Shelli Stevens

Cherry and I, right after I found out I won her drawing for a paid trip to Nationals. The conference fee, airfare, and hotel. Read my last blog entry to see what an emotional mess I was.

Lunch with the Divas and Sha-Shana Crichton. Sha-Shana is fabulous. Read my posts for the scoop!

The waiter who I lusted after.

Shawn and Michelle on the observation deck of the Space Needle.

Nice Italian dinner out with the GSRWA board, Stella Cameron, Vicki Lewis Thompson, Nephele Tempest and Sha-Shana Crichton. In the pic you can see mainly Nephele (black and red), then Sha-Shana (pink), then Stella (gold), Gerri Russell next to Stella.

Nephele and Sha-Shana are wonderful women. I imagine they’d be wonderful agents. I blogged about them below!

Or just look at the cool slideshow I made!

Get Your Own! | View Slideshow

Sunday of the conference was….I’m still not sure I can even describe it, let alone blog it. But I’m going to try. It was beyond amazing.

Let me start from the beginning of the day. I woke up, tired and with a little bit of a headache from over indulging in karaoke…okay, and beer. So I went down and had breakfast, then almost went to workshops, but decided to hang out in the wi-fi area so I could sell more raffle tickets and check my emails.

Then came lunch. I made it a point to get the divas at one table. Lacy, Shawn, Michelle, Lisa, Jenna, and we had Carrie (who we’re trying to recruit to Divas.) And I have to say how much I love my divas. Then Sha-Shana Crichton came over and sat with us, and once again I realized how fabulously entertaining and nice she is–really great lady, I’m sure anyone who’s met her would agree.

So then comes the mind blowing part of lunch. Last year Cherry Adair was our closing speaker and had us all enter her ‘Write the damn book challenge’ where we wrote down a promise/goal that we would complete a book by a certain date. And this year she closed the conference and asked who’d completed the goals. She still had our names and goals in a box. Then those of us who had completed it, she called up to the front. I did complete the challenge. And then she gave us very cool certificates with our name on it (that she typed all herself.) Then she did the most wonderful thing… but wait, first let me tell you a little about Cherry.

Cherry Adair is a wonderful woman. If you don’t know her, you should and you’re missing out. She’s a wonderful writer and speaker. She recently just made the NY Times Best Seller list. I rarely find an author where I’ll read one of her books, and buy every single one that comes out after, including her backlist. I love her writing. And before I heard Cherry speak, I had never read her. But then a few years ago I did hear her, and her personality made me want to read her. And I was hooked. She’s a local chapter member. She’s supportive, for example. She invites the entire chapter to her wonderful Christmas parties, offers advice when newbies hit her up for it, and she just gives.

She did more giving today. Of those who completed the challenge, she drew 3 names that she would pay the registrations for their Seattle conference fee next year. I wasn’t one of the chosen. Then she drew a name for one more thing. For a paid Nationals fee, paid airfare to Nationals, and hotel at nationals. Maybe it was the divas chanting my name, or the magic dust Sha-Shana was throwing at me…but my name got drawn. I was absolutely blown away and bawling as I went up front to hug Cherry. I’m absolutely amazed and overwhelmed at the generosity and kindness in her heart. She is such an amazing woman.

And I had just been thinking I probably shouldn’t go to Nationals next year. I’m still paying off last year. I’m living off of child support and grammasitting money, and how could I justify paying all that money to go to Nationals again. Though I’m thriving in epubs, I haven’t yet sold to NY. I have a daughter to think of. It would be selfish of me. And then this…absolute blessing. I’m sorry, I’m just still so overwhelmed. So happy and blessed. Everyone was hugging me, some teary eyed, and telling me it couldn’t have happened to a more deserving person. And that warms my heart so much. I felt loved and appreciated and…wow, just so hard to explain.

