What a thrill I had on Saturday morning. The Wisconsin chapter of the Romance Writers of America (RWA) asked me to be guest speaker at their monthly meeting. Now I haven’t had the opportunity to speak in front of a group since college where I once wore Mickey Mouse ears and an Minnie T-shirt to get my point across. Fortunately (for everyone), this time I went all natural. (Although I was tempted to bring posters of male cover models for the audience to look at in case they started getting bored)
I talked about being a readaholic and my obsession with books. We took a journey through my school days and first face to face meetings with real live authors (really, I’m not a stalker!). The author cruises (come on Levy, have another one) and conventions (where’s the free bookroom??). And I finished up with my adventures in blogland. There was a lot of laughter and yes, I’m pretty sure it was with me, not at me. No one fell asleep and no one yawned, so I’ll take it as a good sign.
My favorite part though, was listening to these amazing women speak. They went around the room, introduced themselves, and told where they were in their writing journey. And what a diverse group it was.
Yulia Izbersky talked about her trip to the Czech Republic and showed off her new book, Preconceived Notions. She took her family to the book store to see her books on the shelf and her father moved them to a more prominent area. Yulia told him he couldn’t do that, but I say, as a parent, let him do it. For a few minutes he could do something special to show how proud he was of his daughter.
Liz Kreger let everyone know about Write Attitude, a motivational place for writers. Liz’s book Forget About Tomorrow is currently available in e-book form and coming soon as a paperback. Edie Ramer asked me to guest blog for Magical Muses a site who’s tag line is "Five writers who believe no story is complete wtihout a little magic."
Pam Ford author of The Sister Switch was lamenting the fact that a lot of publishers won’t even look at romantic comedy. This surprised me because I’ve read quite of bit of this genre and have enjoyed it along with many other fans.
I haven’t heard the word dictaphone in years, but it turns out that Sandra Turriff found one and now uses it to plot her books. Vicky Hinshaw brought in 2 of her books that just got a Portuguese printing. It has to be exciting to see your passion translated to a different language. Shari Anton said there is no release date yet on the third book of her trilogy, Sunset Magic. (Come on people…I read the first two…don’t keep me waiting!!)
The moderator of this group, Jody Allen, is currently taking a class translating old Scottish text from a society that had no punctuation and didn’t believe in spelling a word the same way twice (I wonder if this is how historians will look at our society’s internet speak and text messaging). Jody will be travelling to Scotland and surrounding areas for a month and I hope I get asked back for the travelog.
Bottom line: Upcoming classified ad: Speaker for hire. Will work for food (key lime pie, yum)
Bottom: Liz Kreger, Brenda Nelson-Davis, Liz Lincoln, Yulia Izbersky Top: Beth Watson, Anne Parent, Jody Allen, Maureen Welli
L-R: Shari Anton, Pam Ford, Edie Ramer, Sandra Turriff, Vicky Hinshaw, Constance Pirtle
L-R: Lindsay Haedt, Ilona Fridl, Marilyn Auer, Karen Miller
Ah, what a lovely group we are! I’m glad I get to be the first to say Thank You to Barbara for coming to the meeting. She really is a terrific speaker. We may have laughed a lot, but we learned a lot, too! Brava!! Shari http://www.sharianton.com
Ditto on what Shari said, we had great laughs and sharing our publishing and reading experiences with someone who not only understands, but also cares made for a great morning. PW and romance authors are fortunate to have someone who really cares in their corner. Thanks, again and if I find a kilted hunk on my trip I’ll send him your way.
Jody, you bring me back a kilted hunk and you will definitely be my BFF. I wonder if there’s any way I can justify going with you and relating it to women’s fiction…hmmmm.
It was a wonderful experience to meet someone who is as crazy about reading as I am. Barbara, you are braver than I in meeting authors. I never want to bother anyone, even when I want to talk about one or more of that writer’s books.
And what a fun meeting that was, Barbara. I enjoyed listening to the pure enthusiasm you have for reading and was in awe of the way you fell into your present blogging gig with PW. Its the unexpected turns in life that makes it so interesting. It was a pleasure meeting with you and I hope you manage to join us again in the future.
Well, I’m not an RWA member, but I’m sorry I missed it. So Barbara, where are you speaking next? I’d like to be there.
Barb, sounds like it was tons of fun. I would have loved to hear your speech. It sounds really interesting! Rika ~ bookadesign.com
We’ve already invited you to Alabama to our luncheon…and you don’t even have to speak!
Hello Barbara! How wonderful for you, friend (I consider you a “blog” friend) & thank you for sharing the pics & comments! Hilarious & heartwarming!
Kimberly, thanks so much for your luncheon invitation. You know, if there’s anyway possible, I’ll be there. I’ve never been to Alabama and it’s on my must see list.
It sounds like a great experience. I would have liked to hear you speak.
Wow! Looks like it was a terrific chapter meeting
I just love my local chapter meetings. My Birmingham chapter meets this weekend to discuss plotting; my Cullman chapter meets September 8th for a “Day of Writing Workshops.” Can’t wait for both meetings! Is it any wonder I love RWA?
Hello Barb–how fun it was to read that the RWA women really enjoyed your speech & applauded your public speaking skills! It’s what I’ve been saying all along–you have so much to contribute from all sides–writing, blogging, speaking–keep up the good work!
Sorry I wasn’t able to be there! Family commitments kept me away. Glad to see everyone had a great time.
Barbara, Thanks so much for visiting and for making such an inspiring speech! I’m still thinking about your words and chuckling as I remember your jokes!
Future calendar year, let’s deliver it to Somerville be sure to! Trum Area will be an superb location for this.
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