Su-hura here again, hijacking Leiha’s blog. I had the pleasure of attending the Readers ‘n’ Ritas conference and the Buns & Roses tea last month. Both were absolutely amazing! Romance readers are some of the friendliest people EVER. I was a tad worried about going because I didn’t really know anybody there. I knew a few of the authors, but I didn’t want to make a pest of myself by following them around everywhere. I’m enough of a pest from a distance. I needn’t have worried. The readers and authors were absolutely wonderful!
Readers ‘n’ Ritas
My weekend started early. I had to be on the road by 5am to get to Dallas in time for Reader ‘n’ Ritas registration. I didn’t drink any caffeine that morning because I didn’t want to have to pull over to pee. Not a great decision. I think I was hallucinating while I was driving. I thought I saw Santa driving a big rig. I’m still trying to figure out why he honked at me. Maybe it’s because I was having trouble deciding which lane to drive in so I just straddled the line. My bad.
Once I got to the hotel, I swung by the conference registration desk to pick up my goodie bag and badge. They weren’t quite ready yet, but there was delicious Seattle’s Best coffee ready and waiting for us. I sat and chit chatted with some other convention goers who lived in the area. We talked and guzzled coffee until registration was ready for us early birds.
Lucky for us, we got to look through the goodie bags to see which ones had the books we wanted. After grabbing our treasures, we had some time to kill before the morning sessions started. I had the pleasure of meeting Lauren Willig while drinking my third cup of coffee on an empty stomach. We had a lively discussion about our romance likes and dislikes. I have to say, I only remembered bits and pieces of our conversation because my brain was buzzing from all the caffeine.
I eventually stopped shaking enough to gird my loins and work my way toward the workshop rooms. The first workshop session I attended was “Covers Tell the Story.” I had no idea there were so many steps in designing and choosing a cover. Next, I attended “Books and Their Movies.” This was quite a lively workshop. Everyone had different preferences – should you see the movie first or read the book first? Some loved the movies but hated the books; some loved the books but hated the movies.
After the sessions were over, I decided I needed a break and more coffee. While refilling my cup, I ran into the uber-fabulous Dianna Love in the reception area. We found a quiet corner and chewed the fat. We talked hubbies, books, traveling, work, etc. I missed my third workshop session of the morning, but it was worth it to get to chat with Dianna.
We caught up with Sherrilyn after a while, and I got a chance to visit with the amazing author Goddess. She was wearing a lovely lightweight coat/duster that looked like something Goth royalty would wear. Very chic. We talked about her crazy schedule, KCon, “Phantom of the Night”, and FOOD! She was telling me about her dinner the night before, and I almost drooled on her coat. Unfortunately, we had to cut our conversation short because other adoring fans were waiting to speak with Sherrilyn.
After a while, it was time for lunch. Yeah!! I was lucky enough to be seated with Dianna who regaled us with stories of her wild exploits, and Jodi Thomas who won me over completely when she said she’d come and watch me compete with my idiot Golden child. I also met some very sweet dog-loving gals from Oklahoma. Our lunch entrée was mediocre, but dessert was freakin’ awesome. It was a triple layer dark chocolate cake.
After lunch, I finally got to check into my room. It was lovely and clean. Too bad I didn’t have time to play with the Sleep Number bed. After freshening up a bit, I was off to my afternoon workshops. I went to “Do You Miss the Euphemisms?” So funny!! I had no idea there were so many euphemisms for winky and vajayjay. My favorite “less offensive synonym” for cock was Wyatt Earp. Please allow me to use it in a sentence for you:
As Colt crushed Sierra to his hard body, he heard his little filly sigh breathily, “Your Wyatt Earp’s more than OK in my corral.”
I rushed back to my room after the session to fix my hair a bit and make some phone calls. Unfortunately, I forgot to bring hairspray. For a gal raised in Texas, this is an absolute catastrophe. I was in Dallas for goodness sake, home of the big hair. I had to get some hairspray.
There was no gift and sundries shop in the hotel so I had to walk a mile to the closest 7-Eleven to pick up hairspray and cigs. By the time I got back, I only got to sit in on the last bit of the Koffee Klatch session. However, I did make it in time for the book swap. I wound up getting fifteen books. Not a bad haul.
It was now time for margaritas!! Yeeee ha!!! The margaritas were definitely flowing, because by the time I made it to the booze, there was only one pitcher of margaritas left. It was only twenty percent full. Since there were no glasses handy, I just found a straw, stuck it in the pitcher, and sucked away! Sure I got some weird looks, but nothing was going to come between me and the tequila. They eventually brought out another pitcher.
The margarita chat was a riot. Turns out Rosemary Clement-Moore was going to be in Austin on the following Wednesday, so I promised her I’d swing by her signing. She is such a sweetheart. Dakota Cassidy entertained us with funny stories about her alcoholic editor who likes to participate in orgies. Candace Havens shared some of her celebrity tales with us. I asked her about my Navy SEAL husband, Christian Butler-Owen (cross between Christian Bale, Gerard Butler, and Clive Owen). She said they were all very sweet gentlemen, and that Christian is very intense. Swoon!!
