notes from the top of the hill
Okay. I promised to write about the WRW Retreat, so now I'm sitting here thinking, "What happened? Where should I begin?"
Well, you probably have no interest in what I wore each day, even though deciding what to pack & then even which outfit to go with each morning is a major part of every conference. You probably also won't care about all the friends I ran into & sat around chatting with, having just the best time ever.
How about the fact that the guest speakers were Lisa Gardner, Julia Quinn, & Madeline Hunter, & that they were each lovely, funny women? (I've actually known Madeline for a while now & had met Lisa a few times before, but Julia was new for me. *g*) All three of their keynote speeches were wonderful & inspiring...& can you believe that all three of them also used "lists" in their talks? LOL But they were very well done, & if Madeline hadn't pointed that out, I'm not sure the majority of us even would have noticed.
I chatted very, very briefly with Kate Duffy of Kensington Books & Jennifer Enderlin of St. Martin's Press. Sat in on a game of Romance Jeopardy, which was very amusing, but I have to say that some of the folks at the Retreat need to brush up on their romance novel knowledge. Next year I'm going to write the answers (it's Jeopardy, remember; they give you the answer & you have to come up with the question *g*) & see who can get them right. Well, I threatened to, anyway. :-D
Two...or would it be three?...of the most exciting things for me, though, were when I won a Petro Rock reading from author Eileen Charbonneau & two raffle baskets on the last day's prize drawing. Eileen is just about the sweetest person you'd ever want to meet & her reading are fabulous. I had one several years ago & have been trying to win another ever since. LOL And the two raffle prizes I won were the exact ones I most wanted--a cat basket (of course!) filled with adorable cat food dishes, snacks, hand towels & pot holders, & the cutest, most adorable cat wreath you've ever seen. That's what I wanted most of all. *g* It's probably supposed to be a Christmas wreath, but I'm thinking of keeping it up all year 'round! The second is a sexy pink bedside lamp with crystal tassles & a pair of long, high-heeled legs as the stand. Too cute, & perfect for a romance writer, don't you think? :-)
Except for a bit of rain on the first day, the weather was beautiful & the company was terrific. I spent the majority of my time with a couple of my BFFs Karen Alarie (who writes for Harlequin Blaze as Karen Anders) & Darlene Garder (who writes for Harlequin SuperRomance), as well as meeting several new writers, both published & unpublished, which is always nice. For me, the best part of this particular weekend is simply being able to forego the pantyhose & bum around relaxing & having a good time.
That's about it in a nutshell, but if I think of anything else, I'll let you know. I also came home with a few goodies to give away & one big announcement to make, so tune in for those over the next few days. (I'm such a tease--ha ha ha ha!)
Well, you probably have no interest in what I wore each day, even though deciding what to pack & then even which outfit to go with each morning is a major part of every conference. You probably also won't care about all the friends I ran into & sat around chatting with, having just the best time ever.
How about the fact that the guest speakers were Lisa Gardner, Julia Quinn, & Madeline Hunter, & that they were each lovely, funny women? (I've actually known Madeline for a while now & had met Lisa a few times before, but Julia was new for me. *g*) All three of their keynote speeches were wonderful & inspiring...& can you believe that all three of them also used "lists" in their talks? LOL But they were very well done, & if Madeline hadn't pointed that out, I'm not sure the majority of us even would have noticed.
I chatted very, very briefly with Kate Duffy of Kensington Books & Jennifer Enderlin of St. Martin's Press. Sat in on a game of Romance Jeopardy, which was very amusing, but I have to say that some of the folks at the Retreat need to brush up on their romance novel knowledge. Next year I'm going to write the answers (it's Jeopardy, remember; they give you the answer & you have to come up with the question *g*) & see who can get them right. Well, I threatened to, anyway. :-D
Two...or would it be three?...of the most exciting things for me, though, were when I won a Petro Rock reading from author Eileen Charbonneau & two raffle baskets on the last day's prize drawing. Eileen is just about the sweetest person you'd ever want to meet & her reading are fabulous. I had one several years ago & have been trying to win another ever since. LOL And the two raffle prizes I won were the exact ones I most wanted--a cat basket (of course!) filled with adorable cat food dishes, snacks, hand towels & pot holders, & the cutest, most adorable cat wreath you've ever seen. That's what I wanted most of all. *g* It's probably supposed to be a Christmas wreath, but I'm thinking of keeping it up all year 'round! The second is a sexy pink bedside lamp with crystal tassles & a pair of long, high-heeled legs as the stand. Too cute, & perfect for a romance writer, don't you think? :-)
Except for a bit of rain on the first day, the weather was beautiful & the company was terrific. I spent the majority of my time with a couple of my BFFs Karen Alarie (who writes for Harlequin Blaze as Karen Anders) & Darlene Garder (who writes for Harlequin SuperRomance), as well as meeting several new writers, both published & unpublished, which is always nice. For me, the best part of this particular weekend is simply being able to forego the pantyhose & bum around relaxing & having a good time.
That's about it in a nutshell, but if I think of anything else, I'll let you know. I also came home with a few goodies to give away & one big announcement to make, so tune in for those over the next few days. (I'm such a tease--ha ha ha ha!)
