I know where I want the characters to end up, but there are a million different ways to get there and I hope readers will suggest different routes to take.

I figure this experiment will be a great success or an epic fail, but that’s the point. I’m trying something different and that’s what counts. Of course, I’m still working on the sequel to Pucker Up, tentatively titled Lip Smacked, and my short adult story, The Collector.

So, go check out What the Fae? and tell me what you think.

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March 4, 2013 · 3:56 pm

Mr. Whiskers is FREE today!

Over at Amazon, The Tenth Life of Mr. Whiskers is free today. Whoo hoo! So click on over and download it now. You know you want to.

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February 17, 2013 · 11:00 pm

Quidditch—Not just for wizards anymore

And yes, I do mean that game from Harry Potter. Did you know that there are hundreds of quidditch teams throughout the United States and around the world?  I didn’t either until a friend told me that the International Quidditch Association Western Cup IV was playing in our area this weekend. Because my family just loves Harry Potter—at least my teenage daughter and I are fanatics—we decided to go watch the tournament.QUIDDITCH

Let me tell you, we had a ball. I never really paid much attention to the rules of the game while reading the books or watching the movies, so I was a little worried I’d be totally lost. But after a few minutes watching a match, I had no problem following along. And yes, the players rode brooms, or broomsticks at least. It was very exciting, like soccer meets dodgeball meets flag football. There was always something going on.

I expected to see fans all decked out in their best Hogwarts garb but it wasn’t like that at all. Many of the teams are from universities like UCLA and Berkley. This is a serious and legitimate sport, though still a lot of fun. Men and woman played with and against each other and no one was shy about tackling an opponent no matter the gender. All part of Title 9  3/4.

The snitch was my favorite part. In the books, the snitch is a small golden ball with wings, flying all over the pitch and beyond, out of reach of the seekers. In the muggle version, the snitch was a person with a tennis ball in a pouch hanging off the back of their shorts, much like a flag in flag football. In the beginning of the game, all players had to look down and close their eyes while the snitch ran off to hide. When the snitch returned to the pitch some time later and the ball was snatched from a seeker, the game ended and points added up.

My younger kids, Paul – 10 and Angela – 5, got to play a few games too. They had a great time running up and down the pitch on their brooms. The best part was watching as over half the kids chased the poor snitch all over the fields, trying to win the game.photo (5)

Always competitive, Monica and I would choose sides and gloat when our team scored. My teams won 2 out of 3 times. Now Monica wants to start a quidditch club at her high school. It also wouldn’t surprise me if she chose a college based on the standing of the quidditch team.

I hope to see more quidditch games in the future. Maybe I’ll be sitting in the stands cheering on one of my kids at the World Cup one day.

 

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February 14, 2013 · 1:46 pm

Happy Valentine’s Day World!!

I found a wonderful saying on Facebook this morning that reminded me of a conversation I had the other day with one of my dearest friends that I felt very fitting on this day of love and appreciation.

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February 7, 2013 · 9:58 am

Warm Bodies warmed my heart

This last Super Bowl Sunday, my teenager daughter and I went to see Warm Bodies with my friend Karen. Let me tell you, it was FAB-U-LOUS! Of course, I’m a sucker for an offbeat love story and you can’t get more unusual than a zombie falling for a human.warmbodies

The story is told through the point of view of R, our zombie protagonist. His thoughts and observations are laugh-out-loud funny as he ponders his life as a living corpse, “Man, we walk slow.” He has no memory of his past human life and isn’t very excited about his current one. R is endearing right from the start—a zombie clinging to humanity through his vast collection of knick knacks and vinyl records.

Its during a hunt for food—Brains!—that R finds Julie and takes her home with him. The build up of their relationship was realistic, gradual, believable, and very touching. The story is obviously a retelling of Romeo and Juliet, complete with balcony scene.

Nicholas Hoult does a wonderful job playing R. He makes being undead hot! Julie is played by Teresa Palmer who is absolutely adorable. The two of them together were so freakin’ cute you can’t help but cheer them on as they fight to stay together.

I definitely recommend this movie, especially this Valentine’s Day.

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