Readers and Writers at RomCon2010

I just returned from a fun, fabulous weekend in Denver, CO, attending the first annual RomCon Conference, hosted by Borders Books.  It was two days of non-stop talking, laughing, workshops, games and booksignings, and I enjoyed myself immensely, in large part because of the company I kept!

I kicked off the festivities on Friday by catching up with one of my favorite people, NYT bestselling author Anna Campbell.  Anna hails from the "land down under", and despite jet lag from her long trip from Australia, she was, as always, upbeat and full of giggles.  Anna and I discovered several years ago that we have a great deal in common, including a quirky sense of humor and a mutual love of fine red wine wine.  She was sweet enough to bring me a lovely bottle from her native land, which we made sure to find time to sample together!  (Thank you, Anna, and the next bottle's on me, luv!)

Right after that, I hooked up with fellow Avon author (and my personal favorite when it comes to tales of sexy vampires), NYT bestseller Jeaniene Frost.  If you haven't read any "Cat and Bones" books yet, you are missing out!  Spending time with Jeaniene was an absolute treat, as she is one of the most genuine, down-to-earth people you'll ever meet, and kept me in absolute stitches with her honesty and spontaneity (meaning you'll never know what's about to come out of her mouth!).  Despite numerous panels, workshops, meals and fan gatherings, she never lost her patience or her smile, and I came home feeling as though we'd been best buds for years.  (Miss you already, Jeaniene!) 

Here we are with our editor, Erika Tsang, who is the woman responsible for bringing you Jeaniene's Night Huntress series, as well as my Nicki Styx series.  Erika is also the one to thank for my upcoming Devil's Bargain series, featuring the character of Sammy (Satan) Divine, and many other great books you'll find on today's bookshelves  The woman knows her paranormals, and better yet, she knows how to take a good book and make the right editing suggestions to make it even better!
 

The three of us had a fabulous time hanging out together, particularly when we stumbled upon some life-size cutouts of a few "classic" romance novel poses, and took some ridiculous pictures of ourselves.  My favorite one is unfortunately on Jeaniene's camera (she owes me a copy of it, as it was TOO funny!), but this one on the left also cracked me up.  Do I look swept away by passion, or what?

Another fun event was the Masquerade Ball, during which people were invited to dress as they pleased.  Debut paranormal author Meagan Hatfield proved to be a ghoul after my own heart when she showed up in 19th century mourning clothes with her adorable baby, Zombie Zach.  (A puppet, incredibly lifelike and creepy!)

At any rate, I met so many readers and so many writers that I could go on for days, but I'm afraid I'd forget to mention someone, so I'll just say that it was fun, fabulous and exhausting.  I particularly enjoyed playing some of the reader participation games, including Monster Charades and Were-Squares, as well as coming home with more free books, bookmarks, candy and other goodies than were probably healthy for me (my suitcase was bursting at the seams, but it was hard to choose what to leave behind!). 

I'll leave you with this final picture, which is of some particularly interesting candy given away by a fellow author (and no, they're not rocket ships)!  We romance writers can be a naughty bunch, which is partly why reader/writer conferences like RomCon2010 are so much fun!

Hope you enjoyed this peek into my weekend, and don't forget - you can join in the fun next year at RomCon2011, which is open to anyone who loves a good book!