Weekly Update: May 1 to 7: Romancing the Capital

Weekly word count: 4008 words

Not bad for a week where writing opportunities ended on Wednesday, but it was all worth it because Thursday to Saturday was Romancing the Capital.  3 days of romance-themed fun.  I was disappointed not to get one of the author spots, but it's still a lot of fun to attend as a reader.  I was very excited to be recognized by 3 fans who shared that they liked my book.  This is still a relatively new phenomenon for me and I hope it's always this thrilling.

Me and my fan, Catherine.  Thanks for making my day!

 I got to hang out with Laurie and Marissa, the Pub-Craft ladies.  They organized some great games for the participants, including Sexcerpts, giving a reader an erotic scene to read aloud and then having the participants try and crack them up (which I totally won by whispering "Your parents are having sex right now" into the reader's ear); Vampires, Damsels and Pirates, a sort of musical chairs charades where we had to act out different characters; and Dirty Talk, coming up with imaginative euphemisms for naughty body parts and actions. (Personally, I liked Personal Hat Stand for a certain aspect of male anatomy.)

Another great Pub-Craft activity was the gentlemen they brought in to play Hero of the Day.  These good sports participated in the Pub-Craft game and were especially hilarious in reading out the lists of euphemisms, turning it into attitude-rich name-calling.

There was also tons of swag, prizes and book giveaways.  I walked out with four tote bags (themselves part of the swag) full of chocolate, pens, notepads, pocket mirrors, free downloads, signed books, and tons of other swag.  (Cora Seeton's romantic hero paper dolls were the hit of the weekend.)

RTC was also a great opportunity to network.  I met bloggers, reviewers, and of course lots of awesome authors.  Marianne Maguire was gracious enough to spend almost an hour with me, sharing her marketing tips and strategies.  USA Today Bestseller, Deb Cooke, introduced us and continued her gracious support of my writing.

Marianne Maguire

The workshops were great, especially Nathan Bourgoine's candid and insightful talk on respectful ways to handle LGBTQ characters and the value of diversity and inclusion.  And the dinners and dancing were fantastic.  Friday night was a Cowboy theme and Saturday's retro 80's prom had us all reliving the past.

I'd highly recommend Romancing the Capital to anyone in and around the Ottawa area (and from the number of out of town visitors, it's also worth travelling for).  I'll keep you posted for next year's dates.