A Few Of My Favorite Things

Kristina's book signing table at Rust City!

I'm not going to wax on about RadioMan or bebe, although they are two of my favorite people in the history of ever...no, this post on favorite things is really about things. Specifically event-type things: the book convention!

Around February I heard about a new conference not too far from my home; it was a first-time convention, and since I don't get to a ton  because of where we're located (why aren't more conventions set in the mid-west??) and our schedule, I immediately signed up.

I have to say that the Rust City Book Con was above and beyond my expectations! It was a reader-focused conference, so while there was plenty of shop talk going on with the authors there, there was a lot of reader/author talking and interacting. I eavesdropped on a few reader conversations and that was really cool. Here are a few of my favorite moments from the weekend, in no particular order:

Away from home, but still writing!

• The Hero Love Meet & Greet - it was me, Elizabeth Harmon, Sage Spelling, Gina Sterling, and Marianne Wieland. We played a Match Your Hero game and Pass the Popcorn, but the highlight was the Love Scene Smash - in which readers had to read a passionate passage (heat levels were innocent-white to red-hot-smex) to win a prize. Most of the readers (some were authors!) did a smidge of acting out, too, making it even more fun!
• The book signing - who doesn't enjoy 40+ authors, talking (and signing) books for readers? I met some really cool people (shout-out to Lori Z and her friend), talked about my favorite things in romancelandia, signed books for several readers and generally had a great time!
• The quiet - in between the panel discussions, luncheons and signings, there was plenty of time to dig into Slippery Rock 2 as well as a sooper sekret projekt I hope I can share with y'all soon. This is a shot of the desk in my hotel room - it's so much crisper than my office at home...why is that??
• Missing the fam - as much as I love RadioMan and bebe, I think it's important to have time to ourselves. Just a little bit. I think that time away helps us keep our identities as women and as writers...plus, who doesn't like a welcome home kiss or a kiddo's bear hug? 

Do you attend book conventions? What do you like (or dislike) about them?