CONFERENCE: RWAmerica (Part 2)

Some of the wonderful moments for me of the RWAmerica conference was the chance to take part in the Literacy Autographing and Berkley signing events. I got to meet some readers I've known via Facebook, Twitter and my newsletter. It was awesome meeting you!

Fellow Aussie author, Erica Hayes

Local Aussie author & RITA finalist!

From memory, the Literacy Autographing raised a massive $57000 for a local Atlanta charity - an amazing effort!

Kiwi author, Louisa George

I also had my own fan-girl moments with some of my favourite authors.

I met up with Joss Ware again at the Literacy Signing

C.L.Wilson, Nancy Northcott & I

Meeting Kristin Callihan!

My luggage was filled with an extra 4kgs of books collected from the free publisher signings - I didn't think I'd picked up so many!

My writing buddy, Bec McMaster at the Sourcebook signing

As Chris took part in her Golden Heart experience, the tension grew the closer we came to the Awards Night dinner. I don't know who was more nervous - her or me! LOL It was an awesome moment to see her name and picture up on the large Jumbotron screen in the ballroom!

Erica Hayes, Chris Taylor, Bec McMaster & Bronwyn Parry on the Awards night

Celebrating achievements, birthdays and fun times with the Aussie contingent at RWA, Atlanta, GA.

The week in Atlanta went too quickly and I look forward to my next trip to the USA, whenever it may be.

CONFERENCE: RWAmerica (Part 1)

This year I undertook a 26+ hour flight across the Pacific Ocean to attend my second Romance Writers of America conference ever.
It was a momentous occasion for many reasons, least of all attending workshops and listening to industry professionals talk about all things writing.

My writing buddy, Chris Taylor, was a Golden Heart finalist in the Romantic Suspense category and I loved sharing her excitement and being there as support as she walked that journey.

Chris celebrating her birthday in Atlanta

Joanne & I at RWA

I also wanted to be there as a cheer squad for another Aussie Golden Heart finalist, Joanne Lockyer and RITA finalist, Bronwyn Parry.


For the first time, I met my agent, Elaine Spencer (from The Knight Agency), and my editor, Leis Pederson (from Berkley) - finally! After two years of emailing them back and forth meeting them was scary and exhilarating but wonderful.

I caught up with some of my Golden Heart Unsinkable sisters and some other friends I made in 2010 when I came to the Orlando, FL conference.

And, it was also a chance to have a few fan-girl moments of my own as I met some of my favourite authors during the conference.

But first, let me show you where we stayed - the lovely Marriott Marquis in Atlanta, Georgia.

This is the view taken from my floor looking back down to Level 1.

The central column of elevators.

The view from my room of Atlanta.

I met a couple of readers at the RWA Literacy Autographing - May and Wendy!

Wendy is also a writer!

May and I

And, of course, I couldn't not share a few shots of the food and drinks consumed during my week there...

Scrumptious dessert

Mouth-watering main meal

My fav.cocktail of the trip - a Mohito

Another cocktail

And I'm going to skip to the end of my stay in the USA - to Los Angeles, CA (where I was stranded for a day after delayed flights, yeah, I know, it's tough, but Chris and I had to fill in time somehow!) - and show you some of the sights our tour covered in the City of Angels.

Make it so!

I found him!!!

A $4.2m Maserati in Beverly Hills

The Viper Room

Venice Beach

After the 30 degree Celsius humid heat of Atlanta, the 30 dry heat of Los Angeles was lovely!

Beverly Hills town hall

Join me for another installment of CONFERENCE: RWAmerica (Part 2) tomorrow.

RWA National Conference!

As you read this I'm probably on a plane about 30000ft above the earth making my way across the Pacific Ocean and the International Dateline.

Why?

It's conference season!!!

And I'm attending the Romance Writers of America® national conference in Atlanta, Georgia.

Thankfully, I'm travelling with a friend, Christine Taylor (one of the 2013 RWA Golden Heart® finalists in the Romantic Suspense section) so it should make the time spent travelling go faster...maybe.

We'll no doubt chat up a storm for some of the 28 hours it takes to get there. We'll certainly be psyching ourselves up for the amazing experience I know RWA is going to be.

This is Chris's first time to RWA, and with all the fun surrounding her with being a GH finalist,  I know she's going to have a ball!

Some of my much anticipated events attending RWA will be:

• meeting my agent & editor face-to-face for the first time
• meeting & talking to readers at the Literacy Autographing & Berkley Book-Signing
• catching up with friends I made when I first came over in 2010 (when I won a Golden Heart® for VENGEANCE BORN)
• attending the GDRWA® Book Sellers Best awards night (where VENGEANCE BORN is a finalist in the Paranorma/Time Travel/Futuristic & Best First Book sections)
• attending Margie Lawson's workshop (I had such an a-ha moment when she visited RWAustralia® & RWNew Zealand® a few years ago)
• sitting beside Chris at the RWA® Awards dinner and cheering her on

Are you going to RWA? If so, then I'll see you there!

There's no doubt I'll come back exhausted...but it will be so worth it!

TOPIC: Why enter writing contests?

