RWA Nationals 2012

I'm back from Anaheim! I got in late and didn't sleep until 1:00 AM, but I'm still buzzing with adrenaline and residual caffeine (yep, I think the Starbucks staff were starting to worry about the lady who kept ordering triple shots of espresso...blame it on the time difference and lack of sleep). This was my fourth Nationals and it was phenomenal. I'll start by congratulating all the Golden Heart and RITA finalists and winners! I'll let you read the list of winners at the RWA website, but I will note a significant win...Carina Press author Fiona Lowe took home a RITA for contemporary single title. That's a huge milestone, not only for Fiona, but for Harlequin's Carina Press and e-publishing in general.

Don't click that keyboard yet! I have pictures, links and info coming up.

Let's start with Harlequin. If you hang at Harlequin's online community and ever go to a Nationals meeting, you have to attend the Harlequin PJ party. It's fun, relaxing and you get to meet all your harlequin online friends in person. Oh, and there are always fabulous party favors :). Check out the vintage Harlequin romance mug we all got this year. I'm drinking tea out of it right now.

Thank you to Jayne at Harlequin and anyone else involved in organizing the party! If I try to mention everyone I met, I know I'll forget someone, so let me just say that the entire Harlequin community (staff, published and unpublished writers alike) rock! These are truly wonderful, warm and supportive people.

Superromance authors Kathy Altman, Linda Style and me

Super sweet Kathy Altman and me at the PJ party

As for information I jotted down at the Spotlight on Harlequin Series session...

Updates have been made to their writing guidelines that include the latest word count changes, new series and more. I'll note a few things here, but take a minute (after this post :) to check out their new writing guidelines. Medicals are now being included in the Home and Hearth group, whereas Superromance, with it's 85k word count, is getting categorized as 'romance with more'. New lines include Kiss, a 50k flirty line coming out in Feb 2013 and Heartwarming, a 70-75k wholesome (yet with the complexity of a Supers) line looking to shift from reprints to new authors starting July 2013. Also, Harlequin Digital First is a new digital line that differs from Carina Press in that it's encompasses series books that carry the Harlequin brand. There are a few other new lines, and yet another to be announced in the next few weeks (if I understood correctly) so check out the guidelines link above!

The next Harlequin SYTYCW contest will be global and is set to launch on September 17, 2012. This time, the initial voting will be public.

And now for the RWA Literacy Autographing. It was amazing! I was having so much fun catching up with friends and meeting chapter members that I didn't get pictures of all of them (still kicking myself). But here are a few...

Superromance author Cathryn Parry and me

YA author Janice Hardy. My son loooves her books and I'd promised him an autograph.

Kathy Altman with her debut Superromance

Me and the always lovely Harlequin Desire author Olivia Gates

The very sweet Nas Dean from Romance Book Paradise and me. 

My dear friend Superromance author  Jeannie Watt  (I think you've figured out who I am at this point ;).  

The workshops were fabulous too. Even those of us who made it to Nationals couldn't make it into every workshop, but most are recorded. Here's the link to Bill Stephens Productions if you're interested in ordering a recording. Ruby Slippered Sisters Liz Tally and Darynda Jones did one on voice development that I heard writers raving about in the hall. I was at the PRO retreat and missed it, so I'm planning to order it along with many other workshops. I did make it to Michael Hague's talk. You have to listen to this man at least once in your writing career. I went to his talk last year as well, but I figured round two would help his words sink in deeper. You can check out his links in my left colum and catch up on some of his wisdom. A few other great workshops I attended were Margie Lawson's on openings and Debra Dixon's on conflict. Again, too many great workshops to list, but you can buy the recordings.

Robyn Carr's awards luncheon speech was very inspiring and the GH/RITA awards ceremony emceed by Victoria Alexander was both funny and romance movie nostalgic. And the ever elegant and gracious J.D. Robb earned a laugh when she accepted her RITA and said that Nora would be jealous :)

Me and Kathy Altman at the awards ceremony

I wish I had more pics from the ceremony. I wish I could list the names of every writer I connected in friendship with, but I don't want to hit the sack at 1:00 AM again, fry out blogger, or succumb to another triple shot espresso. Withdrawal's a b...big pain :)

I'll end by saying that being surrounded by so many talented, warm and inclusive writers, editors, agents and publishers is an extraordinary, almost surreal experience. I found myself enveloped with encouragement, enthusiasm, understanding, friendship, wisdom, knowledge and so much more. In fact, I left feeling so motivated and inspired that I used the two hours I had before my flight home to write. I sat at my gate, whipped out the Alpha Smart, glanced left and right to make sure no one was reading my draft work, and went at it. So inspired was I, that I never heard them announce boarding for my flight. Luckily, I glanced up in deep thought and snapped quickly back to reality when I realized what was happening, LOL. Anyway, I'm home now and ready for another year of writing.

Happy writing and reading to all.

Revision Elbow and other writing induced Repetitive Strain Injuries

It's time for another Therapeutic Thursday post, and this one was inspired by the arm pain I suffered from while trying to wrap up my last manuscript in time for the GH deadline. Who knew writing could be dangerous?

I bet that you've all heard of Tennis Elbow or even Golfer's Elbow. Well, apparently writers have their own elbow ailment called Revision Elbow (or Student's Elbow). I'm not making this up, but I did laugh when I saw the name. Go figure. Revision Elbow is a repetitive strain injury suffered by anyone who works at a keyboard for lengthy periods of time. Fellow writers know that completing a manuscript draft requires hours at the computer on a daily basis (or most days), only to be followed by hours and hours of revisions. I've been suffering from elbow pain that radiates down my arm. That pain motivated a little research.

