The RWA Conference - In the Beginning

It's Thursday, Bright and Early Again!

I'm not really a "jet lag" kinda person. I can adapt pretty well, so I'm up at 6:15am and ready for the keynote with Janet Evanovich. My first thought on entering the ballroom is: "This is one huge, honkin' conference"! I learn there are 2000 attendees.

Janet is fun, (of course) joking about her broken foot, (she fell off the stage in Toronto) and confessing to be the author of 12 romance novels before she created Stephanie Plum. I'm amazed that her writing life is so organized and recognize she has truly created a publishing empire. I love hearing about rich, talented and successful women. What great role models they are for us aspiring to build our own writing careers.

Chapple had reminded me that the National Zoo was just up the street and said the magic word.

Pandas. I'd forgotten about them, and so headed out to meet her and see those cute, cuddly bears. But first, there are otters. I confess, these are my favorite animals.. (next to my cats). They just look like they have nothing more on their mind than having fun.

But, I'm here to see the Panda bears, and force myself to move on.

And how cute is this creature? My son Garth had a stuffed panda bear named "Foo-Foo" and I just can't believe that this live animal is as cute.

We end up at the family zoo and realize we have to walk back through the entire zoo to leave. It's getting HOT, very HOT.

Chapple starts to pack up for her trip home, and I head out to attend some workshops.

The day ends with a cocktail party at the hotel for the Chick-Lit RWA chapter, and I finally meet Paige Wheeler from the Folio Literary Agency. She works with my "Darlin' Jeff" who co-owns the agency. Paige will be coming out to Seattle for the Pacific Northwest Writers Association conference at the end of the month, so we chat about fun things to do with kids. Her baby is just 15 months old, so I have some suggestions for great places to visit.

So far, lots of fun, lots of information about romance publishing and great people!

Deb's Excellent Adventures in DC

A Travel Day (July 14, 2009)

As Librarian of the Year 2009 for Romance Authors of America, I will be flying to Washington DC for their annual conference. Not only will I be accepting my award, but I'll be speaking twice at this conference. I've heard it's an exhausting series of day, so I'm prepared for sleep deprivation and sensory overload.

My first experience is being forced to pay $20 for the airlines to bring my luggage along with me. I'm irritated by this, but accept that this is a "wardrobe heavy" event and so pay the extortion.

After the tedious trial of flying, (I'm old enough to remember when flying on a airplane was FUN!) I arrive in DC. I assumed my "car" would be waiting, but no one with a placard with my name on it is standing in the baggage area. I call the car service, and discover I have to go out to the curb. This actually spoils it a bit for me, because I was dreaming of all the other passengers looking at me and trying to figure who I was.

It was a beautiful day in D.C. and I enjoyed seeing the buildings as we drove to the hotel. Lucky for me my partner in crime, um -- co-worker, Chapple, arrived early. She had assured the hotel staff that we did indeed want to remain at the hotel and thank goodness. Our program would be the very first of the conference at 8am on Wednesday, and I didn't really like the idea of trying to get up to the hotel from downtown during rush hour.

Chapple created the perfect ambiance for "Romance Librarian of the Year"! There was even champagne chilling in the ice bucket.

My RWA Chapter, (Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America) sent me roses. I'm starting to enjoy all this attention, and it's only just begun...

Chapple and I head across the street for dinner and I appreciate traveling with a foodie. She's spent the afternoon scoping out the neighborhood, checking out the food reviews and figuring out a schedule. You just gotta love an organized Reference Librarian!

Wednesday, Bright and Early

Program # 1: Romance in the Stacks: How to Plan, Organize and Enjoy Author Events

The guys are setting up the LCD projector when we arrive. I'm a bit grumpy, (Chapple has gone in search of coffee). I actually dragged my LCD projector 3000 miles, because I wasn't sure if they would have one. I have to agree though, it's better to be safe than sorry. This is Librarian Day, so our program is targeted to library staff who want to create author events and programs. Despite the fact that Chapple and I have never done this before, I believe we ROCK! We manage to get all our information into the one hour program. It's 9:00 am and we are finished for the day!

