I survived another BIG conference, this time in Orlando at Walt Disney World. I think it’s actually the only time in my life to date I’ve been in Orlando and NOT gone for at least half a day to the Disney Parks. Sorry, can’t count the back lot experience in getting to the Living Seas Harper Collins party this time. Because it was really back lot. Don’t fault me, I enjoyed seeing the “behind the scenes” but since it was “business” I have to count it in the “not seeing Disney” column. Did get to see the glamorous Eloisa James and effervescent Wendy Corsi Staub at the party. Then rode back with Jenna Petersen which is always a treat! It’s odd, you met someone years ago and they stick with you for YEARS in a very good way! Only sad thing, I did NOT get a pirate hat OR a tiara. And we know how much I love tiaras! But what did I see this year? Staying in the Boardwalk Inn, I did get delicious breakfasts at the bakery each morning, ah I miss the chocolate croissants. Ah, just the croissants in general were delicious and who can avoid a…

Each year the Romance Writers of America hold their annual conference in July, usually late July. This year due to flooding in Nashville in late spring, it’s been moved to the Dolphin and Swan Conference Center in Lake Buena Vista, Florida. Right, Walt Disney World. What a tease! Because for the Fresh Fiction team, a conference is packed hours of meeting, greeting, learning and not really time to be a tourist. And where is one of the best tourist places? Why, WDW, of course! A tease! So noses to the grindstone we’ll cover all the happenings, for you dear friends, from our Dallas, Texas departure at 7AM, yes, bright and early, Sunday, July 25th through our return sometime the first week of August *grin* Ah, we plan to meander across the south on the way back. We’ll be hitting bookstores aplenty! There are six adventurers and two cars so we have PLENTY of room to stock up on books! And great company to talk endlessly about authors, books, trends, heroes, heroines, mysteries and all the other stuff readers chat about when they gather together. Our first stop is Atlanta, Georgia to pick up the irreplaceable Faye and then on to…

This past Thursday led me once again to the Lincoln Park Barnes & Noble, near NorthPark Center, for Olivia Munn’s book signing. For three hours I watched guys of all ages ride up the escalators to wait in line. Yes, the line to get their book signed. It was crazy. I got to the store around 4:30pm and boys were sitting on chairs, the floor, standing around the book shelves and like I said above, already starting their own book signing lines. The actual signing wasn’t supposed to start till 7pm… Does it sound like these boys have an obsession? It sure does to me. Olivia Munn, for those who don’t know, is a well known television celebrity who stars on the show “Attack of the Show!” currently on G4. She is also a well known model with cover shots ranging from Maxim to Playboy to Foam magazine. You girls would probably remember her by her Pepsi and Neutrogena campaigns. I will not deny it; I honestly had no idea who Olivia was before attending this book signing event. I am an avid book lover, not a TV one. As the intern, I had the fortunate task of standing in…

This is short and sweet because I’m off to my first MYTHCON. Go ahead, be like everyone else, “what’s a mythcon?” A great question, because I’m learning too! Mythcon41 is a conference put on by the Mythopoeic Society, “a national/international organization promoting the study, discussion, and enjoyment of fantastic and mythopoeic literature through books and periodicals, annual conferences, discussion groups, awards, and more.” It’s held in Dallas (well, Addison, a suburb) this year so I thought, why not? I like fantasy and paranormal romance, mystery, etc, so this could be interesting. Then I saw the programming. I mean, seriously, how can I pass up “Fox-Fairies, Demons, and Ghosts Oh My!: An Overview of Common Fantasy Figures in Asian Children’s Stories.” Or, “Problems with Rebirth: A Rabbit, a Duck, and a Kitten in Works by Beatrix Potter?” And that is just on Saturday! So, I’ll be tweeting from Mythcon41 all day and miss (sob sob) the July Tea. But I’m sure Sandi and the others will fill me in! Oh, wait, of course, there will be a contest this weekend. We couldn’t go without one, right? So leave a comment today or tomorrow and you’ll be entered to win something fabulous….

Who’s back? Well, “she”, my summer reading muse has returned with a bang! Some days or months do you feel like you’re in a reading funk? Nothing good, same old same old. You know you’ve read that plot before, so many times before and you’re bored. Bored I tell you! It’s almost an effort to go to a store, or go to a site (hopefully, Fresh Fiction, nudge nudge) and look at what’s available. Read that vampire story, seen that type of hero, ho hum, another SEAL, wonderful, just what I don’t need. Hmm, what about that mystery? No, don’t want to learn about making lace, sorry, seriously, how many people can die in that small town? Well, what about a thriller, fast-paced, heart pounding, read faster thriller? Uh, dear, not working. Skip to the end. Sigh. Yes, dear friends, that is the slump I’m talking about. I’d resorted to rereading old favorites but even Georgette Heyer let me down. It was a sad sad time in my life. The reading muse was gone. I know there were good books out there, fellow readers were raving about this novel, that author, but sorry, nothing was grabbing me by the throat….