So… it was a good conference. I didn’t really get to see it as an attendee, more of a worker. And I know I helped raise a lot of money for my chapter and our charity we sponsor. But it was more about networking this year for me, and I am fine with that. I don’t regret it in the least. I met wonderful, wonderful people, and helped make this conference a success.

Anyway, the below post talks about Friday and Saturday, both great days as well. I’ll post pictures either tomorrow or tonight. Depending on my energy level. I’m drained.

Friday
So the first day of the conference is coming to an end. Or will be after Shawn and Lacy stop watching Constantine and we go eat so we can go to bed. But while they finish the movie, I thought I’d write down some thoughts about my day. I started the day by taking Shawn, Michelle, and Carrie around Seattle. We did breakfast, the Space Needle, and the Pike Place Market. Too much fun. Then, onto the conference.

First… I did my workshop and I survived! And you know, it went remarkably well considering I expected to faint or stutter my way through it. I had a surprising amount of confidence I didn’t realize I had, and I think I may even be a decent speaker. But I don’t know. I could be totally wrong. And I praised the benefits of epubs up and down.

I got to meet Diva Jenna and Diva Lisa P. They are both sweet. And I’ve been hanging with Michelle Schwiebe and her friend Carrie. And of course Lacy and Shawn. I attended Nephele Tempest’s workshop about agents. It was pretty good, she seems very nice. When I asked her opinion on the market, she says romantic suspense is big. Paranormal, but not so much vampires and werewolves. And she said historicals are still in a slump, save for historical erotica romance and paranormal. Though she did foresee the erotic romance fad slowing down.

There’s also a waiter here, that is too cute for his own good and probably 5-7 years younger than me. But gets my all giggly. He made eye contact, but I’m a pansy and would never do anything about it.

Ok! The movies over, freaky devil things and bloody gross scenes are done. We’re going to grab food. I was too nervous for my workshop too eat dinner.

Saturday
Today was a little bit more of an emotional roller coaster ride. I was running non-stop all day, selling tickets, arranging karaoke, giving away baskets, announcing our new Pro’s for the year. Just doing stuff. I got so caught up I was late–yes, late and if you know me I am NEVER late–for my editor appointment with Kate Seaver. So I was upset at myself, but I pitched and she was super nice and asked for a query letter (I got the impression she just asked for queries, not partials from everyone.)

Then there was kind of an ‘explosion’ at lunch. I’m not a crier, I’m one of those people who don’t cry, and the every seven months something happens that sets off my timer. And today happened to be that day. Something happened that wasn’t handled very well and I was shocked, hurt, and angry at the same time. I pretty much had a melt down. It probably wasn’t THAT big of a deal. But I was so stressed with everything going on, it sent me over the edge. And so basically I was crying for two hours, trying to hide it because I had to do all my speaking in front of everyone. But I moved past it finally and went on with the day. I was so exhausted–I couldn’t even eat lunch–I went to my room and put my feet up and ordered room service. Hanging with Shawn and Lacy (Who also got part of the brunt of the incident, though they handled it better) I didn’t go to single workshop today, which I’m bummed about. And I kinda blame myself, I could have, but chose to rest instead.

Then dinner was freaking awesome! We went to a really nice italian restaurant. I had dinner with all the board members, and Vicki Lewis Thomson and her daughter, Stella Cameron, Nephele Tempest, and Sha-Shana Crichton. Everyone was so sweet and nice. I sat across from Sha Shawna. And Lacy and I both think she’s absolutely fabulous and sweet. She has great life stories. Nephele is down to earth and also very nice. She knows her wine and music, so she gets a thumbs up from me. I would love to query both these agents at some point. But I’m thinking I need some new material first. The night ended on an upside with karaoke in the bar. Not much more to say, karaoke is always a good time. The dj was fabulous and was a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, so we talked a little. And now I’m exhausted and plan on passing out.

Sunday

is getting its own entry because it’s going to be a long one.

