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Tag Archives: Conferences

Catching Up is Hard To Do

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Seems like I’m behind in everything these days.  Le Sigh.

Conferences!

This month, I am a traveling girl. Indeed, this very weekend I will be in Denver Colorado attending the RomCon conference. I do believe there are other Risky girls attending the conference. Amanda, for example. (Anyone else?)

I will have limited copies of my books available at the signing so if you’re going to be there, come by and say hello so I don’t feel like a doofus. I’ll be at the Anti-Heroes panel on Friday afternoon since I am the moderator (proudly adjusts shirt). Other than that, I do believe I will be trolling the halls looking for my favorite authors. Any reader who wants to say hi, totally should.

If you’re wondering if I’m prepared for travel, the answer would be no. I have my airfare all squared away, I’m not THAT bad, but other than that, I leave Thursday evening and will probably pack Thursday afternoon. Here’s hoping I have appropriate clothes!

Later on this July, of course, there’s the RWA National conference, but more about that as the date draws nearer.

Book News

I have a story in the Mammoth Book of Regency Romance, which is out later this month and will be available from places like Amazon etc. There are loads of great authors in the book, so if you’re a fan of the Regency, this might be a tome to check out. Sometime in August, my story will be available for download with some fairly awesome artwork, so you will just have to check back for further details.

Carolyn Does Literary Sleight of Hand

Watch me take this cover (below) and relate it to the Regency. Ready?

How, you must be asking yourself, is the cover of my January 2011 paranormal My Immortal Assassin, in anyway related to the Regency? Is it a time travel?  (No.)  Are there flashbacks? (No.) Does anyone wear an an Empire gown or an immaculate cravat?  (No and no.) Then what!?

As I wrote this story, the constant idea in the back of my head was that my hero, the assassin of the title, was, at heart, a Regency Rake. He’s a totally modern demon sort of fellow, but he’s has these old fashioned tics that come out sometimes in the way he speaks and the way in which he is, every now and then, completely flummoxed by the modern American woman.

Meanwhile back at the Ranch

I have a book due August 15. ACK!!!!!

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Random Stuff About Like, Stuff

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First, let me pile on to Amanda and mention that I will be at the RomCon conference. I will be chairing a panel on the anti-hero so woot! Awesome! If you’re going to be at RomCon, come find me and say hi so I don’t feel lonely. I am still coming to terms with the fact that I will have to wear something besides jeans. My hair, however, should be pretty spiffy as I have a beautifying appointment this weekend.

I also learned yesterday that my 2004 historical The Spare is being re-issued in October 2010. I found this out when I came home to find a stack of cover flats in the mail that were, how odd, a little different from the original cover. The original print run of this book was on the very small side, so small that I heard from people right away that they could not find the book even when it was freshly released. I’ve not seen used copies at a very reasonable price, so buying the re-issue might be cost-effective for some of you. (HINT!!)

Stuff about Waterloo

Google Books for Waterloo, 1814 to 1820 — LOTS of poetry. Today, the public response to something like this would be YouTube videos. And, of course, there would have been reporters embedded with the troops.

This is Sir Cecil Cakebeef reporting live from the camp of the Guard Dragoons just outside the charming little village of Waterloo. I’m speaking here with M. Albert DeFrenchman who’s just told me that he’s moved his cows out of Belgium and locked the barn. He’s written a poem entitled, Les Miserables complete with lyrics. My translator, Henri here (wearing the false mustache) explains that the poem is a lamentation on butter gone bad.

The Journal of the Three days of the Battle of Waterloo by an Eyewitness. Translated from the French. This book is from Oxford’s Bodelian library. ::swoon:: Having scanned through, I suspect the hand of an Englishman in this French journal.

Parliamentary Debate — on Waterloo prize money. Damn. Politics.

Anecdotes of the Duke of Wellington from The Scots Magazine,

Official Bulletins of the Battle of Waterloo – Not English ones, all the other guys.

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The LoveLetter Convention 2014

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I’m back! Carolyn has kindly invited me to do a guest post at the Riskies every other Wednesday, so here I am. 🙂

Last week it was time again to pack my bags and to take the train to Berlin for the LoveLetter Convention 2014. The LLC is RT’s smaller German sister —minus the costume parties and the cover models. It is organised by the only German romance magazine, the LoveLetter, and is attended by both German and international authors, by people from the publishing industry, and by readers. Lots and lots and lots of readers! Indeed, this year the convention has grown from 500 visitors to 700 visitors, and the conference office nearly overflowed with the umpteen boxes full of conference bags.

LoveLetter Convention 2014As always, readers could decide to attend workshops or games or meet & greet events or one of the panel discussions (moderated by yours truly). My favorite panel this year was “New German Authors,” which introduced authors who attended the conference for the very first time to the audience. There was also a book signing on Sunday afternoon, which brought back fond memories of the RWA signings I attended in the past.  🙂

In contrast to 2011 and 2012 when the conference took place in one of the suburbs of Berlin, this year we were at the Prenzlauer Berg, right smack in the middle of the city. It’s such a wonderful, quirky quarter, with many small cafés, restaurants, and small shops. And did I mention the ice cream? In Berlin you’re never far from an ice cream vendor —and they all have fantastic ice cream!!!

Prenzlauer Berg, Berlin

As in the years before I took my sketchbook. Thanks to the fact that I’m normally moderating all the panel discussions, I don’t have much time for sketching during the conference, but I always manage to squeeze in a few leisurely walks around the neighborhood beforehand. This time I even managed to dash into the Pergamon Museum, which has truly breathtaking exhibits from classical antiquity, Babylon, and Assyria.

Sandy's Berlin Sketchbook

I spent four hours sketching various different exhibits and managed to miss about half of the museum. But to make up for that I was asked twice whether I sell my sketches. (Wow!) If you’d like to see more of my Berlin sketches: in the next few days I’ll add all of them to this album on Flickr.

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