We head for the Metro and ride an escalator that appears to descend into the bowels of hell. The subway in DC goes very, very deep underground. We only have a "sorta" idea of where we want to go, and discover that many people in D.C. have suggestions for how to get to the restaurant we want to eat lunch at. On the way we stop at a jewelry store to admire the window display. We can't resist and go inside, then enjoy a fun time trying on crazy expensive jewelry that we wish we could buy.

Actually, Chapple could have purchased this pearl set. She decided to think about it.

It was beautiful!

After a lot of walking around and feeling foolish, (regrettably - Chapple is as direction-challenged as I am) we finally found the restaurant. Perhaps someone should have mentioned it was in a HOTEL! We did not despair, (although the service was not top-notch) the food was excellent.

This is the best-looking food I've ever seen. And it was "Free-Range" chicken.

My sandwich was amazing too. A very good choice for lunch.

After lunch, we head for the National Museum of the American Indian. This was the #1 tourist thing I wanted to do while in D.C.

Chapple had her own reasons for visiting this museum. Her mother-in-law, (Marionne Langemack) donated to the construction.

We asked at the main desk where the "Donor Wall" might be, and received some very complicated instructions. Chapple managed to find the list on a kiosk, then we tried to find the wall. It just didn't make sense.

So we visited the top floor exhibits, moved to the second floor and realized that the open wall in the middle of the museum did indeed hold the names of major donors. We found Marionne's name. How cool was that?

I have to admit, the organization of this museum challenged me. We were very disappointed that the only Pacific NW tribe represented was the Yakima's. With the rich tradition of art, storytelling, dance and culture, I wished there was more about the tribes of my home area, like the Tlinget, Haida, etc.

Chapple wanted to visit the Newsmuseum, but I'd had enough and headed back to the hotel for a swim in the pool. (I always check the hotel when I'm traveling to see if they have a pool).

I visited the HUGE author signing, and couldn't believe the number of people lined up to have books signed. I decided to just visit my friends instead of standing in line. I have limited room for books to take home, so I'll be pretty discerning. After all, I work for the library system, and we have a LOT of books.

We ended our first day with a Metro ride to Dupont Circle. Since we purchased an all day Metro pass, it seemed wise to take advantage of the convenience! We chose the restaurant that was busy and looked fun. Neopolitan pizza, and again -- great food, fun ambiance and a great ending to the day.

Writer's Digest Conference

When I found out there was a writing conference the day before BEA, it didn't take me long to decide I'd take advantage of the opportunity by going to NYC a day early. The library was sending me to BEA anyway, so I made my reservation on my favorite flight (Jet Blue - the Red Eye). I love arriving in New York at dawn - because then it seems like I have an extra day. I can't ever seem to get enough of The Big Apple.

I arrived at the writer's conference just in time to hear Lisa Scottoline give the keynote address. She's visited our library before, and while I confess we are not the "Drink you under the table Librarians" she was talking about, I know what she means. She's a great speaker and if you get a chance to hear her -- take advantage of the opportunity.

I wanted to hear Donald Maass talk about his newest book, The Fire in Fiction, so that was my next stop. Donald started out with a question - "What are authors who always deliver a satisfying read doing? What makes a novel great?"

No small questions here, because I'm thinking if you can put the answer to that in a book, I'm gonna buy it! Donald defines it as something he calls, "micro-tension", a technique that line by line, moment by moment creates suspense. He also asserts that the writer's passion - for the story and their own writing - can be a practical tool to use everyday. The emotion of the story MUST be conveyed in the first 5 pages of the story and he suggests you use specific details about the way the protagonist feels about the world to show this emotion.

He then went on to ask some questions about the characters in the story.

1. What is the best thing this world has done for the protagonist?

2. What is the worst thing this world has done? (It will probably be the dark moment of the story)

The stress between these two is the source of conflict -- and the writer should be sure to make every scene move the story along by having some type of conflict. It doesn't have to be huge and it doesn't have to be violent, but there should be challenges to the protagonist on every page of the manuscript.

Find the moment when the protagonist KNOWS things have changed, and enhance that moment by creating both at outer change and an inner change.

I have the other Donald Maas books on my writing shelf, and this book is joining them. I highly recommend it for writers at any point in their career. If you live in the Seattle area, (like I do) you can attend a "Fire in the Fiction" weekend workshop in November 2009.

