Find Me At RT! (Oh, and Buy My Book!)

Hey all! It's April 30, and that means I'm on my way to Kansas City for the Romantic Times Booklovers' Convention. This is one of my favorite cons every year, and I hope to see you there.

Of course, I'm going to be a little crazy (possibly crazier than on a normal day--or at least more scattered), so it might be easier for you to find me than for me to find you. (Read as: Sel is dead by day 2 and gets tunnel vision. She completely missed Paul Wesley walking by her table at lunch last year. Odds are unless you slap her, she might miss you too.) With that in mind, here are some places you're likely to find me:

WEDNESDAY

3:45-4:45: Setting the Stellar Steampunk (Moderator)

9:00-12:00: Ellora's Cave Party

After midnight? Probably the bar (if it's open)

THURSDAY

1:30-2:30: Steampunk Clockwork Tea (Hostess)
2:45-3:45: It's Not About the Goggles (Panelist)

4:00-6:00: Ebook Expo--signing (I'll have print copies of Kiss of Death & my YA Pretty Souls as well as all my digital books available to buy)

8:30-12:00: RT's 30th Anniversary Ball

After midnight? Probably the bar (if it's open)

FRIDAY

11:15-12:15: Hero Speed-Dating (Hostess...er...host?)

7:30-8:30: Entangled's Candy and Spoons!

8:30-12:00: Vampire Ball (whatever it's called this year...though I probably won't be there until after dinner)

After midnight? Probably the bar (if it's open)

SATURDAY
7:15-7:45: FANtastic Day Party

8:00-9:00: Carina Press Cocktail Party

9:00-12:00: Harlequin Dance Party

After midnight? Probably the bar (if it's open)

So, yeah. When in doubt, check the bar. 

In other news.... today is the release of Clockwork Mafia! Yes, it is finally out and in the wild and you should definitely buy a copy. If you missed my blog tour last week, please rush back and check out all the awesome stops...

But in the meantime, buy the book. Read the book. Love the book (I hope). Review the book (whether you loved it or not--it's okay, I can take it). To make it easy on you, here are some links to buy from: 

Carina Press

All Romance

Amazon

Audible

Barnes & Noble

If you do those things, you will make me incredibly happy...even if I don't get to see you this week at RT. 

*hugs from Kansas City*

Hero Speed-Dating and What It's All About

Jeez. That title makes it sound like the hokey-pokey or something. Oh well.

For those of you who aren't aware, I'm one of the hosts for a couple reader panels at RT. First there's the Steampunk Tea that's going strong for several years now, but the second is a new one called Hero Speed-Dating.

Myself and five other brave authors (Diane Alberts, Saranna Dewylde, Jeffe Kennedy, Suzanne Lazear, & Katee Robert, to be precise) are going to talk about what we think about when we create our heroes. Sounds standard enough, but that's just the first few minutes... then the fun begins.

You see, we aren't just talking about our heroes, we're going to be our heroes for the rest of the panel. That's right! Each of us will be "posing" as one of our heroes for a round of group speed-dating. Readers will sit with each hero once as we pitch ourselves to them as prospective dates. If at the end of the pitch, they're interested in getting to know us further, they get to enter to win a "date" with the hero (a prize pack from the author).

Seriously, this should be the most ridiculous fun to be had while sober at RT Kansas City. I really hope to see you there!

Convention Survival Guide

(This post is a longer version of an interview question for later in the week. A twitter conversation with Eleri Stone convinced me to post it here as well. If you're going to RT--or any large cons--this year, enjoy. If not, uh...sorry? Sucks to be you?)

People often ask for advice when attending a convetion like Romantic Times. It's a big place, packed full of people, and it's easy to lose sight of little things. (And it's easy to think other things just won't matter--they will, trust me.) So, with three RTs under my belt, I have a lot of advice to share. Take what you want and leave the rest, but I've erred where a lot of these are concerned so you might want to learn from my mistakes ;-) 

