I’m back! I got home yesterday evening from RWA, and am still a bit stunned and zombie-fied, so I’m afraid this won’t be a very in-depth post. πŸ™‚ (Look for more info next week!). This was a very fun, upbeat conference–I would rate the Marriott Wardman Park above average for conference hotels (especially for its nice neighborhood with such a plethora of good restaurants!), and the conference attendees get a gold star for fun conversation and the best parties EVER. A few highlights:

The Beau Monde Soiree! (The costumes were gorgeous, and I enjoyed the dancing–watching, anyway. My hoops were too heavy and my shoes too pointy-toed to participate. In these pics I’m with Megan, and Keira Soleore and Michelle Willingham, who looked gorgeous in her Josephine-style gown. And our own Louisa won the Royal Ascot!!)

The Harlequin Party (of course! In these pics I’m with a bunch of people–Andrea Pickens, Diane, Deb Marlowe, Michelle W. and Elizabeth Mahon of the Scandalous Women blog, and with my Grand Central Publishing editor Alex Logan, who gave a thumbs-up to the dessert selection. The third pic is Michelle W. and her husband, who were totally The Cuteness Couple at the party…)

The post-awards ceremony! (The disgustingly tall woman is my Harlequin editor Joanne Grant, and of course you know Megan by her lovely vintage gown. One day she will wake up and find I’ve snuck into her house and stolen those dresses away since she once made the mistake of showing me where she keeps them)

And I even got to play tourist for a day, which I usually don’t at conference! On Sunday I hit the Mall with Keira, Regina Scott, and Marissa Doyle. I saw the American History museum (including these gowns once worn by Martha Washington and Dolley Madison) and briefly ran through the American Indian building, which was gorgeous (I’m determined to go back there next time). We had a fabulous dinner, too, handmade pasta, calamari, and tiramisu, yum!

I have to admit, though, the highlight of the conference was doughnuts, cocktails, and True Blood. Megan and Carolyn, you are superlative hostesses and I hope the neighbors didn’t call the front desk on you. (I even got to catch the new episode on Sunday as I packed, and there was a bit more Eric than usual, yay! We even glimpsed his Viking days…)

And major congrats to Pam Rosenthal on your much, much deserved RITA win! If you haven’t yet read this fun, literate, sexy book, run out and get it right now.

In short, it was a fabulous time. It’s always hard to get to the end of RWA, say good-bye to everyone, and find myself back here doing laundry, trying to get my Pug to take her eardrops, and actually writing rather than just talking about writing. There will be more info later–just as soon as I take a nap…