Romantic Times Con 2005
Hi all! Or I guess I could say: Hi
I would like to publicly say thanks to a number of folks. Most of whom are not listed in any particular order. It is just how you came to mind. Which should be very frightening to most of them. 
Thank you’s to:
Lady Katherine (congratulations on the engagement, we wish you both years of happiness) and the staff of Romantic Times for choosing St. Louis for the 2005 convention. It was an amazing convention. Hopefully, at some future date we will again get to attend. Sorry the weather wasn?t nicer! It is usually dry and warm this time of year. Not quite sure why it wasn?t this year. Still it has lead to some spectacular flowers.
Heather Graham who puts on a stunning ball. It was my first.
Jo Carol and her group for all the hard work you put in and lugging around so many books! The signing was great. All your effort really showed.
Rosemary Potter and Elle of Rosemary?s Romance Books in Australia and all the other Aussie fans who treked so far to come. A special thanks to Anita who relieved me of those boxes. It was fun meeting you all and the Tim Tam is good! The party with you was a definite blast! I am having to fight off family and friends for my goodies gift bag.
Pat Simmons for setting up the interviews here in St. Louis. Never an easy job but much appreciated.
All the volunteers who pitched in to make things run smoother! Especially Jodi Israel for pointing me in the right direction more than once.
Merrille Heifetz, it was so good to see you again! Thanks for dinner too.
Rachel, Florrie, Ann, Kris, Talia Gryphon, and the ladies of Hell?s Belles for dinner and assistance above and beyond the call! I will get that boys shirt done for you soon too. It is on my to-do list. How wicked can I get with the design? LOL!
Rett MacPherson for coming despite her own hectic schedule and pitching in wherever she could. You really did look lovely in that medieval gown. I hope the folks who picked up your book enjoy them half as much as I do.
Sharon Shinn for helping me get my headpiece on straight. Unfortunately it wouldn?t stay! Knock out dress you were wearing Sharon to the dance.
Susan, Harley and Pat McBride for the lovely dinner at your home and sharing your recipes. They will be much enjoyed!
Robin Shoene, Melissa McNeal, Cheyenne McCray, Dianne Moggy and Angela Knight (who I got to see more than once) for the fun panel on Erotic Boundaries. Nice to know there aren?t any. J Just kidding!
Rosemary Laurey, Heather Graham, Angela Knight, Elaine Moore and LA Banks for the panel on Creatures of the Night. Quite entertaining ladies! Leslie it was great to finally meet you in person!
Pam McCutcheon, Sherilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan and Beth de Guzman for the Demon, Werewolves And Shapeshifters panel. It was fascinating hearing how you create your worlds.
Charlaine Harris, Christine Feehan and MaryJanice Davidson. I talk to you so much sometimes it is like I should know you better! It was nice to finally meet you! Good luck on tour Charlaine!
Sherilyn Kenyon and her ?Darla? ? Janet. It was fun spending time with you both. Some day Janet I hope to see your Sherilyn shrine. I will show you my Laurell one.
Yes, it became the running joke of the con that my name has now become an all-purpose noun for assistants. Guess that is better than Girl Friday. Still I am quite flattered. I do believe Susan McBride was the one who started it.
Cathy Clamp and Cie Adams, so sorry for missing lunch and then breakfast. It is nice to now have a faces to put with your names. Thanks so much for the lovely box. It has a place of honor on my dresser. Maybe next time we will get to sit and chat. Or in my case, yak.
Our ?friend? Charles: for providing assistance and doing his best to keep up all in line. Must be like herding ducks. LOL! Enjoy your turbo charger. And thanks to you and Jon both for helping lace me into that medieval dress. Else I would have had to wander the halls asking someone to tie me in, not the kind of thing I should be doing I don?t think.
Sonny for the lovely slippers. Perfect for lounging and reading. How you knew I was always cold is beyond me. Love the color too!
The young lady who gave me the silver ear cuff. I lost my note with your name. So sorry. It is nifty. I just need to remember to take it off before going to bed.
Good luck to you Lori Armstrong and your debut novel Blood Ties. Hope it hits big!
