Conference Redux, Part One

If I could go back in time, I would take more photos. I really would. I promised everyone and their monkey's uncle. But conferences require such copious amounts of stuff. And changing bags. And, well, there's no excuse, but to say everyone around me has always been a shutterbug and I get side stream photos from them. And, really, did you need a photo of the surly Italian waiter with the Elvis lips for the blog? In three months he'll have transcended anything captured digitally to be the perfect secondary character for my next book, anyway.

The Romance Writers of America conference in D.C. gave me enough material to coast on for a good two weeks, but for now, know I appreciate all the warm, generous support the Vortex followers gave me this past week. Yes, it's an honor to be nominated. And, yes, it's exciting to cheer whole-heartedly for the wonderful, classy authors-turned-friends who go on to win their categories. I want to extend my congratulations to humor writer Diane O'Brien Kelley who won the Novel with Strong Romantic Elements Golden Heart for her manuscript Death, Taxes and a French Manicure and gave an eloquent acceptance speech that left no doubt as to her ability to pen a great novel.

Also, congrats to frequent Vortex visitor, fellow Bond-girl, and friend Maureen McGowan, whose short story "Lost and Found" just became part of the Mammoth Book of Time Travel Romance project. Actually, it is an excuse to post this great cover again. Can't wait to read it, Maureen.

This week, I'll have more post-conference bull, a Vortex 10 from the International Spy Museum and photos I've pilfered from my friends. For now, here's one of me with my roommates, who tried tirelessly to dry tears of laughter long enough to remedy my Princess Lea up-do into something that looked slightly-less awful:

(l-r: Melanie Atkins, L.A. Mitchell, June Love)

And my favorite, capturing old friends and new, BFFs in all our finery:

(front l-r: Mary Karlik, Teresa Southwick; back l-r: Angela, Sherry Davis, L.A. Mitchell)

Oh, and the only place I considered MacGyvering my way at conference was in the Ritz Carlton ladies room. Floor to ceiling stalls. Thankfully, the lock only stuck once.

First thing's first: What did I miss this week? Tell me what you're up to.

Golden Hearts and Vortex Winners

My novel Until Midnight has just been nominated for Romance Writers of America's 2009 Golden Heart Award! Could have been the "Waiting-For-The-Call" t-shirt I'm wearing today. Good mojo there.

Here's the blurb:

Ryan Beck is an agent assassin for The Assembly, a rogue government organization he's grown to despise. His allegiance to their top-secret agenda marked his descent from patriot to criminal and cost him his wife and his honor. He wants out, but must complete one last misison to stay alive: obtain a serum from a ruthless scientist and use it as a bargaining chip for freedom.

Medical researcher Emma Parrish believes the time serum her brilliant but misunderstood father never completed is the holy grail of medicine. The same men who hunted her father want the formula, along with an unforgettable stranger who seems to know the future as completely as the part of herself she shields from the world.

A sniper's bullet reaches Beck's target first and shatters his mission into a reverse maze of deceit and time-altering events. His only chance for escape is to find the moment the deadly chain of events began, somewhere at the cross hairs of loyalty and desire.

~

And on the Vortex Scavenger Hunt, we have a winner! Whoot for Todd and for his love of a frozen Ted Williams. Be sure to pop back here and let us know what you get with your Amazon spending spree.

That's all for now. A happy hump day, indeed.

Black Sharpies and Love

Chasing Midnight is a finalist in Romance Writer's of America's 2007 Golden Heart contest!!

Yes, I did check the "official" list today, just in case I had an out-of-body moment yesterday. Then, I called my mom to make sure she hadn't judged.

I keep thinking back to something Lori Wilde said at our NT meeting last month. The most wonderful things happen when we're not seeking them out (ie: falling in love). Deciding to enter the Golden Heart was something I did in a quiet moment late at night, not because I believe it's the Holy Grail of Unpublished Writers, or even because I crave the spotlight--I can almost hear everyone who knows me laughing--but because it was on my "list".

Bold, black sharpie line through "Enter the GH" on my goals list. Forgotten past the point I'd judged the entries I'd volunteered for. For me, it had all but dropped off the radar, the glare of more pressing goals blinding me. Maybe the key to success in writing (and life) is to focus on what we can do, the things we can control, then send it out into the world and let it go.

It's not quite falling in love, but it has the "heady" echo.