Diamonds are Forever - RWA Gold Coast Conference 2012

As promised here are a few photos from the Gold Coast conference last week, with big thanks to Sara Hantz who not only remembered to take her camera but also remembered to use it!! This is the spectacular view from our hotel balcony. Despite August being the middle of winter Down Under the weather was gorgeous for the entire weekend.

It happened to be my birthday on the Saturday so, any chance for a celebration, here I am with Amanda Ashby and our posh pink plastic cups of champagne!

Here I am with fellow Berkley Babe, Kylie Griffin, enjoying another cup of champagne (I lost count how many I had, but this was entirely Sara's fault as she kept topping me up. Therefore, I do believe I only ever had one cup!!!)

With a couple of the lovely Apocalypse girls, Kylie Scott and Tracey O'Hara just before the Awards Dinner on Saturday night.

And here is Fiona Lowe with her RITA award for her Carina Press novel, Boomerang Bride!  She also won the RWAus prestigious R*BY Award for best long romance. Although we caught up briefly at the conference itself, we didn't have a good chat until we both caught the same shuttle back to the Gold Coast airport on Sunday afternoon. I even got to have a hold of the golden RITA at the airport!! She is rather heavy and very beautiful!

Next year the conference is in my home state of Western Australia and I promise to not only take my camera next time (I thought I could get away with just my phone this year - big mistake!!!) I promise to take lots of photos too!!!

Romance in the News

It's fantastic to see romance being shown in such a positive light in the media recently, and on Saturday I was interviewed, along with several other WA authors, by our local state paper, The West Australian. We discussed romance, erotic romance and the impact 50 Shades of Grey has had on the market. Well worth checking out!

In other news I'm delighted that my good friend, Fiona Lowe, won a RITA award at the Romance Writers of America conference on Saturday night for her debut single title novel, Boomerang Bride! The RITA is the romance novel equivalent of an Oscar, so it's a wonderful achievement. Congratulations Fiona!

Also huge congrats to fellow Ellora's Cave and Berkley author Denise Rossetti for coming third in the Passionate Plume award (for Erotic Romance) with her latest release, Guilty as Sin.

And big congrats to fellow Dark Side Down Underer and Apocalyptic romance writer Kylie Scott, who won the unpublished section, At the Stroke of Midnight, with her book that has since been accepted for publication with Momentum, Flesh (with zombies!)

Go the Aussies!

Boomerang Bride

Very excited for my good friend Fiona Lowe, multi-pubbed Mills and Boon author in their Medical line, who's celebrating the release of her debut single title from Carina Press today - Boomerang Bride! Huge congrats, Fiona :-)

And here's the tantalizing blurb!

Matilda Geoffrey risked it all for love. She left Australia to be with Barry—the man who had swept her off her virtual feet. Now, wearing a wedding dress, she's alone on Main Street in small-town Wisconsin, and things aren't working out exactly as planned...

In town for his annual family visit, Marc Olsen had never seen a bride quite like Matilda—staring into a storefront window, holding a tottering wedding cake, and looking desperately in need of a groom. He may not have any warm feelings for his hometown,but meeting Matilda just as she discovers she's been scammed by her online "fiancé" stirs something in him.

Matilda is not the kind of woman Marc imagined himself with, and Marc is anything but the romantic hero that Matilda has always dreamed of. But as unlikely circumstances throw them together, can they let go of their misconceptions and risk their hearts for love?

Romancing the West - Awesome-sauce!

The Romancing the West mini-conference yesterday was amazing!! So much goodness packed into one day, my brain is fit to explode with all the excellent advice and info.

I was especially thrilled to meet up with my on-line buddy, Fiona Lowe, and it was sooo great to chat face-to-face rather than e-mail-to-email!

Here I am, posing with Fiona at the tea break! (Thanks to the lovely Rachael Johns for taking the pic!)


Fiona gave an excellent workshop on conflict and finding your characters' backstory. And the importance of drip-feeding information throughout the story rather than giving a great big info-dump upfront.

Nikki Logan's workshop on branding was awesome. It's something I've really struggled with but it was just like someone (Nikki, lol) bopped me over the head with the clue-stick. I hope I can now implement her advice!

And Juliet Marillier's workshop on history, guesswork and wild imagination was fantastic! Not least because it reassured me the way I go about researching and weaving it into the book isn't half as crazy as I've always wondered!

I'll be putting a full report up on my website shortly!

In other news, I'm over at Shelley Munro's blog today, with a writer's tip. Hope you can pop over and say hi!!!

Romancing the West & Edits

Very excited about the Romancing the West Seminar tomorrow! Will be so much fun to catch up with everyone and meet a lovely friend of mine, Fiona Lowe - fab HM&B Medical author.

There are some great workshops on offer, including Conflict and finding the Zen of your Backstory (one of Fiona's - can't wait!), Branding - Why You Need it Before You Sell from Nikki Logan. I'm definitely going to this one because I'm a bit lost about the branding thing.

And in the afternoon Juliet Marillier is talking about History, guesswork and wild imagination: Creating believable historical settings in your fiction. And I definitely want to attend that one!

There are also other fantastic workshops from Australian author Fiona Palmer. Not to mention morning and afternoon tea and lunch (not that I think of my stomach *all* the time...)

In other writing news, I heard back late on Wednesday night that my editor approved my changes and the book has been passed onto the next stage. Yay! I was so excited I could hardly sleep!!

2010 Romancing The West Conference

From the Romance Writers of Australia's website:

Romance Writers of Australia inc

proudly presents

The 2010 Romancing The West Conference

Featuring…

Juliet Marillier (www.julietmarillier.com)
Three time winner of the Aurealis Award for Best Fantasy Novel

Fiona Lowe (http://www.fionalowe.com)
Harlequin Medical author and 2007 Finalist for Romantic Book of the Year. (R*BY).

Fiona Palmer (http://www.fionapalmer.com)
Penguin Australia author

Nikki Logan (http://www.nikkilogan.com.au)
Harlequin Sweet author

Plus: giveways and much, much more.

Come and hear some of Australia's leading romance authors talk about the craft of writing and the industry they work in. With interactive tutorials and an author panel, it's a day no aspiring author should miss.

After a day full of information, relax and catch up with your new friends at our post conference dinner.

Saturday 1st May 2010

Metro Hotel
61 Canning Hwy
Perth

Cost:

Pay before 1st April 2010 After 1st April

RWA Members $100 $110

Non-Members $110 $120

Set 2 Course Dinner - $35.00 per head (Drinks not included)

Prices include lunch, morning and afternoon tea

Since the first Perth Roadshow back in 2008, Nikki Logan sold to Harlequin Mills & Boon Romance, Loretta Brabant sold to Avalon Romance, Shona Husk to Samhain, Michelle Diener to Pocket Books and yours truly to Berkley.