I attended my very first Reader’s Appreciation Weekend hosted by Lora Leigh. It was at the Pullman Plaza Hotel in Huntington, WV right on the Ohio River. Let me tell y’all, I am totally never missing this event!

First I met Lorie O’Clare (we hadn’t met yet although we share a publisher and a promotion site). The woman is tireless I tell you! She’s amazing and kept the entire event running. I hope she’s sitting with her feet up and resting.

My mom came with me so after checking in, we went downstairs. That’s when the fun began… so many readers were there telling me hello, welcoming me and some even told me how much they love my books. *sniff, sniff* I was so overwhelmed and humbled by their openness and kudos. I think I still am smiling about it. LOL.

The pajama party Friday night was hilarious. I got out there and boogied in my jammies with Marty Mathews from Samhain. As soon as the Black Eyed Peas came on, it was TIME. Everybody running around in their PJs made the first night relaxed and got everyone in the mood to have fun.

After breakfast on Saturday morning, we had the RAW booksigning and man, I haven’t signed that many books at one time in my life! The bookseller, the lovely Melissa Bliss and her crew of tireless ladies, made it so easy for the authors to sit at the tables and sign as the readers brought the books they’d bought. It was a great contrast to the ginormous signings at RT or RWA where you have a stack of books blocking your face.

The Sinners and Saints Ball – Oh my. Those ladies have some seriously cool costumes. I pulled out my belly dancing stuff, nothing too spectacular. You can see piccies here on the newspaper’s website. The last picture of the flapper – that’s my Mom! :D

The weekend was relaxed, fun and I laughed so much my stomach muscles are still recovering. I saw many of my friends and met new ones I will keep. The kudos go to Lora and Lorie for the event – two thumbs way, way up!

Anyway, needless to say, I had a great time and Lora asked me if I was coming back next year. Hell yes! I wouldn’t miss it for the world.

I was going to write a post about RAW (and I will tomorrow), but today has to be about Kate Duffy. I’m joining the collective cry to the heavens at the passing of such an amazing, influential woman. She was my mentor as well as my editor and she had a significant influence on the publishing industry for more than two decades.

I admit, I was in shock to hear she had passed away. As I understood it she was getting better after recovering from an illness, but sometimes things just happen and they did, to Kate.

Lots of folks have posts including Dear Author and Smart Bitches, but mine is a personal post to the woman who literally changed my life. The stories I heard about Kate were that she was mean and intimidating, the “dragon lady” who could make authors cry.

I shook in my boots. Literally. She rejected my submission in 2005 and I picked myself up and kept going, determined to win her over. I was published with two then three e-publishers when I landed at Samhain, and that’s when I really hit my stride. Crissy and Sasha K (my editor) helped me become a better writer, one who could (and would) wow Kate.

I heard Kate speak in 2007 at a Kensington spotlight and was in awe of the way she commanded the room. Not one to suffer fools, she simply answered questions honestly and directly. In a world where people where masks, she always let herself shine through without the bullshit.

When I heard in February 2008 that Kate had been reading my Samhain books and loved them, I nearly swooned. At the RT convention in Pittsburgh, April 2008, I asked Marty Mathews from Samhain to introduce me. She proceeded to introduce me as Brenda (I was horrified and never let Marty live that down), yet she corrected herself immediately.

A defining moment in life here y’all. Kate took my hand in hers and told me I was a “wonderful, wonderful writer”. I think I peed myself. Kate knew what romance was in her blood and when she said she had me on her Kindle, I was in seventh heaven. I wanted to do a dance with my hands in the air and shout “YES!”

Later during that same RT, I approached her and said I had a book that had been e-pubbed that I had the rights to and wanted to submit to her. She handed me her card with a smile (yes, she smiled a lot) and invited me to.

Two weeks later, after I send her The Education of Madeline, she called me and asked me if I had an agent, because I needed one. My official relationship with Kate had begun. Over the next year, we worked together on three books and she would tickle me with her phone calls. “I don’t love it yet, but I will. This is what you need to do.” She was, in a word, unique.

Kate has been described as a “brassy dame” and it fits her perfectly. She was smart, instinctual, outspoken and I am going to miss her terribly. Goodbye, Kate, and Godspeed.

Today’s eye candy for your viewing pleasure.

I am off to Lora Leigh’s Reader Appreciation Weekend (RAW) in Huntington, WV. I’ll be at the Pullman Hotel all weekend with my mom – plan on meeting lots of readers and having fun.

If you’re going to be there, please find me and say hello! If you’re in the area, there is a public book signing on Sunday so come on by!

Hope to see some of you there!

This was posted on the RAW loop – it’s so true that it’s scary and hilarious.

Recently, I was diagnosed with A.A.A.D.D. -

Age Activated Attention Deficit Disorder.

This is how it manifests:

I decide to water my garden.

As I turn on the hose in the driveway, I look over at my car and decide it needs washing.

As I start toward the garage, I notice mail on the porch table that I brought up from the mail box earlier.

I decide to go through the mail before I wash the car.

I lay my car keys on the table, put the junk mail in the garbage can under the table, and notice that the can is full.

So, I decide to put the bills back on the table and take out the garbage first.