All right, I’m off for the weeked to the Emerald City Writers Conference. I’ll post all about it Sunday night! I’m sure I’ll have lots to tell!

On another note, my Book comes out today!!!! This is the first book in the Vegas Magic Series with Loribelle Hunt and Sara Dennis. It’s my first official paranormal. I enjoyed exploring my darker side :) Click here if you want to buy. (Link will be live when book goes on sale!)

Arianna’s a holistic witch who tries to stay out of trouble. But trouble finds her when the Hell’s Ball she’s attending lives up to its name. She meets a cocky vampire who’s creating havoc on her hormones. But he’s also her only hope at getting through the night alive.

Jake’s a casino investigator, working undercover as a bartender on Halloween night. When a sexy, green-eyed witch becomes the targeted victim for a sacrifice ritual, he’ll go to any lengths to save her. Especially when he realizes she may be more to him than just another casual lover.

(Excerpt)

Arianna shut the exit door behind her and sucked in a deep breath of fresh air. Leaning back against the building, she closed her eyes.

Unbelievable. That’s what it was. Absolutely unbelievable what that stupid bartender—vampire bartender, apparently—could reduce her to. A quivering, damn near swooning female

Ugh!

Opening her eyes again, she glanced around to figure out where she was.

Nice, Ari. Could you have picked a darker alley? The alley was thin and long, resting between the casino and another building. She should probably just go back inside, head up to the room. She closed her fingers around the door handle behind her and twisted. It didn’t open.

Uh oh. Her teeth snagged at her bottom lip and she glanced down the length of the alley. Okay, she never considered herself a wuss, but this looked just the tiniest bit freaky.

Even though the night was hot, she shivered and wrapped her arms around her waist.

A vision flashed through her head, so quickly that she barely caught it. She was on her back on the concrete, struggling to free herself as a group of men held her down. The image disappeared, leaving a cool sheen of sweat over her body.

Goddess! She was in danger. The certainty of it hit her hard, and suddenly the light at the end of alley seemed miles away.

Clutching her purse in front of her like a shield, she took a deep breath and then broke into a run. The clicking of her heels resonated through the empty alley.

Cool air rushed up the skin on her back and from the corner of her eye she could see the shadows shifting above her. No!

The five vampires dropped down from the sky in front of her, one by one, placing themselves between her and the end of the alley.

The vampires were large, with glowing red eyes and fangs extended. Their red gazes watched her with a combination of lust and violence.

Her throat dried up, the thump thump of her heart grew louder and faster. She clutched her purse to her chest, her fingers trembling as she began to recite a spell of protection in her head.

Sweet Goddess. These were not nice vampires. They weren’t harmless like the bartender had been. Her stomach twisted. Jake. She closed her eyes for a moment and attempted to send him a telepathic message. Jake, please help me!

I read a book last night. An actual, non-short story, paper book. I stayed up till midnight reading this book by the glow of my laptop. Because, darnit, I was determined to actually finish a book in one sitting like I used to be able to. And you know what? The book sucked. Royally, completely, absolutely, and every other ‘ly’ word, sucked.

I mean come on. What a disappointment. I won’t say the name of the book, or even the publisher.The premise of this book is one I love. Can’t get enough of. It’s the early historical that deals with the anglo/saxon situation back in the day. See, obviously as I try to describe it, I know absolutely nothing about it. Everything I’ve learned about the subject, I learned in a romance novel. Honest to God. So I pick up this book that uses that as the backdrop to the story, and it was an erotic romance. I was giddy with excitement that my two favorite things were getting combined into one book.

But it was just plain awful. To the point I wonder why I kept reading. POV must have jumped into over 10 heads. I found it hard to find any romance in the story. They literally had every ‘turn on’ in the book that could be imagined. Also I was drowning in love channels, swords (that had nothing to do with fighting), and throbbing manhoods. And those are just the ones I remember. There were a ton more that had me laughing my arse off. I’m talking beyond Barney purple. Anyway, sorry to rant, it was just disappointing–yet at the same time a bit awe’ish ‘wow, someone actually thought this was good enough to publish.’ Ever read a book that bad?