1. Hydrate—first and foremost, stay hydrated. It’s really easy to not think about this and then you end up weak and tired and cranky (and that’s before the alcohol gets involved). Hotels are notoriously dry anyway, so why make the problem worse. Keep a water bottle on you at all times and use it.
2. Don’t forget to eat! I’m notorious for this. When I am busy and having fun, I will forget to eat. I’ve learned to pack protein bars so I can shove one in my bag when I leave the room in the morning. That way when I finally realize I haven’t eaten in hours, I have a quick healthy(ish) snack that I can munch between panels. Other things that work well for this (some more packable than others: little boxes of cereal, fruit, string cheese, jerky... Point is, have something with you. I also usually take protein powder and my blender bottle for a quick and easy breakfast.)
3. Plan your wardrobe in advance. I will honestly start packing about a week ahead of time (at least) because it's easy to forget costume pieces or the shoes that go with your pitching outfit or... Figure out what you want to take and then minimize where you can. (This last bit is especially important when room-sharing because of limited space.) I am a big fan of items that can do double duty for both parties and day wear.
4. Have a plan. Nice and tight or loosey-goosey. Doesn't matter. But know what you most want to get out of RT and what your "can't miss" events are. (Might I recommend the Steampunk Tea and Hero Speed Dating?) Do what works for you, but I don't suggest completely winging it unless you are just hanging at the bar (which I totally support too :P) 
5. Dress up...or don't. Every party has a theme. Not everyone will dress for it. You don't have to, but some of us really get into that. It goes back to packing. Figure out what you're most interested in dressing for (or what you have to) and go for that. (I, for one, won't be doing the disco theme. I don't have the clothes. I dont' want the clothes. I'm not wasting money on the clothes. But that's me. I fully support everyone else in their attire choices.)
6. See that last bit? It's important for more than just clothes. Don’t judge people because they sin differently than you. Some people’s idea of a good time is a little more loose and carefree than others. This is okay. If you aren’t comfortable in that atmosphere, find a spot where you are comfortable, but let them have their fun their way.
7. Don’t be a wallflower. I’m naturally an introvert, so this was hard for me, especially my first year. I was lucky in that my roommate was really outgoing and then I met another really outgoing author at the pitch sessions. Between the two of them, they wouldn’t let me wallflower. There are thousands of people at RT, even if you only meet one new person a day that you can talk to, it’s one more than you knew the day before (Note: the bar is great for meeting people.), and odds are they’ll introduce you to one or two of their friends. By the end of the week, you'll know a bunch of people and have some new friends from around the globe. 
8. Business cards! Have them. Use them. When you talk to someone and they give you theirs, try to jot down a note or two on the back about who they are and what you talked about. It won't always help you to remember them, but sometimes it's enough...especially after a couple hours at the bar.
9. Try not to be intimidated by authors. Most authors are extremely excited to meet and talk to fans and potential new fans. It’s why we’re there! And a lot of us are at least as nervous about chatting with new people as you are. So talk to us—about our books, our costumes, the toilet paper stuck to our shoe… 
10. Oh yeah, shoes—bring comfy ones. Yes, bring cute ones for the parties, but you will be walking a lot (think a day at Disneyworld with a six-year-old), so you’re going to want to be sensible during the day. (Also, back to hydration…drinking water helps keep you from retaining water which means the cute shoes should still fit by the end of the night. Swollen footsies are no one's friend.)
11. Unless you're required to be somewhere (ie--if you're speaking on the panel, you should be there unless you're in your room puking your guts out or otherwise dying), don't feel like you have to go to everything. Of course someone will want you there, but if you need a break or you have to choose between two awesome sounding options, it's okay...do what you want. No one is going to hate you for not showing up to their panel. (Except maybe me, but I'm evil, so it's part of the gig.)
12. However...if you have promised to help someone (with a panel, corset tying, supply moving, whatever) do your very very best to be there. If you don't want to help, don't say you will. Or say "maybe" if you genuinely plan to try. Just don't leave someone in the lurch because you got a better offer.
13. The models...yes, they are very attractive. Yes, they've chosen a profession where they are used to being ogled a lot. This does not, however, make them playthings. They're human beings. Please treat them that way. 

That's probably not all of the advice I could give, but it's a lot to take in. Feel free to hit me with questions and I'll be happy to tell you everything I know. 


Also, Angela James did a brilliant post about staying safe at conventions. It's well worth a read. 

Con Games

So, I just got back from World Steam Expo last night. Holy crap, what a great time! I very much wish I'd paid for a room at the hotel but, considering I somehow didn't know about the con until only a few weeks before and it's close to my parents' house (30 minute drive), I didn't spring for the full-price room (con rate rooms were gone). We'll get back to World Steam Expo in a minute. Right now, we're going to talk cons and money.

You see, I have this thing about conventions. Namely that they're expensive. There's travel expenses, con fees, food, hotel, outfits (more on this in a bit). So when it's a con I've never attended, I tend to trim costs wherever I can. I mean, if it's dull and/or not a lot goes on in the evenings or early mornings, the hundreds of dollars for a hotel is a total waste when I can stay elsewhere for free.

Then there are the fun cons where I know I'm going to be up half the night and have to get up and hit things hard again in the morning (like the Romantic Times convention). I don't care if that was at a hotel a mile from my house (there isn't a hotel that close, but the point is the same), I'd pay to stay at the hotel because I know I need to squeeze in every ounce of sleep that I can.