After happy hour, I decided to get dressed up for dinner. Seemed like no one else was getting spruced up for the event, but I brought a cute top, so by golly I was going to wear it. I even fixed my hair and make-up. I felt refreshed by the time I made it down for dinner and was definitely ready for some chow.
During dinner, we had little slips of paper we were supposed to write funny stories or things we learned about books/authors/readers during the conference. I couldn’t come up with a damn thing. My mind went blank. Not enough tequila to lube up my brain.
After dessert, Candace read the entries for the funniest stories that people turned in during dinner. There were plenty of laughs and raunchy stories. The funniest moment was when she read aloud, “Dakota Cassidy is really a man.” You could hear a collective gasp echoing through the room. Then she said, “Oh, Dakota turned that one in,” and everyone started laughing.
After dinner was over, I went upstairs to freshen up again and get ready for post dinner drinks. I always come prepared, of course, and had mini-bottles of flavored vodka in my room. I snagged a couple, then went downstairs to order my mixers. Dianna and I sat at the bar and chatted with some conference attendees and organizers for a few hours. She had to head for bed around ten or so. I hung around and talked to some gals from the San Antonio area who were aspiring writers.
I was exhausted by midnight, and was ready for bed. After a quick shower, I was ready to play with my Sleep Number bed. I had so much fun jacking around with the controls. Turns out I am a 40. I like my mattress soft! I slept right in the middle of my king sized bed and felt like a princess. Too bad the bed didn’t vibrate too!
Buns & Roses Tea
I woke up refreshed and ready for more author action. I finally made it downstairs to breakfast around 10am. Lucky me!! Turns out, I made it in time for brunch with Sherrilyn, Dianna, Candace, some readers, and the Reyes (the organizers). What a treat!
We talked books, cowboys, family, celebrities, and just about anything else that popped into our heads over breakfast. After an hour or so, it was time for me to check out and get ready for the tea. I changed into a frilly margarita-green top, put on some boots, fluffed my hair, and was ready to rock.
Since I couldn’t decide whom to sit next to during the tea, I asked one of the organizers for her opinion. She said I should sit with Adele Ashworth because she doesn’t come out very often. Adele is one of Leiha’s favorite authors, so that clinched it for me. I would sit at Adele’s table come hell or high water.
This was one of the most colorful events I have ever been to. Many of the attendees dressed up in beautiful dresses and extravagant hats. There were even ladies there from the Red Hat Society. I felt underdressed in my silly top.
Once they opened the doors, I rushed to find Adele’s table. Her table was almost at the very front of the room. Awesome! I was the first one there. After a few minutes, more people showed up to sit at her table. We only had one seat open at our table by the time everyone arrived.
Adele was fabulous. She brought us copies of her book “Someone Irresistible” and some wonderful candles from Neiman Marcus. We talked about her books and her family for a while before opening ceremonies began. Candace emceed again, and it turns out the proceeds from the tea benefit the Richardson Adult Literacy Center. The RALC actually had a beneficiary of the center lined up to speak, but she went into labor so she couldn’t make it. Slacker!! Just kidding!!
Sherrilyn was the keynote speaker. She was amazing. She talked about her writer’s journey. She talked about her childhood and her family. She talked about many of the obstacles she had to overcome. She talked about how important her readers are to her and about how much she appreciates our support. She was so incredibly moving, I was in tears! Adele was right there with me. We were both worried our mascara was running.
After the tea was over, the authors had to high tail it to the back of the room for the book fair and signing. I wound up spending around eighty bucks on books. By the time I bought my books, some of the authors had already left their stations, so I didn’t get all of my new books signed. Drat! Sherrilyn and Dianna’s line was very, very long of course. Unfortunately, I had a lengthy drive home, so I couldn’t wait for them. Waahhhh!!!
Final Thoughts
This turned out to be a wonderful weekend. The authors and readers were just fantastic. Everyone was so friendly and helpful. It was much more intimate than RWA or RT. While I really enjoy attending those conferences, you don’t get as much face time with the authors as you do here. Of course, throwing in a few topless men couldn’t hurt. *EG* I definitely hope to attend next year.
Here’s a little something one of my gal pals sent me:
APPLES and WINE
Women are like apples on trees. The best ones are at the very top. Most men don't want to reach for the good ones because they are afraid of falling and getting hurt. Instead, they sometimes take the apples from the ground that aren't as good, but easy. The apples at the top think something is wrong with them, when in reality, they're amazing. They just have to wait for the right man to come along. The one who is smart and brave enough to climb all the way to the top of the tree.
As for men...men are like a fine wine. They begin as grapes, and it's up to women to stomp the @#$&% out of them until they turn into something acceptable to have dinner with.
Share this with all the good apples you know.
