GRL - Thursday

My con reports are going to be short, lol.

Thursday was all about registration and finding faces. After getting our packets in the morning, Carolyn Gray, Elyan Smith, and I hit the swag room to look around first, just like everybody else since it was right next to where we signed in. Tons of people, tons of freebies from pens to chocolates to bull squeeze toys. I got to see a lot of people I rarely get to see in real life, and was excited to chat with Lynn Lorenz, T.A. Chase, Tina Burns, Z.A. Maxfield, and Adrianna Dane, among others.

But you know what was probably the coolest person I got see all morning? Elisa Rolle. I'd known she was going to be coming, but forgotten because I'm a ditz like that. Carolyn was talking to her, and she asked me to sign the Jamie Craig card for her. I said sure, signed it, and it wasn't until I handed it back to her that I saw her nametag and went, "Ohmigod, you're Elisa!" She's done so much for m/m romance. It was an honor to finally get to meet her.

Carolyn, Elyan, and I went and chilled until the Riptide publisher's spot at 1:00, where Carolyn and I hung out in the audience to support Elyan's first real author appearance at GRL. I have to say, I was really impressed by Stephanie Grobes, Riptide's marketing gal. She's literate, knowledgeable, and highly articulate. Clearly a great asset to the company.

Afterward, I went to Z.A.'s Q&A. She was on the panel with Cat Grant, Isabelle Rowan, and Karenna Colcroft. I didn't ask any questions but just hung to listen. Cool stuff, but then I adore Z.A. and knew it would be. She's as warm and funny and nice in real life as her books can be. It's always a delight to see her.

Then, I do what I always tend to do at cons. I escaped to my room for a few hours of quiet and to work. I just get very overloaded being around so many people all the time. Plus, being around creative people makes me hunger to write. So that's what I did until MLR's cocktail party.

I sat with Carolyn and Elyan, and we were joined by four wonderful readers (who were an absolute blast to listen to), as well as Kaje Harper and Edmond Manning (so nice, the both of them). MLR ran a scavenger hunt, where people went around looking for MLR authors and their tattoos, so I ended up signing a lot of cards. Being so quiet usually meant I was one of the last signatures a lot of people needed, lol. Then I'd usually point them out to the few other faces I could help them with, like Kaje, T.A., or Rick Reed.

There was another party after that, but I, being my usual self, went back to my room. I wanted to call home and say good night to my family, as well as get some writing done. I'm a chapter away from finishing my noir story so the urge is strong.

Today, I'm on a Q&A at 11, but after that, the day is pretty wide open. Maybe I can finish it!