World Steam Expo is like that. Hell, it might be even crazier. At RT, the official programming pretty much ends at midnight (I don't have a program handy, but I think it might have gone later one night). The bar shuts down at 2, and most people have crashed by then. At World Steam Expo, the Saturday night official events went until 3 AM. On Sunday, it was 2 AM. (Friday officially ended earlier.) I didn't stay on Saturday, but I can tell you that on Sunday, there were still a lot of people there at 3. A lot.

And other cons I've been to haven't been anywhere near that active. In fact, I've noticed a trend (both about cons and about myself). Reader/fan cons are much louder and more raucous than writer cons. And... I like loud. Don't get me wrong, there are writer cons that I adore, but as a general thing, I prefer an excuse to dress up in things I don't normally get to wear and hang out drinking with hundreds of people I don't know. It's a strange dichotomy that I do well with people I don't know when we're either one-on-one or in massive groups. Small groups... that's when I get nervous and clam up. It doesn't make much sense, but it's just the way I am.

I'm also the girl who loves playing dress-up with bunches of other people. Halloween was always my favorite holiday as a kid, and one of the worst things about being a grown up is missing out on that (none of the parents around here dress up :( ). So, when I'm presented with a convention where 90-95% of the people dress for the occasion? Oh hells yes, please sign me up! I will spend the next year working on slowly building up my outfits for World Steam Expo 2013 because I really felt under-dressed this year. The detail that went into some of those outfits was amazing. I wish I'd have taken more pictures, but I'll post at least some of what I have at Steamed! next week.

Most of all though, the people were amazing. Everyone I met was really friendly and welcoming, and I made some fantastic new friends over the weekend. Going in, I knew one person (Cindy Spencer Pape) who was going to be there, and we weren't always there at the same time. It says a lot about the kind of people in attendance that I was rarely, if ever, by myself. Someone was always stopping me to say hi, asking which event I was going to, telling me that the band going on in five minutes was amazing and I should try to hit the concert... It was like they could all tell I was a newbie, but no one ever made me feel like I didn't belong. This was my first real introduction to steampunk as a community, and it was amazing. I can't wait to go back. Only next time I'm making sure to get a hotel room.

I also want to give a shout-out to Ms. Martha's Corset Shoppe and Pendragon Costumes. The corset I bought from Ms. Martha is absolutely amazing. It cinched me really effectively, but unless I tried to take a really deep breath, I never felt it. The most comfortable, amazing corset I've ever had on. I'll definitely shop with her again. And the people at Pendragon... gorgeous leather work. I need to save up for the coat I want, but I will get it. I am a big fan of low-pressure sales, and all of them were fantastic about showing me things and helping me decide without being pushy. (Of course, it helps that their stuff is so great.) I highly recommend both stores.

So, yes, World Steam Expo was a fantastic weekend. Met some great people, learned a lot, saw some incredible artists perform, and had more fun than I ever thought possible.

RT Madness

See? Katee Robert & I *are* different people

If you saw my RT schedule, you know that it was shaping up to be a crazy convention. I may have over-extended myself a teeny bit. Maybe. Hell, I'm probably going to do the same thing next year (minus the photo shoot). Someone just remind me of two things next year:

1. Pace myself because Saturday night is a long way away. 
2. If I plan on drinking a lot, do not (under any circumstances) mix vodka and rum. I should know this by now, but I always seem to forget. 

Having said that, I had a fabulous time. I'm going to do a longer wrap-up for Wicked Lil Pixie, but some highlights of the week:

• Katee Robert. Oh, Lady Soulmate, I had such a good time with you and miss you already. Thanks for putting up with me and my bouts of insanity. 
• Aussie dinner. Not only did I share a table with Rebecca York, I shared a cab back to the hotel with Ann Aguirre (and a pissy-ass cab driver, but more on this at Pixie's). It's such an honor that Megan and Jennifer thought enough of me to include me with such an incredible group of authors. I still get fan-girl shivers thinking about it.
• My first panel... ever... anywhere. I was absolutely terrified, but with the fabulous group of women I had there with me, it wasn't nearly as panic-inducing as it could have been and thankfully people seemed to find it really informative. (I ran into a couple women who had attended at the end of the week and they were still debating whether or not to use pen names. I'm calling that a win :) )
• The Gaslamp Gathering. ALWAYS a good time. So many costumes! <3 <3 <3 
• The Atrium. If you don't know what that means, you really should have stuck around after the bar closed on Thursday, Friday, or Saturday :P Good times. Thanks, people!
• Angela James telling me to "Calm down and get a drink" at the Carina Press author party. Thanks, Angela, talking to you that night helped me mellow out for the remainder of the convention :) 
• Meeting James Rollins at the FanTastic Day Party (where I was supposed to be schmoozing). There is a story here involving the wonderful Deanna Wadsworth, but I'm saving that for Pixie's too (just to embarrass her in front of a bigger audience :P)
• The Harlequin Dance Party and Damon Suede. First, I've never seen the dance floor at RT that full before <3 Second, Damon, you are absolutely fabulous and I totally want to write M/M now because of you. (Still terrified that I can't do it justice, but I think I'm going to try. *gulp*)