Annette Batista you will be hearing from me as soon as I figure out what I want!
All the authors who made a point of attending. I did pick up some books and am looking to many happy hours of reading and finding new authors I can enjoy.
The gentleman who ran and found a microphone for the panel that was so packed. Sorry to all those who couldn?t manage to squeeze into the rooms. We hope you made a later or different panel.
A really big thank you to all the fans who stopped by to just say hi, get a book signed or chat. I have notes from some of you and am looking for what you asked me for. Penelope still looking for a copy of the book on audio for you. I know it is here somewhere! Don?t ask what my office looks like. J
That?s it for the thank yous! If I missed someone, I am sorry! Feel free to email me.
I did manage to persuade a couple of folks to be guest authors in future newsletters. So we should have some real fun hearing from them.
I hate to close this out on a more down note, as it was so wonderful. But I feel compelled to say something to a miniscule group of authors who were present. And an apology to one cover model.
There are two kinds of cons. Fan run (which is just what it sounds like) and professional cons, run by the industry or its insiders, so to speak. Romantic Times is a professional con. As such you should really watch your own conduct at such events. Do not do anything you wouldn?t want to explain to your own mother. Rude behavior, general nastiness and being plain mean for no reason are no-no?s.
I am speaking of two incidents that I will address because I happen to know the folks who told me were present and trustworthy.
The first involved an established author and a group of less well-known authors. (No Laurell wasn?t present.) Ladies, if you are going to sit in a public area and trash other authors you really should make sure there is no one near to hear you. Especially one of the people you are trashing. The established author in question was at the next table with a group of fans. I applaud her for her tact of doing no more than standing up and offering you the opportunity to say what you thought directly to her. She is definitely a class act and one you should work at emulating. An apology would have been a good thing to offer at the point. Slinking off silently was the second choice. Which is what you did.
I won?t repeat the entire incident that led up to the second. I will give the last part of the comment that was made to one of the male cover models. ?You should go stand in the corner and look pretty. That is what you are here for.?
Sexism is never a nice thing, even when the roles are reversed. Worse to me, is this author was rude when he was doing her a kindness and trying to help. She had only to say thank you and walk away. Being rude and nasty did not earn her any fans.
To the cover model whose name I know but will not list. Please accept our apologies for her rudeness. All of us do not look down on cover models. All of you did a fantastic job and were quite nice. Hopefully, someday you will be a big enough name to refuse to be on “Ms. Nastiness? ” books. Heck yes I can be petty. I like to think of it as just desserts for her unconscionable rudeness, at least until she apologies to you. I have never heard of her before. If her writing is no better than her manners, there may be a reason for that.
Why is this all so important? Authors are very dependent on word of mouth for sales. It will do more for you than all the publicity the publishers buy. Ask Dan Brown about how well DaVinci Code did just on word of mouth only.
When you are less than polite publicly, it will get circulated. Rock stars, sports figures and some movie stars may get away with being asses. To some extent that goes along with the public persona of those professions. Why I do not know, but it does. Personally, it just makes me think badly of them and wonder if I want to support them by buying. But maybe that is just me. It seems in the last few years that most of the jokes and stuff have become more an issue of being rude and nasty than funny. Unless you think that sort of thing is funny, which I don?t, nor do I understand it. Hateful is never amusing. So I am probably in the minority on this one, and okay with it.
As an author, you really don?t want your name bandied about as someone who is so not professional. Your behavior should reflect your level of professionalism, most especially at a professional convention. I know I will not buy books of people I do not like after having met them. I do often give someone two chances though. I will give you a second because maybe you have had an off day, upsetting news, or are just really tired. Heck, we all have our off moments. But you should really work at making sure you put your best foot forward and it is never too late to apologize should you have not done so. If you cannot manage, then retreating to a quiet place and gathering yourself is perfect! It is okay, to simply say “Excuse me, I have to go and will be back later.” in order to do so, if necessary.
Lastly, you should so be wary of stepping on toes on your way up, because if you come back down at some point, these same people will remember you for what you said and did and it may come back to haunt you.
So that is my happy con report and rant.
Darla