Again and because contest season is just around the corner, another re-post, this time one about why enter writing contests - previously entitled, "Do you have the contest bug?"


This is a timeless topic often discussed among writers - the value of entering contests.

RWA Valerie Parv Award

Some are for entering them and are vocal advocates of the benefits of doing so, others advise against entering as many seem to "encourage writers to write to the contest" or they see the writer receiving little value out of them.

I fall into the former category of advocates. The name "contest diva", "contest queen", or the more affectionately yet derogatory "contest sl**" was often mentioned in the same sentence as my name (*grin*). In the course of my unpublished career as a writer, I entered almost 100 contests over the nine years since tackling my first.

When considering whether or not you should enter a contest ask yourself this - why are you entering?

RWNZ Clendon Award

Is to get feedback on your work? Is the contest aimed at judging 3 chapters, a short story or a full manuscript? Is it to final? Is it because your want to get in front of a particular agent or editor? Is it to get a contest resume under your belt?

Let's consider each question.

• Feedback - entering can be a cheap way to get feedback on your work, particularly if you find a full manuscript contest that gives comments (eg. RWA Emerald Award or the RWNZ Clendon Award).

WHRWA Emily Award

If you belong to a writing organisation, ask yourself this - can I get feedback any other way besides through contests?

Some writing organisations have mentoring schemes, critique groups or critique partner schemes running, so this might be another avenue for you to pursue in your quest to get feedback.

• Contest criteria - entering a specific type of contest can help your craft. I avoided entering any sort of synopses contest, purely because I hated writing them. But because it was a weakness I'd identified in my craft skills, I forced myself to enter several of these to get feedback before I sent my work out on submission.
• To final - this is a feather in any writer's cap. I used this as a benchmark to see whether I was improving in my craft but then, in the context of where I was as a writer (geography and isolation, not the level of skill) and the services I had access to this (era of time) proved to be the only option available to me to measure this. (So context is important.)



RWA Emerald Award

• Getting your work in front of an editor/agent - if you have the budget, you can enter as many contests as you like, and some have done this. Most writers don't have unlimited funds, so choosing which particular contest - based on reputation or final judges or specific feedback - and this may determine your decision on whether you enter or not.

Toward the end of my unpublished contest career my goal for entering was driven by who the final judge was. I wanted to get my work in front of an editor or agent who acquired my genre.

RWA Golden Heart

• Contest resumes - racking up finalist kudos, placings or wins is certainly a way to impress potential editors and agents but it doesn't always help. Some take no notice of your achievements. I admit, one of my main goals for entering contests, in the latter part of my unpublished career, was to build a resume for each manuscript but it wasn't the only avenue I relied upon to get my work in front of editors/agents.

I think the secret of entering any contest is to identify why you're entering it, what you're hoping to get out of it as a result and to understand that it's one of many strategies, not the only one, to help you in your journey to publication.

So, with the RWAustralia and RWNZ contest season about to start fresh, I know there will be some of you keen to try the contest circuit (and good on you, go for it!). There are a wide range of ones for you to enter here and overseas.

Keeping that in mind, here are a few links you might like to explore to find the sort of contests you'd like to enter:

Romance Writers of Australia contest page
Romance Writers of New Zealand contest page
Romance Writers of America contest page
Stephanie Smith's contest page for author

RWNZ Clendon Readers' Choice Award

But, just remember, I've seen many friends who've taken the contest circuit route in the attempt to get published and I know of others who haven't entered any contests yet been picked up through submitting their work.

There are valid reasons to try both paths, one isn't better than the other.

It's whatever works for you.

2012 RWA RITA & Golden Heart winners!

Congratulations to the romance world's Best of the Best for 2012.

A special shout out to fellow Aussie, Fiona Lowe, who took out a RITA for her contemporary single title BOOMERANG BRIDE (which was featured here a little while ago).

And a big woohoo for fellow paranormal author, Darynda Jones, for winning a RITA for FIRST GRAVE ON THE RIGHT as Best First Book.

AND a special woot for 2012 Golden Heart winners:

Elizabeth Bemis - Romantic Suspense novel Edge of Deception
Elisa Beatty - Historical Romance novel The Devil May Care

Both are fellow 2010 Unsinkable GH finalists - so good to see them succeed this year!!!

Full results of the night can be viewed here.

GUEST AUTHOR: Pamela Palmer

Pamela writes under two pseudonyms. Contemporary dark paranormals for Avon Books and Harlequin Nocturne as Pamela Palmer, and Scottish historical time travels for Berkley as Pamela Montgomerie.

She collected rejections for nine years before selling her first novel in May 2006. She has since sold a total of twelve novels and a novella to three different New York publishers. Her Feral Warrior series has appeared on the NYTimes best-seller list.

The daughter of an Air Force pilot, Pamela was born at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio and spent her childhood moving around the country and the world.

Pamela holds a B.S. degree in Industrial Engineering from Auburn University and worked for IBM for five years before leaving the workforce to be a full-time mom and writer.

It's a great pleasure to welcome Pamela to my blog.