But then I think, since I’m going to be near the mailbox when I take out the garbage anyway, I may as well pay the bills first.

I take my check book off the table, and see that there is only one check left.

My extra checks are in my desk in the study, so I go in the study to my desk where I find the can of Coke I’d been drinking.

I’m going to look for my checks, but first I need to push the Coke aside so that I don’t accidentally knock it over.

The Coke is getting warm, and I decide to put it in the refrigerator to keep it cold.

As I head toward the kitchen with the Coke, a vase of flowers on the counter catches my eye–they need water.

I put the Coke on the counter and discover my reading glasses that I’ve been searching for all morning.

I decide I better put them back on my desk, but first I’m going to water the flowers.

I set the glasses back down on the counter, fill a container with water and suddenly spot the TV remote. Someone left it on the kitchen
table.

I realize that tonight when we go to watch TV, I’ll be looking for the remote, but I won’t remember that it’s on the kitchen table, so I decide to put it back in the den where it belongs, but first I’ll water the
flowers.

I pour some water in the flowers, but quite a bit of it spills on the floor.

So, I set the remote back on the table, get some towels and wipe up the spill.

Then, I head down the hall trying to remember what I was planning to do.

At the end of the day:

- The car isn’t washed

- The bills aren’t paid

- There is a warm can of Coke sitting on the counter

- The flowers don’t have enough water,

- There is still only one check in my check book,

- I can’t find the remote,

- I can’t find my glasses,

- And I don’t remember what I did with the car keys.

Then, when I try to figure out why nothing got done today, I’m really baffled because I know I was busy all damn day, and I’m really tired.

I realize this is a serious problem, and I’ll try to get some help for it, but first I’ll check my e-mail.

I’m heading into a crazy busy week, which makes me nervous that I’m not going to hit my daily goals on my Berkley Heat book. My goal is 2K a day and for the most part, I’ve hit it every day. However, this week will be keeeraaazy.

First, I have an all day (and I mean 15 hours) meeting on Wednesday that starts at 9:30 a.m. I’m going to have to get the 2K written in the morning before work. I can do it, it just means I don’t have any other opportunity to get the writing done. That adds to the pressure.

Then come Friday morning at 5:30, I’m off to Lora Leigh’s RAW. I’m going to pick up my mom then head north to WV. It’s going to be at least 7 hours of driving, not exactly conducive to good writing, LOL. Then of course, there’s the weekend itself.

Fun, frolic and readers!

I’m going to have to be really focused to get some writing done at some point and hit my daily goal. My deadline is October 16, which is 23 days from now. Tick. Tock.

Suggestions anyone on how to carve out the time to write this week?

Today’s eye candy for your viewing pleasure. Oh and I’m over at the Brava Authors blog today talking about tweeting.

Okay y’all, I need help with a title. As you may or may not know, I’ve sold a contemporary erotic romance to Berkley Heat (yay!). Here’s the blurb:

Hell hath no fury like Alex Finley…

For as long as Alex could remember, life had taken everything from her. Her father had abandoned her and her dying mother, only to return upon her death to reclaim the family’s Wyoming ranch–with a new wife. Alex’s rage drove her away to Los Angeles to live with a man who could never satisfy her.

Only after ten years does she come home–and she hits the town with a vengeance, unleashing her pent-up lust on willing cowpoke Connor Matthews. But she’s in for several shocks. It turns out that the ranch is now a resort, that her late father split the estate between Alex and her young step-brother, and that Connor–the bucking bronco she wants in her bed–is running the place.

Now, Alex is torn between accepting a new family, and a lover who can give her everything she needs–or selling out to a smooth-talking neighbor and leaving the past behind her. But only when her life is on the line does she realize what she desires most of all…

My original title is Heart and Fury, but I need to come up with something more contemporary. Any suggestions?

Well, this is a first. Carnival cruise lines is teaming up with some singles groups to have the first ever “cougar cruise”. No, really it’s the truth. Read the details here on USA Today.

So if anyone is interested in booking the December 4th cruise out of San Diego, titled the “International Cougar Cruise”, you can check out more information here. Apparently Miss Cougar 2009 will be there – who knew there was such a title?

Not only is there a cougar cruise, but apparently Carnival is also apparently hosting a swingers cruise. Oh yeah, talk about the floating STD cruise. I can’t even imagine what you could catch, no offense to anyone who likes that lifestyle, but no thanks from me.

Anyone out there want to comment? Sex on the High Seas y’all!

Oh, Patrick. I was so saddened to hear beloved Johnny Castle from Dirty Dancing, the gorgeous and graceful Patrick Swayze, died yesterday from pancreatic cancer. Who didn’t adore that bad boy dance instructor up in the Poconos, the man who taught Baby was love and sex were?

The thing I respected the most about Patrick was his love for his wife. He’d been married for 25 years, did you know that? His wife Lisa was also a dancer and they had a true love match.

Some of my favorite movies he was in:

Dirty Dancing – obviously the romantic in me LOVED that movie.

To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything, Julie Newmar – Patrick in drag. ‘Nuff said.

The Outsiders – I was a huge SE Hinton fan and the movie did the book justice.

Anyone else want to share a favorite movie with Patrick?