Romance Extravaganza!

Despite the fact that I've been doing this for over eight years now, sometimes I plan an event, and the result still surprises me. Several of our KCLS librarians hosted a panel of romance authors last year and they wanted to expand upon the idea.

When given the chance to expand, I don't mess around, so I asked my RWA Chapter, (Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America) if they would like to co-sponsor an event with the library system. They said, "Yes" and I moved on to step two.

If you scroll down a few blog entries you'll see my photo with Jayne Ann Krentz. I attended a writing workshop at University Books a few months ago, and asked if she'd part of an event I was planning. Jayne told me to contact her publicist, and we were off!

On Saturday, May 2 we launched, The Romance Extravaganza!

We started the day with a meeting featuring Jacquie Rogers and Wendy Kunkle-Munk talking about Pre-Published Promotion: Get a Jump-Start on Your Career, and their new website,

1st Turning Point. They offered some great ideas for establishing yourself before you get a book deal. It was standing room only in the meeting room.

Our keynote speaker at 11:30am was Amanda Quick (Jayne Ann Krentz/Jayne Castle). It's hard enough to become a NY Times best-selling author, but doing it under 3 names is really a major achievement! She spoke on the importance of the romance genre and provided some compelling reasons why the genre is still so popular.

A book signing with all the participating authors followed, and there was cake for everyone as they waited in line to meet their favorite author.

The afternoon continued with a panel of historical authors, Amanda Quick, Gerri Russell and Deborah Schneider, (not blatant self-promotion, I was filling in for Elizabeth Boyle who was sick). It was moderated by RWA Librarian of the Year 2006 - Michele Drovdahl.

After another short round of book signing, the paranormal panel took their seats. With sometimes tough questions from Lois VanDress, one of our librarians, Stella Cameron, Alexis Morgan, Cherry Adair and Yasmine Galenorn explained the ever-growing appeal of books with vampires, mystic warriors, ghosts, werewolves and just plain spooky stuff!

The day ended with an invitation to tea at Cherry Adair's house!

I had hoped we would have a good turnout, but I never anticipated there would be an audience of over 145 people, (mostly women, but a few men too!) It was an extraordinary event, even for us and I'm already planning for 2010!

I LOVE My Job

I recently received an early morning phone call from Diane Pershing, the President of Romance Writer's of America. I mean, early - before I've even finished my coffee early, which means I'm not always alert. When she identified herself, my mind went really blank. (Before finishing coffee blank) and other than telling me I really had to register for the conference before they'd confirm my hotel room, (I'm speaking there), I couldn't imagine what this was about.

Imagine my surprise when she told me I'm the official, Romance Writer's of America LIBRARIAN OF THE YEAR.

I was eloquent, (coffee?) and said, "No Way!"

She responded, "Way!" Which will forever endear her to me, because she understands, sometimes the words just aren't there to express how you're feeling.

I confessed I'm not a Librarian. But she assured me that since I work for the library system, and I promote romance authors and books, I was indeed qualified to accept the award.

So, on July 14th I'll be flying off to the other Washington, (DC) for the Romance Writer's of America conference. I was already planning to attend, as my co-worker, Chapple, and I are presenting a program about creating romance author events in libraires... on LIBRARIAN'S DAY. We're also going to be part of a panel on libraries for the general conference. Now I have an even busier schedule, because I'll be accepting my award at the Awards Luncheon on Friday, July 17th.

This is a get a manicure, wax the brows and buy new shoes kinda event, so I'm really looking forward to it. There is preshopping, shopping and then post-shopping analysis involved. This is a conference of Romance Writers and Authors. We are talking serious shoe envy, gotta look good kinda stuff. I'm already running through various wardrobe options, considering that outside it will be around 100 degrees with 200% humidity. Inside I suspect you'll need a hat and coat to survive the air conditioning. It makes getting dressed a real challenge.

It's a good thing I'm going to BEA in NYC in May. There is just no better place in the Universe to find great clothes than the fashion district. And after my last trip I learned my lesson, no carry on baggage for me, thank you very much. I booked with a carrier who never charges for baggage and I plan to take a suitcase large enough for all my purchases.

