RT FTW!

Okay, I might have a bit of an unhealthy love for acronyms. But I'm sure it's not a problem with any of you.

So...as some of you may know, I was at the Romantic Times Booklovers' Convention last week (RT for short). RT is always an interesting trip because you can never be quite sure who you're going to meet or what opportunities are going to be presented to you.

One thing I did know going in was that I would meet a bunch of the people from Entangled Publishing since they signed quite a bit of my adult stuff recently. And boy, did I! RT is one of those places where it sucks to have a brain like mine, because I will remember your face forever, but I have a horrible time with names. Anyway, I digress...

On the last day of RT, I was having lunch with a certain YA author, and this anthology idea came up. We talked about it and tweaked it and apparently we're going to try to make the thing happen. I'm beyond excited, not only for the opportunity to work with her but also for the chance to re-awaken this me. It's been too long since I've actively done anything that wasn't adult. I miss YA like crazy. So, keep your fingers crossed!

In the meantime, I have adult books to write and a house to sell and all sorts of craziness to participate in. I promise to keep you posted on any and all YA news I have to share though!

*happy post-con hugs all around*

When to Let Go

I'm back home from RT and all the madness and revelry that accompanies that particular con. If you've never gone and like being in the midst of a big party, you really should try it some time. But, it's not all play and no work. In addition to the fun, I posted a couple weeks ago about all the panels and official things I was doing. I also pitched a couple projects to a couple people.

Good news: They liked them and want to see the manuscripts. YAY!
Bad news: I have to send out the manuscripts. (Uh....)

You see, I've never been good about letting go of my work. Like most authors, I worry that there's something I missed, something that could be better. To feed that madness, I started going through the first of the projects on Monday. I caught a couple typos, changed wording in a couple places, but nothing big, nothing that screamed "Oh my God! You can't send this!" Finally, last night, my crit partner informed me that since I didn't have anything specific I was looking to change, I should just send it. Stop poking and just hit send. So, I sucked it up, skipped ahead and re-read the last chapter to see if I could fit in the anatomy bits (turns out, not without it being awkward). Then I closed the file. (I re-opened it a few seconds later when I realized I needed to write a synopsis, but that's beside the point.)

What I'm getting at is the fact that I got to a point where I was holding onto it out of fear. Totally irrational, silly fear. There's no reason to hold on anymore. It's either good enough or it's not. Clearly, based on the read-through, I'm not seeing any big things to fix. So today, I'll tackle that synopsis and send it off into the world.

Then I'll dive into the other manuscript. This one I have a couple very specific tweaks I want to make, but then I'm pushing it out the door. Its synopsis is done, so it's just waiting on me to make those few spots shinier. Barring any non-writerly madness, it'll be out the door this weekend. The point of all this is there comes a time when you aren't shining the manuscript anymore--you're wearing away at the finish. That place is the line between sanity and madness with regard to submitting. Learning to tap dance on it is far better than sitting it out on either side.

I'm Not Here...

I'm at the Romantic Times Booklovers' Convention in Chicago right now, but I didn't want to leave the blog blank in my absence. So, I figured I'd leave a couple videos that helped inspire the piece I'm toying with right now. Have a fabulous week!

Find Me at RT

Twenty-four months ago, I attended my first Romantic Times Booklovers' Convention as an aspiring author. Now I have Pretty Souls as well as three short stories, three novellas, and one upcoming full-length novel under my other (adult-author) name tucked under my belt. Tuesday... I leave for my third RT Convention.

My how times have changed. The first year, no one knew who I was, but if you wanted to find me I was be-bopping everywhere. This year... I have a schedule and a pretty hectic one. These are not all the events I'll be attending, these are simply the places I've committed to being as and author.

Tuesday (I will probably get in around 1:30. It might be a bit later as I have a doctor's appointment that morning--crappy scheduling choices FTW!)

• 7PM-- Dinner with the Australian contingent (offsite) Thanks for the invite, ladies! You rock!

Wednesday (I don't think I can officially "check-in" until today, so sometime in the morning, I'll be grabbing registration stuff)

• 2:15-3:15-- Writing Under Multiple Names (writer panel) in DaVinci A&B
• 4:45-5:45-- Build-A-Hero Workshop (reader panel) in International D (Note: At least one cover model is supposed to be there to help out!)

Thursday (aka busy-ass day number 1--I'm also pitching in here somewhere)

• Club RT (there is some confusion over what time, it may be 11:15 or it might be 1:30 or even 2:00--I'll update as soon as I see the official program)
• 2:45-3:45--Steampunk Gaslamp Gathering (reader event) in O'Hare A, B, & C (Do NOT miss this one. There will be snacks and costumes and a fashion show. People who attended last year loved it. And... at least one cover model will be there as well.)
• 4:00-6:00--Signing at the E-book expo (GunShy, Badlands, and Pretty Souls will be available to buy through All Romance E-books. In addition, I'll have print copies of Pretty Souls to sell and sign.)

Friday (aka busy-ass day number 2)

• 10:00-11:00--Plotters, Pantsers, Plotsers (writer panel) in LaGuardia
• 11:15-11:45--Club RT appearance
• Afternoon--Photo shoot with VLC Photography! (offsite)
• 5:00-7:00--Carina Press author party (offsite)

Saturday (At this point... I'll sleep when I'm dead. Actually I may sleep in the morning :P)

• 6:15-7:15-- Fan-Tastic Day Party (reader event) in Rosemont
• 8:00-9:00-- Carina Press Cocktail Party (They are giving away an iPad 2--maybe 3?--at this event!)

In addition to all of that, places where I'll be to support friends and have fun (for at least part of the time) include:

• Wednesday-- Ellora's Cave Step Up & Stomp Party (9-12) and the YA Midnight Slumber Party (11:45-1)
• Thursday-- Clan McFae Faery Ball (8:30-12)
• Friday-- Heather Graham's Night of the Stars Party (9-12)
• Saturday-- Giant Book Fair (10:45-2), SOS Military Mixer (3:30-4:45), Candy & Spoons (5-6), Harlequin Dance Party (9-12)

Hope to see you there!