Writings da' Bomb!

Don't you hate it when a good thing has to come to an end. I spent this weekend, Thursday through Sunday at the Chesapeake Romance Writer's Spring Retreat. What a fantastic experience. This isn't my first retreat with them but it certainly has been my most productive. While the attendance was down from the previous years it was still a huge success. Eleven of us, writers converged on Chanco on the James in Spring Grove, Virginia (in the forest) on Thursday afternoon. We lodged in the Watson Lodge, a huge eight bedroom house, three levels with eight bedrooms. Sleeps 20 people. A wonderful set up with no television, no phones and very and I do mean very limited cell and internet reception. Each writer came with different backgrounds, different concepts and different goals. We even had an aspiring ten year old join us this year who turned out to be very determined in getting the job done. She come with goal of writing 20 pages and completed the weekend with a total of 35. Wow. there were goals of perfecting the query letter and pitch with someone who was headed to the Romance Writer's National Conferance in two weeks and she had editor and agent appointments, someone else had the goal of finishing the edits to her latest work, another had the goal of writing something, anything. She'd just gotten back into the writing groove and was looking for some inspiration. I had the goal of getting started on a new story that came to me as I was selling my books at the West Orange street fair in New Jersey, this past Memorial day weekend. I wanted ot make a good dent in it. The dent went out the window. I totalled that baby. I finished the story! It's a novella and it topped out at 110 pages, but wow! Happy dance time. Everyone got what they came for this weekend. The writing atmosphere was so intense and every one met their goals. We topped off with 1,128 pages completed collectively by the 11 people who attended. How's that for butt in chair and hands on key board!

Yeah for June!

Whew! I am glad the month of May is over and done. What a stressful month. From bathroom explosions and plumming issues to hubby having a car accident and totaling his car. We all just thank God he was not injured. He misses his car, his baby. Material as it is, he'll get another one soon. I've been hitting the street fair and craft show circuit and loving every minute of it. A few weeks ago I was in Chesterfield Virginia at the Chesterfield Public Library Author and Craft show and then Langley Air Force Base for their spring bazaar. At both I sold some books and got some new friends and readers. What more can an author ask for. Memorial Day weekend I spent time in New Jersey at the West Orange street fair. Had a blast. Sales were good and met a man passing by who stopped to chat and talk about my books. I've dubbed him Italianlicious. Because he was just that. He has inspired a story out of my alter ego Alexis Ke. Got started on it today. Already ten pages down in a couple of hours. I love it when stories come to me like that. She's gonna have fun. I also found out today that 'The Shadow Box', another Alexis story will be released in November at Red Sage. Well, I guess, if I put all of the stress, good and bad in one hat, maybe May wasn't so bad after all.

Reservations for Two

Happy Mother's Day to everyone and what a fantabulous day I had. It started off with me sleeping in until 12 noon. If the phone hadn't rang I probably would have slept longer. My husband asked me several times this past week what I wanted for a present. I think I surprised us both by saying nothing really came to mind. Go figure. Is this what happens as we get more wiser. Nothing comes to mind. Geez, I could have at least asked for a gift card of something, but really, I didn't want anything. I got a new printer this week and its a beauty. It scans, faxes, prints single and double sided, you can send it a picture from your camera and it will print it out from afar and you can even send emails to it.
I think it does everything except write the books. Darn. Leon (that's my hubby) he set it up and had it going in no time at all. I think that is present enough. I got calls from both sons,one in ATL and the other in Charleston and grandson from NY today. So there you have it. I have a husband, two sons and a grandson who love me. Today that was present enough.
Hubby and I did go out to dinner. It was fantabulous.We ventured over to Virginia Beach to the Sonoma Wine Bar and Bistro and had a wonderful dinner. The atomosphere in the restaurant was a mix between eclectic and romantic with the muted colors and ambiance. We started off with appetizers and a flight of wine. For those of you not familiar with flights, its a sampling of 3-4 different wines. Our flight had three different wines in it. All were great and it was called the Bodacious Blend.
Leon chose the trout stuffed with crab and I had a fantastic breast of duck. It rested upon a bed of couscous and brocholini and had the most delectable bing cherry sauce I've ever had. Even though we were stuffed we had to finish the meal with deserts to go. The Turtle Parfait... OMG, I don't know if I can put words to it. With each bite all I could do was moan and shake my head. Um, um, um. What a wonderful way to spend Mother's Day
I'm certainly hoping eveyone had as grand a day as I did. You can't ask for much more, now can we.