Last Saturday was our annual Boas and Tiaras Tea, and if you follow our musings you’ll know we posted a recap and link to Felicia’s blog about the event. I’ll wait if you need to go catch up. In the meantime, it was fun to reminisce about it. There are over 50 pictures you can check out on our Meetup.com page. We filled the room with readers, I got rid of a couple of boxes of books (ha!) and we meet old friends and new friends. But now, I’ve put away my tiara (gasp) until either next year or the next “big” event! We did miss several of our members and also has had people say, why didn’t you tell me about it? It’s hard to judge with the effectiveness of getting the word out, but we try really hard. SO I thought I’d tell YOU all now, next year’s big event, the Boas & Tiaras Tea will be held on Saturday, June 11th, 2011. It will be held somewhere with high tea, chocolate, scones and champagne! Promise! And no long walking in the heat (had to promise that after last year’s tea in the Arboretum, we’re precious flowers, ya…

None of what I am about to write would have been possible without the wonderfulness that is Sara R. and DFWTea!  She is just a wonderful person who makes all these author events happen! Look who came: Dakota Cassidy : Website, Twitter: @DakotaCassidy Kimberly Frost : Website,  Twitter: @frostfiction Rosemary Clement-Moore: Website,  Twitter: @rclementmoore Jaye Wells: Website, Twitter: @jayewells Michele Bardsley: Website, Twitter: @michelebardsley Claire Avery: Website, Twitter: @authorclaire The Fab Kimberly Frost sat at our table–we yapped her ears off!  She is a wonderful person and guess what might stop by next month for Paranormal Fest.  WHOO HOOO! This is what happens when you sit at a table with me!  She was such a good sport! Signing my books–YEAH! 2 books being read next month during Witchy July Would-Be Witch (A Southern Witch Novel) Barely Bewitched Also the Fab Dakota Cassidy (Pink Boa), Jaye Wells (Blue Boa), and Rosemary Clement-Moore (tiara)! Now Jaye Wells we all know I love click here and here for more on her.We all know I love the Sabina Kane series!  Check them out! Red-Headed Stepchild (Sabina Kane) Book 1 The Mage in Black (Sabina Kane) Book 2 Do you guys know who is in…

Friday night and it’s an author book signing night! And best of all, they had CAKE! Okay, maybe I’m a bit harsh, but let me tell all the authors touring out there, cake works! Have a signing, get the baby bottles of water and a HUGE cake. You’ll get people out of the woodworks. Honest! So, on a warm Friday night in June, we went to Legacy Books to meet the other half of Claire Avery. For background, Claire Avery is an author duo, two sisters: Michelle Poché and Mari Hilburn. Both sisters live in the area, which makes the cake more convenient. Am I talking too much about the cake? It was delicious by the way. A flat cake with two layers, very light and fluffy and Gwen gave the icing a thumbs up. She started checking out my slice to see if there was any left! She’s addicted to icing! But back to Claire Avery. Michelle is a screen writer and has worked in Hollywood as well as in Texas, Mari is an attorney. They left the chill of Chicago and settled in Texas, a familiar story for some of the people I know including me! It is…

HarperTeen kicked off the first week of summer with the Supernatural Summer Tour.  This is a six day whirl wind tour that includes Kansas City, Atlanta, Dallas, Houston, Chicago, & San Diego with five of HarperTeen’s top young adult authors. When I caught up with the tour at Borders in Dallas, Texas, the participants for this stop were Kim Harrison (EARLY TO DEATH, EARLY TO RISE), Ellen Schreiber (VAMPIRE KISSES 7; LOVE BITES), Aprilynne Pike (SPELLS), and Kimberley Derting (THE BODY FINDER).  Kelley Armstrong (THE RECKONING) would trade off with Aprilynne Pike starting in Houston.  For at least three of these ladies, it was day three out of the six in the non-stop tour, yet they all greeted their fans with energy and enthusiasm. The evening started with all four ladies perched upon their signing table, giving short introductions of themselves and their books, followed by a Q&A session.  Those in attendance got to find out a little about their favorite authors.  Such fun facts were that Aprilynne was the only one of the four that actually went to school to be a writer but she felt she learned just as much working in critique groups and reading.  Ellen’s biggest…

This is the start of summer in the US, the sorta official beginning — Memorial Day Weekend. Most of the schools are out and if they aren’t then everyone attending has a serious case of “short-timers syndrome.” People are planning their summer vacations, what can we afford, whose schedule loses in the equation, you know, all the things families and friends do to plan out some “FUN.” My family has evolved into doing long weekends for our summer vacations. We’ve replaced school restrictions with job responsibilities and our pets. It was bad enough when you didn’t get any credit for missed days, but why oh why do all businesses with IT require the IT people to do installs and upgrade over holidays? Doesn’t seem fair, does it? But supposedly less people will be online and using the system so perfect time to upgrade operating systems, new development, etc. I know it will be a time when we just hope the hamburgers don’t burn while the guys are on endless conference calls! Then the dogs. Ah, my new babies. Last time we all went away at the same time and had to use a kennel or doggie boarding establishment, one dog…