A Time For Everything

I'm sure you realize that my trip to Buc-ee's was not the real highlight of my trip to San Antonio. Although, I must say it was pretty exciting.

But--

The purpose of my trip was attend the RWA national annual conference and learn something. And learn some things I did.

I attended all craft workshops, except one. I thought it was craft, but it wasn't. However, I think the fates conspired to get me in attendance. It was mainly a writers life kind of track, but I found it more inspirational than anything and it hit me in the gut. The speaker said some things that really resonated. Something I already knew, but she inspired me to do what needed to be done. And so shall I endeavor. If the fates don't conspire to prevent me.

I didn't take many pictures during the conference itself though--not of workshops or speakers although there were some big names in attendance. Nora Roberts was there! So was Julia Quinn, Eloisa James, Elizabeth Hoyt, Sarah MacLean...big names in historical romance. Nalini Singh, Jane Porter, Christie Craig, Robin Perini, Tanya Michaels, to name a few others.

There were a lot of men there, too. More than I expected to see. One man is a professor at a college in Pennsylvania, in the heart of Amish country. Several years ago, one of his student wrote her thesis on romance novels--I don't remember the precise topic--and he said he was blown away. The college finally approved funding for him to attend the conference to get a up close and personal experience of the genre.

Now that I'm home, it's time to apply as much of what I learned to my current work in progress. Then to the next book and the next. I even have an idea and characters for a new book. One I'm looking forward to writing, but I have some hard work on almost finished projects ahead of me. Those first.

Saturday night was the big awards ceremony, the RITAs, the Oscars of the romance novel world. There's also the Golden Heart, an award for a pre-published manuscript and my dear friend and chapter mate won her category. I do have pictures of that...

Here's me in the dress...it's not a great picture, but I did get a lot of compliments and was even asked by a gal if she could take a "glam" shot of me!

This is my friend Jan Schliesman and me--she gave me the dress and I'm forever in her debt. Jan recently sold her first book to Harlequin Romantic Suspense. It'll be published next spring.


Two more of my chapter mates, Angi Morgan on the left and Sarah Cannon on the right. Sarah won the Golden Heart in the short contemporary category and recently sold her book to the Harlequin Desire line. Her book will be published early next year. Angi won the Golden Heart several years ago and has since published seven or eight Harlequin Intrigue books.

I do have more pictures, but the rest are all of my sight seeing adventures. I'll be sharing some of those on Friday.

So a few miles north of the I-35N/I-35S connection/split on the south side of the Dallas/Fort Worth Metroplex there's a billboard... I wish I'd taken a picture, but I just didn't think much of it the dozen times I've driven past it except to wonder why there's a billboard for a gas station 181 miles north of its actual location...

NOW I KNOW!!!

Oh, my goodness... Look!





I had some fun in there looking around and bought a few Texas-themed items.

Have you ever been to a Bucee's like this???

(And, yes, I'm easily amused.)

Busy with workshops and stuff...

Back on Monday!

Today's the day! In a few short hours, I'll be picking up my good friend and setting off towards...

You guessed it--San Antonio.

The vehicle, sadly, did not get an oil change or a bath.

But my bag is packed....


My dress for the awards ceremony on Saturday night...


And the route is planned....


Ready or not, here we--and by we I mean 2000 or so romance writers!--come!!

See you Friday with pictures of my adventures from today and tomorrow....

Last week I watched a five-hour mini-series called Parade's End starring the wonderful, baritone-voiced Benedict Cumberbatch of Star Trek and Sherlock fame. He actually starred in this film prior to becoming the huge celebrity he is now.

The film is based on a tetralogy of books of the same name written by Ford Madox Ford....the basic tale is of a man, Christopher Tietjans, forced to marry a woman he doesn't love as she's carrying a child who may or may not be his as he considers himself one of the last true gentleman. On top of that, he falls for a young suffragette (the books/movie take place just prior to and during the first World War) but despite popular belief, their relationship remains physically and, for the most part, emotionally chaste.


The movie is slow moving and does not really address the Great War except as the backdrop for most of the story. I think you really have to be a fan of Mr. Cumberbatch's or enjoy British character dramas to want to sit through this. I mostly enjoyed it, then proceeded to download the book to see how it compared. As of this post, I'm nowhere near finished, but so far most of the book's events as well as key dialogue made it into the film. The hero is not as sympathetic in the book as he is in the film, although there were parts in the film where he wasn't very sympathetic either.

So has anyone happened to have seen this mini-series? What did you think?