All my good intentions to blog while I was at RT disappeared once I was actually there. I really need to learn that lesson since I've failed every single time I've tried.
Today is my first full day back, but my family apparently fell apart in my absence so I'm in catch-up mode. I'll be back tomorrow with what I got out of RT 2015. Short answer? A lot.
Enjoy your Tuesday!
Showing posts with label rt2015. Show all posts
Showing posts with label rt2015. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 19, 2015
Tuesday, April 28, 2015
RT in two weeks
I find it really hard to believe that in two weeks I'll be in Dallas for RT. Where has the year gone already?
I'm not doing promo this year because I missed out on the book signing and then forgot about Promo Alley, which means I can focus on panels and working rather than presentation. I have to admit, I'm really looking forward to the freedom. It's kind of liberating to know I can wander around on Saturday as a reader instead of an author, and that I'm not making constant trips to refill swag baskets.
Plus, anyone who knows me knows that I use RT as work time. I'm the one who slips away at the end of a panel to go back to my room to work. As far as I'm concerned, without kids to take my attention, this is free time, so I absolutely have to take advantage of it. It's such a relief to be able to throw myself into something without having to worry about how long before I have to leave for the school run, or stopping to fix dinner.
While I'm not a party person, I am attending two cocktail parties with fellow authors, and in the evenings, I'm likely to hang out in the lobby or bar to talk to friends. So if you're planning on being there, let me know so I have the chance to say hi. And don't be afraid to approach. I'm shy by nature, and I'm almost guaranteed to be the one sitting in the corner watching and not talking. That doesn't mean I don't want to, though, so please don't let it put you off. Break the ice, and it's much easier for me!
I'm not doing promo this year because I missed out on the book signing and then forgot about Promo Alley, which means I can focus on panels and working rather than presentation. I have to admit, I'm really looking forward to the freedom. It's kind of liberating to know I can wander around on Saturday as a reader instead of an author, and that I'm not making constant trips to refill swag baskets.
Plus, anyone who knows me knows that I use RT as work time. I'm the one who slips away at the end of a panel to go back to my room to work. As far as I'm concerned, without kids to take my attention, this is free time, so I absolutely have to take advantage of it. It's such a relief to be able to throw myself into something without having to worry about how long before I have to leave for the school run, or stopping to fix dinner.
While I'm not a party person, I am attending two cocktail parties with fellow authors, and in the evenings, I'm likely to hang out in the lobby or bar to talk to friends. So if you're planning on being there, let me know so I have the chance to say hi. And don't be afraid to approach. I'm shy by nature, and I'm almost guaranteed to be the one sitting in the corner watching and not talking. That doesn't mean I don't want to, though, so please don't let it put you off. Break the ice, and it's much easier for me!
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
Being a fan at RT
Yesterday, I got a notice from the RT organizers that I still wasn't off the waitlist for the book signing on Saturday. I'm actually really okay with that. Last year, I got pulled off the waitlist at close to the last minute, which meant I was scrambling for promo, and I do not want to go through that again. In all honesty, if they let me know at any point before now and the convention that I've somehow made it off the list, I'll say no thank you. I want that Saturday off from being an author at the convention. On that day, I want to be a fangirl.
Like most authors, I was a reader first. I'm still a reader. Maybe not at the same voracious rate I used to devour books, but that's got as much to do with the fact that I'm also the mom of two very busy teenagers as it is about my writing. I sneak in pages of a book on my Kindle while I'm waiting to pick my son up from middle school, or when my daughter's softball practice runs long. I have a book to read before I go to bed, and another to read on days I bother to curl my hair. (Trust me. My hair takes forever to curl. I decided that was a solid twenty minutes I could use to get some reading in.)
In past years, I've had to sneak off for a couple minutes at a time if there was an author I wanted to see. It's a pain. Last year was an even bigger pain because authors were in two separate rooms. The one I was most passionate about seeing was one that had been introduced to me in a workshop earlier in the convention. I didn't get to see him until after we were all done, when I had to race to the other room and hope that he was still at his table. Luckily, he was, but damn, I do not want to go through that again.
Another plus to being a fangirl on that day? Less promo to worry about. That gives me more room for books to bring home. Much to my husband's chagrin, of course, but that's my problem to worry about, not his.
So a week or so before the convention, I'm going to go through the list and prepare who I want to see. I'm the anal type who creates the alphabetized list, complete with titles that interest me, so that nothing gets missed. Hopefully, everybody is in the same room this year. That certainly makes it easier for me. Books, credit card, list. Yep, that's all I need to be a happy fangirl.
Like most authors, I was a reader first. I'm still a reader. Maybe not at the same voracious rate I used to devour books, but that's got as much to do with the fact that I'm also the mom of two very busy teenagers as it is about my writing. I sneak in pages of a book on my Kindle while I'm waiting to pick my son up from middle school, or when my daughter's softball practice runs long. I have a book to read before I go to bed, and another to read on days I bother to curl my hair. (Trust me. My hair takes forever to curl. I decided that was a solid twenty minutes I could use to get some reading in.)
In past years, I've had to sneak off for a couple minutes at a time if there was an author I wanted to see. It's a pain. Last year was an even bigger pain because authors were in two separate rooms. The one I was most passionate about seeing was one that had been introduced to me in a workshop earlier in the convention. I didn't get to see him until after we were all done, when I had to race to the other room and hope that he was still at his table. Luckily, he was, but damn, I do not want to go through that again.
Another plus to being a fangirl on that day? Less promo to worry about. That gives me more room for books to bring home. Much to my husband's chagrin, of course, but that's my problem to worry about, not his.
So a week or so before the convention, I'm going to go through the list and prepare who I want to see. I'm the anal type who creates the alphabetized list, complete with titles that interest me, so that nothing gets missed. Hopefully, everybody is in the same room this year. That certainly makes it easier for me. Books, credit card, list. Yep, that's all I need to be a happy fangirl.
Thursday, January 8, 2015
The Year Ahead
I have to say, I'm excited about 2015. It's the little things, like:
- Knowing I won't be signing at RT this year so I can spend Saturday morning being a fangirl for all those authors I adore. When I registered for the convention, I got put on the waitlist which seems like a blessing in disguise, frankly. No more sneaking away for a couple minutes at a time.
- Getting a weekend with my sisters in August for us to just hang out. We live in different time zones/states - North Carolina, Oklahoma, and California - and the last time we were all together was five years ago.
- My daughter starts driver's training. This doesn't fill me with dread like it would for most parents. Her schedule is insane. I'm counting down the days until she can shoulder some of the transportation responsibilities.
- Shows/people I get to see. Just in the next four months alone, I have tickets for Tim Minchin, Neil deGrasse Tyson, Blithe Spirit with Angela Lansbury, and Book of Mormon. And it's very likely Newsies will be thrown into that mix as well.
What are you looking forward to this year?
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