Life as I know it

Had a wonderful time at the Romance Slam Jam conferance in Baltimore this past week. Met new friends, reconnected with old. Ate some great crab cakes. Even heard one person say, "there is too much crab in the crab cake." Who knew? Can there really be too much crab. I think not. While I didn't win the EMMA award for Best Suspense or Book of the Year, I must say it is an honor to be nominated. Congrats to all of the winners this year. There are so many wonderful books out there. Will we ever have the time to read them all. Again, I think not. Even after Slam, I found myself at home in the Christopher Newport Universary Library on Monday doing one last read through of my manuscript I pitched to Grand Central and an agent at Slam. Both asked for the full. That's great. Of course it sends the hebbie-gebbies from my toes to my head. But off it will go. Fingers crossed that it will pique the interest and get me a contract. Now on to more homely thoughts. Just when its time to go back to work my bathroom, my one and only bathroom in the house goes alien on me and explodes. I knew the funny noise coming from the toilet was way too strange. Especially since no one was in the bathroom messing with it. It proved it by backing up and causing all kinds of problems. Now I have to wait for a plummer to grace my addie with his/her presence. Totally too much fun. I know my fellow co-workers aren't going to believe it. I'm not sure if I would either. Oh well, what's a girl to do. Sit and wait, sit and wait. Is't that what we do. Sit and wait. After all, it is what it is.

Romance Slam Jam

Wow, taking a brief breather in my hotel room at the moment. RSJ has been nothing but fabulous. Reader sessions, workshops, networking, catching up, trip to the Inner Harbor in Baltimore and now getting ready to go to the mega book signing. The welcome reception was a blast. Everyone including myself in 60s-70s garb, including me in a way too big afro and toting a long stem cig. (cause I remember, momma smoked in the sixties, LOL). Last night we had a pajama party and tonight is the EMMA awards banquet where my book Masquerade is up for two awards. Fingers crossed and good luck to everyone. There are so many talented authors here I an honored to be nominated. Gotta go sign some books but I'll be back.

Wonderful Day

What a wonderful day. Fantastic weather. Sun shining. Dinner out wity my number one man and then sitting in front yard in swing chair with him, holding hands and talking about everything from the weather, to mortages to mosquitoes. Man, I couldn't ask for anything more. Hope everyone had a just as fantastic Resurrection Day as we had. Blessing to all!

Romance Slam Jam

“The Romance Slam Jam grew out of an early desire to recognize, and pay respect to OUR authors, and to celebrate their craft with their avid fans.”

Emma Rodgers, Ashira Tosihwe and Francis Ray gave birth to the ROMANCE SLAM JAM in 1995 in Dallas, Texas, to demonstrate what Nikki Giovanni describes as “The Power, Passion and Pain of Black Love.” (quoted from www.romanceslamjam.org)

On April 27 hundreds of readers and authors (me included) will merge on Baltimore, Maryland for 4 days for fellowship and fun. This is one of the best reader-writer conferences ever. Its not too big and its not too small. It was the Romance Slam Jam conference where I realized there is a whole lot more to writing romance than I ever imagined. I remember the one I attended like it was yesterday. Raleigh-Durham, NC. My first book 'A Walk in the Rain,' had just been released maybe two months before I hit the road with Felicia Mason. I'm not sure if I was more afraid of the fact that I was going to this conference or that the Felicia Mason had invited me to join her on the road trip. It was Felicia's book, Body and Soul that tossed me into the world of African American romance and the desire to write a book. Wow. What a time of my life.

Now, even though the years have ticked by, and I have about 14 titles to my writing credit, my writing has evolved into something wonderful and the readers are as fantastic as ever, I will never stop going to the Romance Slam Jam. My hats off to the readers and authors who paved the way for us. My heartfelt thanks and gratitude.

Watch out Baltimore. Here we come!