Check out this excellent article at Writers Services. According to the article, writers, and all keyboard/mouse users, can suffer from Tennis Elbow, Golfer's Elbow, and Revision Elbow. It describes the pain involved, the cause, and most importantly, what we can do to reduce our risk or alleviate the pain.

Another article by Penny Lockwood Ehrenkranz  over at Writing World, describes how yoga techniques can be used to reduce hand-wrist tension.

I've heard that squeezing massage balls or stress balls in your hands 15-20 times, several times a day, helps to strengthen fingers, hands, wrists, and forearms. That may help reduce the chance of injury, and it would be an easy, mindless thing to do while brainstorming characters, plots, or other manuscript ideas. Consider it physical therapy for writers. There are several hand excercises for writers described over at Livestrong.com.They include the finger bend, finger walk, and shoulder-to-finger roll. I know these sound simple, but they really do help. In fact, I remembered Nora Roberts describing several of her arm/finger stretches at the chat she gave during RWA Nationals in DC in 2009. She stressed how important it was to do them (I can only imagine how important for such a prolific writer). Well, my writing schedule wasn't as rigid at the time so I filed the info somewhere in my brain. Now I understand what she meant.

Writing injuries can escalate to Hand Dystonia (writer's cramp) and Carpal Tunnel Syndrome. Why let it go that far when you can do preventative excercises, or ones that'll nip the pain when it starts. Seriously, check out those links. Even if you  pick one or two stretches to stick with, it's better than nothing. Don't wait for the pain to hit right before deadline crunch time.

Edited to add a few more helpful sites: www.ergocise.com/pains.html and http://www.orthoinfo.aaos.org/topic.cfm?topic=A00261

*Stop by Monday for a visit with author Jennifer Shirk. She's doing a fabulous holiday giveaway. You won't want to miss it!

'Tis the season for paranormal romance

Halloween is in the air! I spent Saturday evening at a haunted house with one of my kids. I'm talking a real haunted house. Sure, decorations were added to ramp up the spooky mood, but this house is truly haunted...if you believe. It's an old, stone farm house built in 1800 and nestled in the middle of nowhere. It served as a hide-out for those headed north to escape slavery. This place was amazing and filled with presence no one could deny. Being the writer and reader that I am, it got me thinking about paranormal romance. Hey, can you blame me?

One of my favorite paranormal romances involved a haunted house much like the one I was in on Saturday. It's one of Nora Roberts' McKade series, The Return of Rafe McKade. Speaking of paranormal and Nora, I absolutely love all of her Donovan clan books, Charmed, Enchanted, Captivated, and Entranced. Those are a must read for anyone who likes witches and magic. She makes it all so plausible...so skillfully woven into everyday life that you have to believe her characters could be your neighbors. Love it!

I have also enjoyed reading Terry Spear's Heart of the Wolf and Destiny of the Wolf for the same reason. Terry not only incorporates real wolf and wolf pack behavior into her stories, her werewolves are also so well blended into human society (in their human form) that you're left thinking that they really could exist. There are many more books in this series that I have yet to read, but I definitely will.

I like paranormal romances that have a strong plausibility factor. I think it gives them a longer lasting impact. They leave you wondering...looking over your shoulder. What are some of your favorite paranormal romances? Do you like to curl up with them during the haunting season?

Pictures from RWA Nationals 2010

Happy Monday everyone! I'm still running on RWA Nationals adrenaline. The conference was absolutely fabulous (that damn -ly ending crept in there on its own, I swear). I can't say enough about the workshops, events, PRO retreat, and speakers. Nora Roberts and Jayne Ann Krentz were inspiring. Awards ceremony emcee Sabrina Jeffries was hilarious. I'm completely blown away by how well RWA pulled off the relocation. What an amazing group of women.

That brings me to another amazing group of women - the Harlequin Superromance authors and their editors. I knew from their books and from the Harlequin forums that they were friendly and talented, but meeting them in person made me understand why their writing grabs the heart. These women are truly generous, genuine, and down-to-earth...not to mention beautiful inside and out.

Picture drum roll...

Jeannie Watt's gorgeous daughter and fellow writer, Jamie, Jeannie, Amy Knupp, Me, Kay Stockham, and Helen Brenna

Kay Stockham, editor Wanda Ottewell, Jeannie Watt, editor Victoria Curran, and Amy Knupp

Me, Jeannie Watt, editor Victoria Curran, and Amy Kupp

Editor Wanda Ottewell, Me, and Amy Knupp

Kay Stockham and Wanda Ottewell

  

Victoria Curran and Beth Andrews after their Rita win. Congratulations!

Jeannie Watt and Margaret Watson at the autographing

Amy at the autographing

Rita winner Beth Andrews

Me and Kay Stockham at the autographing

Rita Finalist Helen Brenna

Liz Talley with one of many fans

Wait...there's more! Nora Roberts' keynote speech centered on lifelong friendships born at RWA. I'm sure I'm not the only one her words touched. At my first meeting, last year, I met another first timer, Kaily Hart. We clicked, as Nora put it, and stayed in touch ever since. It was wonderful to get to spend time with her again, and to get to celebrate the publication of her first novella.

Me and Kaily

And a few more pics from the Readers for Life Autographing that raised $55,000 for literacy...

Rita winner Sherry Thomas

Victoria Alexander

Stephanie Laurens

...and the one and only Nora Roberts

Whew! I promised pictures and when I promise, I deliver. Don't forget to check out the complete list of Rita and Golden Heart winners at the RWA website.

I hope every one of you gets a chance to attend at least one RWA Nationals conference. The experience and friendships are unbeatable.