RT, Daytona, and the Scamps - Part 1

Hey, guys! I'm back from five days of business, fun, business, and more fun in Daytona Beach. The 23rd annual Romantic Times Booklovers Convention was an amazing and exhausting experience. This was my first time to attend, and I was very impressed with all the planning that goes into such a huge event. I'll give you the highlights, and if I'm lucky... I'll show you some pictures as well.

I flew in on Tuesday afternoon... hit a snag right off the bat. LuAnn and I were supposed to be roomies, but the Hilton booked us in separate rooms. We both stayed up until 11PM waiting for the other one to arrive. Sigh... We didn't figure it out until the next morning, and then I had to move rooms, because the one they gave LuAnn had an ocean view and mine overlooked the heating and air units. :(

The only event Tuesday evening was an informal "luau"... it was supposed to be outdoors on a terrace overlooking the ocean, but rain forced the event inside. (The only rain all week, though.) The room where they set things up was too small for the crowd, so I grabbed a bit of food and stayed just an hour or so. Vegged in my room after that.

Wednesday morning after I moved rooms I met with nine other authors from the Georgia Romance Writers to "stuff" goody bags. We hosted an ice cream social for booksellers later that day. At 11 I went to a workshop. At noon LuAnn and I attended the "Salute to Waldenbooks" luncheon, and then at 4 I did a workshop with Lori and Dianne. Bookseller event from 5 to 6 and then dinner with Dianne, Rosemary, Karen, and Susan Stephens (a delightful Brit who writes for Harlequin Presents). The evening wrapped up with the Ellora's Cave fantasy party from 9 to midnight. (More about that later in the next installment.)