So I have to say congrats to my friend and president of the Seattle chapter Heather who just made her first sale! In July she won the Golden Heart for one of her YA books. Now she made her first sale of one of her YA books, NEVER CRY WEREWOLF to HarperCollins to be released in hardcover in 2008 or early ‘09. So, yay, Heather, hope you’re celebrating!

Here’s another Halloween photo. This is a freaky doll… the perfect Christmas present for your kid!

I’m ba-ack! Woo whoo. A couple days babysitting the nieces was fun, Emma had a blast playing with her cousins. I did get a touch of food poisoning last night, and woke up around midnight getting sick to my stomach. And I’m sure you all wanted to hear that :) But I’m home now and heading into the home stretch to the conference. Sooo excited!

I got some writing and editing done in the past few days, and sent my book Love for Sale out for submission to Cobblestone Press. So now begins the waiting game. I actually have 3 books out that I’m waiting to hear back on at various places. I noticed something today. That moment after you finish a book and submit it… I have this big lull. I take a day or two off. I read, I internet surf, I shop online… lol but I don’t write, edit, plot, or even think about it. I have a free day! And it’s kind of wonderful. I even picked up a print book and started reading it!

Speaking of reading, while I was watching my nieces, I ran into my sister-in-law’s family and they had to share that they’d read my book The Pirate’s Booty, and it made one of them want to go to a bar. LOL. Not sure why, since there’s no bar in it…I’m guessing she just had an, umm, hot reaction? I think I got pretty embarrassed. It happens, what can I say. I blush easily. Which I’m sure has people saying ‘How can she write that stuff and get so easily flustered.’ Eh. Oh, Lord. I just realized I’m so not interesting tonight. I’m just going to… go surf Ebay or something.

Here’s my Halloween pic of the day. I just love this one!

Woo whoo! I just finished my book Love for Sale. My first spicy chick lit that I’m subbing to Cobblestone Press for Valentine’s day. I’m very excited how it turned out, I think I had a little chick lit personality in my books and finally gave myself permission to go with it this time! Although it’s definitely still a romance. Not sure how that works, lol.

So I had the best night last night. I got to see some old friends and had dinner. It was a potluck, I brought the veggies. And wow, I actually ate some! And–cough–a ton of chocolate later. We sat there for 4 hours just eating, drinking wine, and talking about life and men. It was a lot of fun. Relaxing. Good company, no expectations… I need more of those nights!

So I’m off for a few days to babysit my nieces, so I won’t be online as much. And then on Friday I’m off for the weekend for MY CONFERENCE! Woo whoo! So excited. Actually, pretty freaking nervous to do a workshop, but I’m trying not to think about it. Or the fact that I’m pitching to Kate Seaver from Berkley and Nephele Tempest from, TKA. I’ll just try not to drown in the raffle tickets I’ll be selling.

I learned of that thing called NaNo the other day. I guess it’s this thing where you write a book in month (50k.)? Apparently I’ve been living under a rock since I’d never heard of it. I’ve decided to give it a go. I once wrote a 68k book in 5 weeks, but that was when my brother was in the hospital and I was visiting him for 3 hour periods a day and I brought my laptop.

For NaNO I’m going to write a manuscript I somewhat started (He Loves Me, He Loves Me Naughty) needs to be rewritten but has a lot of potential. It’ll be my big, full length manuscript that I shop around NY. I have three more full lengths, but they were written 2 years ago and earlier, and my writing has improved significantly since then. But I’m excited to finish this one and start sending it out. Is anyone else doing NaNo? Anyone done it before and have tips?

Okay, and to kick off October, all month long I will be putting creepy, gross, and other Halloween related photos up. How’s this for creepy and gross. Inplants under your skin? Eeew.