Hi, Pamela, please tell about your latest Feral Warrior book... 
Title – ECSTASY UNTAMED (Feral Warriors book #6) 
Setting – Great Falls, Virginia and Warsaw, Poland.
Hero – Hawke, the hawk-shifter.
Heroine – Faith, a young immortal who helps the street kids of Warsaw.

Scene you would never cut – The first time Faith and Hawke meet. She’s just arrived at Feral House with the newest Feral Warrior, Maxim, who has marched into the house leaving Faith to follow on her own. As Hawke grabs the luggage, Faith introduces herself. She’s sweet, a little star-struck by the Ferals, and Hawke’s heart melts almost at once.

Something your hero or heroine would never do or say – Hawke would never say, “I don’t give a damn.”

What's one quirky thing about your hero/heroine?
Faith has blue-tipped hair. 

What do you think the readers will like about this book?
Honestly, readers who’ve been following the Feral story are going to be blown away by some of the stuff that happens in this book. Just saying. (Spoilers!) I also think they’ll enjoy the romance between Hawke and Faith. Hawke is such a good-hearted, honorable male, but Faith is promised to another Feral and that causes all kinds of problems for him.

ECSTACY UNTAMED 
Shattered by recent nightmarish events, Hawke feels his bond with his animal spirit weakening—and once it breaks, he's finished. The arrival of Faith sends his life spinning even further out of control, for although she delights him and enflames his deepest primal passions, she’s promised to Maxim, the newest Feral Warrior.

Faith is drawn to Hawke from the start, but Maxim holds her in his thrall and has secretly bent her to his malevolent will. Though gravely damaged, Hawke is the only one who can end Faith’s slavery and protect the Feral Warriors from Maxim’s evil designs. But first they both must embrace the wild…and surrender body and soul to a forbidden, all-consuming ecstasy. 

Any Feral Warrior book is an 'auto-buy' for me and I can't wait to see this one arrive in the post!
Just as an aside, did anyone else notice that Pamela's name is now larger than the book title on the front cover? Woohoo!
So, Pamela, what's next for you?
I have a lot of books coming out over the next year.
Oct. 25th 2011: ECSTACY UNTAMED, Feral Warriors book 6
February 2012: A WARRIOR'S DESIRE , Esri book 3
April 2012: WARRIOR RISING, Esri book 4
June 2012: A BLOOD SEDUCTION, Vamp City book 1

The two Esri books are the final two in the series I’ve written for Harlequin Nocturne that began with THE DARK GATE and DARK DECEIVER.

It’s the story of the invasion of our world by the immortal, man-sized Esri (the creatures at the heart of the legends of fairies and elves), and the handful of humans immune to Esri enchantment—the only ones who can stop them.

The Vamp City book is the first in a new urban fantasy romance series I’m writing for Avon Books. This will be my first series with continuing characters in the hero/heroine roles. It’s a multi-book romance which I envision taking five books to tell.

I’m far from done with the Feral Warriors series, by the way. (Kylie cheers...Yay!!! Sorry, couldn't help myself there. Did I mention I love this series? Back to you, Pamela.) I’ll be publishing the Vamp City and Feral Warriors books simultaneously, alternating pub dates.

About you...
Favorite movie of all time – Lord of the Rings trilogy
Favorite fairytale – Snow White (I’ve always liked the dwarves)
Favorite story to disappear into – Elizabeth Lowell’s Untamed
Favorite TV program – True Blood (But also Vampire Diaires, Fringe, and King of Thrones)
First book you remember reading – Nancy Drew’s The Secret of the Old Clock
Dog or cat person (or other) - Dog
Author (living or dead) you'd most like to meet – Ben Franklin
A romantic retreat for you would be...A mountain chateau in the early fall
What do you do to unwind or relax? Swing on the rope swing on my deck. There are other things I enjoy when I’m not working—shopping, lunch with friends, traveling. But to truly relax, I like to swing. 

What era would you like to time travel and visit? And why?
I’d love to go back to Scotland, the 17th or 18th centuries. I’ve actually been to Scotland a couple of times and I adore the place.

I wrote two Scottish historical time travels (as Pamela Montgomerie), SAPPHIRE DREAM and AMETHYST DESTINY, both set in the 17th century. But the main reason is to see the world that my ancestors lived in.

I’m a direct descendant of James Beaumont Neilson, the Glaswegian inventor of the hot blast furnace (which would be a much better claim to fame if anyone actually knew who he was).

What does love mean to you?
Caring more about the other than about oneself.

Pamela, thanks so much for joining me today - it's been great having you here.

And as a bonus, to celebrate the upcoming release of ECSTACY UNTAMED, Pamela has 3 copies of HUNGER UNTAMED to give-away (Book #5 in the Feral Warrior series).
No restrictions - open to local and international visitors. 

Answer this question and your name will be put in the hat for the draw...

"Which Feral Warrior series book cover is your favorite? And why?"

Leave an answer by midday, Monday 26th September 2011 (Aussie time).
The winners will be announced Tuesday 27th September 2011.

Pamela's Feral Warrior series:

To find out more about Pamela and her books go to her website. Or you can follow her on Twitter or her Facebook page.