Weekly Update: July 30th to August 5th (Romancing The Capital Photos)

Weekly word count: 11 000 words

First off, while I didn't make the 20 000 words I was hoping for, I still feel that I did fairly respectably for my first week off work.  So I'm pleased with it.

But the big event this week was Romancing the Capital.  This is one of the highlights of my year and always a huge amount of fun.  For three days, I get to hang out with other readers and authors who get my particular brand of romance crazy, I get to laugh until my belly and my cheeks ache, I get to load up on signed books from great authors, I get bags full of swag and prizes, and I get to dance until my socks melt.  As far as I'm concerned, I don't know why everyone in Ottawa doesn't go (aside from the fact that the hotel might have a fire code issue).

My official reader ID badge with pins and my charm collection from the charm hunt.

On Thursday, there were a bunch of panels for writers, with advice on publishing, building one's audience, character arcs, and the different options available to writers for getting their books out there (eg ebook, print, audio, serialized, etc.).  Thursday evening offered a group karaoke (where you know I was belting out the hits) and tarot readings, book readings and author stalking.  

Friday is when the reader-focused side of things started, with events like Hot Cover Bingo, Romance Trivia, Kiss Marry Kill and Blurbs Against Humanity.  Also some more serious stuff like Complex World Building, Sex Science and Romance and Exploring LGBTQ Romance.  That evening was the Heroes and Villains costume dinner and dance.  I had my Wonder Woman costume ready to go.  I had to do some alterations to the costume I bought, mainly adding a second layer to the skirt (that first band of gold is the original final hemline) and tightening up the headband and armband.  Next time I wear it, I want to sew a little pouch for my phone into the wrist gauntlets.

Ready to fight for a Happily Ever After.

I was certain that Friday night would be the one where I get pulled over by the local police for a sober driver check.  I'm sure the fine officers would have completely believed me that I hadn't been drinking.  After all, I'm dressed as Wonder Woman, drenched in sweat from dancing, unable to walk a straight line (also from the dancing), and more than a little giddy.  And I have a nagging suspicion that my "real world" filters were down and I might have failed to resist the temptation to shout "Oh yeah!  Eve got me the good strippers!"  (Item # 1249 on the Funnier In My Head Than In Reality List).

Saturday was more reader fun, with an Alien Abduction Party, Perverted Pirate Playtime and Dirty Talk.  Then there was the giant book signing, which is open to the public for those who just want books but didn't get tickets to the event.  I may have gone slightly crazy, walking away with almost three full bags of books, but it was worth it.  (I'll have a list of the books that I got down at the bottom of this entry.)  And the night finished with the Fairy Tale Monster Bash dinner and dance.  I won for 2nd best costume with my Maleficent horns and extending wings.  (Sadly the wings broke but I'm confident I can fix them for more events, because they were just cool!)

I would wear these to work.  Even though I work from home.  Also the grocery store.

It was an amazing time.  Sharon Page and I closed down the dance floor each night.  My friend Erin joined us for the Saturday and we found some new dancing friends who had some hilarious and entertaining takes on Beyonce, Rihanna and Lady Gaga.  And I nearly fell down when LMFAO's "I'm Sexy and I Know It" came on, and I discovered my automatic recall is the "I'm Elmo and I Know It" video, because I've listened to that one more often.

On Friday night, the dance floor was sweltering, so I'd brought a fan from home for Saturday (though it turned out to be unnecessary).  It may have been the late-night, having-fun giddy-high but I thought it was hilarious to take a picture of me going home with my biggest fan.

What happens at RTC gets Tweeted, because c'mon, that's funny.

Today, I started going through my swag and books, deciding what to keep and what to pass on.  The quality of the swag at RTC always impresses me.  There's the usual paper, chocolate, lip balm and pens, but also things like USB car chargers, free book downloads, keychains, water bottles, earbud headphones, and decks of cards.

Just a few of the awesome goodies in my Reader bag.

New buttons to add to my Shameless Self-Promo Bag!  Yay!

And then there are the books.  Glorious, unread books!

And now, as promised, here's the complete list of the books that I bought, was given, or won, in no particular order:

Eve Langlais Assassin Next Door (audio book on CD)
Katie Ruggle Hold Your Breath
Georgette Heyer Arabella
Milly Taiden Fur-Ocious Lust Tigers - Volume 2
Amy Ruttan Tempting Nashville's Celebrity Doc
Darynda Jones First Grave On The Right
Deborah Cooke Kiss of Fire
Heather Long A Fistful of Dreams
Viola Grace An Obscure Magic: Collection 1
Eve Langlais, Kate Douglas and A.C. Arthur Wild
Viola Grace Ritual Space
Sharon Page The Worthington Wife
Amy Ruttan Biochemical Reaction
Sarah Castille Yield To Me
Anna Markland Passion's Fire
Cathryn Fox Slow Ride
E.M. Gayle Tucker's Fall: Purgatory Masters Book One
Anne Lange Worth the Risk
Sarah Castille Legal Heat
Anne Lange Who's The Boss: The Vault Series
Ainsley Booth and Sadie Haller: Full Mountie
Nathan Burgoine Triad Soul
Ashlyn Chase Out of the Broom Closet
Elle James Voodoo On The Bayou: A Cajun Magic Mystery
Eve Langlais Crazy
Milly Taiden Protector: Federal Paranormal Unit Series
Coreene Callahan Fury of Obsession
Coreene Callahan Fury of Surrender

That list should keep me out of trouble.  For a few weeks at least.  I have one more week off work, and so I'm going to have to concentrate on writing despite the siren call of new books waiting to be read.