Low point of the week? Finding out I was so tired at lunch on Sunday that I totally missed it as Paul Wesley (Stefan Salvatore) walked right in front of my freaking table. Trying to see it from the perspective of that just meaning RT was one hell of a party, but... *sad sigh*

That's it for now. And as a send off, Katee Robert's new (temporary) theme song:

Find Me at RT!

(If you will be at RT and collect buttons like I do, make sure you read all the way to the end...)

Twenty-four months ago, I attended my first Romantic Times Booklovers' Convention as an aspiring author. Now I have three short stories, three novellas, and one full-length novel (under my YA name) tucked under my belt, along with the first Blood Kissed novel coming later this year. Today... I leave for my third RT Convention.

My how times have changed. The first year, no one knew who I was, but if you wanted to find me I was be-bopping everywhere. This year... I have a schedule and a pretty hectic one. These are not all the events I'll be attending, these are simply the places I've committed to being as and author.

Tuesday (I will probably get in around 1:30. It might be a bit later as I have a doctor's appointment that morning--crappy scheduling choices FTW!)

• 7PM-- Dinner with the Australian contingent (offsite) Thanks for the invite, ladies! You rock!

Wednesday (At some point today, the amazing Katee Robert and I will be setting up our "Relax with a good book" prize basket in Club RT. Make sure you enter to win!)

• 2:15-3:15-- Writing Under Multiple Names (writer panel) in DaVinci A&B
• 4:45-5:45-- Build-A-Hero Workshop (reader panel) in International D (Note: At least one cover model is supposed to be there to help out!)

Thursday (aka busy-ass day number 1--I'm also pitching in here somewhere)

• Club RT (there is some confusion over what time, it may be 11:15 or it might be 1:30 or even 2:00--I'll update as soon as I see the official program)
• 2:45-3:45--Steampunk Gaslamp Gathering (reader event) in O'Hare A, B, & C (Do NOT miss this one. There will be snacks and costumes and a fashion show. People who attended last year loved it.)

• 4:00-6:00--Signing at the E-book expo (GunShy, Badlands, and Pretty Souls will be available to buy through All Romance E-books. In addition, I'll have print copies of Pretty Souls to sell and sign.)

Friday (aka busy-ass day number 2)

• 10:00-11:00--Plotters, Pantsers, Plotsers (writer panel) in LaGuardia
• 11:15-11:45--Club RT appearance
• Afternoon--Photo shoot with VLC Photography! (offsite)
• 5:00-7:00--Carina Press author party (offsite)

Saturday (At this point... I'll sleep when I'm dead. Actually I may sleep in the morning :P)

• 6:15-7:15-- Fan-Tastic Day Party (reader event) in Rosemont
• 8:00-9:00-- Carina Press Cocktail Party (They are giving away an iPad 2--maybe 3?--at this event!)

Coming this summer!

In addition to all of that, places where I'll be to support friends and have fun (for at least part of the time) include:

• Wednesday-- Ellora's Cave Step Up & Stomp Party (9-12) and the YA Midnight Slumber Party (11:45-1)
• Thursday-- Clan McFae Faery Ball (8:30-12)
• Friday-- Heather Graham's Night of the Stars Party (9-12)
• Saturday-- Giant Book Fair (10:45-2), SOS Military Mixer (3:30-4:45), Candy & Spoons (5-6), Harlequin Dance Party (9-12)

As far as swag goes, there will be Badlands trading cards again. Also, I have buttons! There will be Blood Kissed buttons in promo alley. But I'm also going to have some Badlands ones--complete with phoenix. There are two ways to get Badlands buttons. One is to attend the Gaslamp Gathering on Thursday. They will be in the goodie bags! As for the second way...

I will have a few extras with me (probably about 20-40). If you can't make the Gaslamp Gathering, you have to hunt me down (and hope I still have some) and give me a Badlands specific code word. In addition... I will also have a small stash of buttons featuring the Kiss of Death cover (probably only 20 of these, so if you want one, find me early!) and some Cupid's Conquests buttons. Each of these will have a specific code word. Make sure you know the word for what you want! 

• The word for a Badlands button is: Dragonfly. 
• The word for a Kiss of Death button is: Remus. 
• The word for a Cupid's Conquests button is: Psyche.