So, I have two trips to the East coast planned for this spring/summer. I'll get to see my family, shop, and get an awesome award. All because I have this really fabu job.

Plus, this week I'm going to meet an Editor from MAD magazine when he presents a program. He sent several cartons of magazines for his programs, and so of course -- I had to review the material.

That's part of my job too.

What me worry?

Nancy Pearl

One of the great benefits of my job is that I get to meet interesting people. This week I had the chance to hear celebrity librarian (and action figure model) Nancy Pearl speak - twice.

Our annual foundation fundraiser was Saturday night. I love Literary Lions, because as the offical "author wrangler" I get to have dinner with some wonderful authors, like Greg Bear, Garth Stein, Julia Quinn, Deb Caletti, and Susan Wiggs. And since it's a gala, that means I get to wear an evening gown too. This year, I was especially excited because my friend, Uber-Agent Jeff Kleinman was there for the evening. Good friends, good talk about books and raising money for the library - this is a fabulous event.

Nancy Pearl was our emcee for the evening, and Garth Stein, author of The Art of Racing in the Rain, was the featured author. (If you haven't read it yet, you are in for a wonderful treat). He spoke eloquently about the way booksellers and librarians can help to build an author's career by handselling books, or doing what we call, "reader's advisory".

On Wednesday we had a staff training with Nancy Pearl about "reader's advisory" and she broke down the way we choose books into what was a very sensible format. She suggested that readers choose books based on: 1. Story 2. Character 3. Setting and 4. Language. If you make a list of 5-10 of your favorite books, it's very likely that one of these elements will "jump out" at you. You might discover a combination of elements, but generally one will stand out as a part of the reason you chose and loved that book.

For me, character and story are primary elements of all my favorite books. Give me an interesting, quirky character in a plot filled with action and adventure and I'm happy. It's not surprising that I write books like that too. Setting also plays a big part in my books, (especially the wilderness of Montana) and Nancy made a link to world-building that makes sense. I write historical romance and paranormal romance, and both types of books involve creating a setting that is believable.

Nancy made the idea of talking about books with friends, (and strangers) sound fun. There was chatter in the lunch room and we compared books, made suggestions to others and practiced our "reader's advisory" skills. Now when strangers ask me what they should read next, (inevitable when I tell people I work in a library) I know how to turn it back to them and discover the kinds of books they love, link it to some interesting possiblities and always keep it about them -- NOT me.

Jayne Ann Krentz

Because I work for one of the busiest library systems in the country, I attend a lot of author events. It's part of my job to set them up, sometimes I host them and I always learn something from every author I hear speak about their book, writing experiences and career.

I'm actually shocked when we have a popular author at one of our libraires and the crowd is "thin" -- because I think one of the best ways you can learn about writing is to attend free writing workshops and author events offered at libraries and book stores. In the Seattle area, on any given night you can find award-winning authors from any genre. I'm lucky to live in one of the "magnet cities" for book tours. Even better, we have a LOT of authors living in the Pacific Northwest.

One of my favorites is Jayne Ann Krentz, who also writes historical romance as Amanda Quick and futuristic romance as Jayne Castle. I remember the very first Amanda Quick book I picked up, Mistress. When I discovered her smart heroines and funny, engaging style, I devoured her books. Later on, as I developed my own writing, she was my model. I didn't know until I met her many years later that she was a librarian. I should have known. Librarians are the iconic masters, (or maybe I should say Mistresses) of my universe.

While many people are familiar with Jayne's writing, they probably don't know how much effort she's put into helping to make the connection between the romance genre and library staff. She speaks at library conventions like PLA (Public Library Association), has been part of panels for our library system to talk about the importance of genre fiction and makes time to present book events at libraries. As the book market shrinks along with discretionary dollars, she understands that readers will need to turn to libraries as an important resource and that programs and events at libraries will help authors find new audiences.

From the perspective of both my "day job" and my writing career -- I'm grateful that bestselling authors value their relationship with libraires. Take a page from Jayne's book, and be nice to your friendly neighborhood librarian. You never know what she's reading, they're sneaky that way. And a lot of them love to read romance.