RT Booklovers Convention 2016 Recap

I'll start out by prefacing this with the fact that I'm not a Vegas kinda girl. It does absolutely nothing for me. So when I first heard that the convention was going to be in Vegas, I was going to skip it. I knew everyone would want to go there and that it would be crowded. I should have gone with my gut.

That's not to say that there weren't some high points, like seeing my online friends in person, but overall, this was by far the worst RT I've been to (out of the 5 total I have attended.)

The Good:

There were some good panels: the ones about diversity and feminism were especially well done.
The Book Fair was well organized and the smoothest I've experienced. Check in for the convention was open early, well staffed, and easy to find. Security was present and for the most part did pay attention to who had badges and who didn't. There were several good restaurants on site that were able to handle the huge crush of people and the food was decently priced. Not great, but not as bad as other RTs.

@younglibrarian, @SuperWendy, and me

Christine Feehan

The Bad:
The hotel sucked. The walk to the convention space was horrific. There were not enough staff at check in or at the Starbucks. There was a fridge but no microwave or coffee maker in the rooms. The smoke was a problem. And when I say a problem, I'm speaking as someone accustomed to Reno where there are older casinos and older filtration systems. The Rio's was substandard. And the bar... The bar was a huge disappointment. The highlight of every RT is hanging out in the bar with a gradually changing group of authors, readers, and bloggers, but the location of the Rio's bar in smoke central (and the laughably inadequate bar in the convention area) meant many of us missed out on that unofficial social part of RT. And, of course, there was the fact that by Saturday, our sink was backing up with water any time the toilet flushed.

RT Convention: Day 3

Friday was kind of a chill day at RT, at least for me. Unlike Thursday, which had so much that appealed on the agenda, there wasn't all that much I wanted to see Friday.

I went to the Shooting Stars Gala where I sat at the lovely Delores Fossen's table. It was basically glorified Bingo (I swear there were 3 reader panels that were bingo related), but it was nice to sit and chat in a more relaxed atmosphere with authors.

RT Convention Day 2

Thursday started out wondering where our morning events went. RT used to hold breakfast events, but this year, there was only one. After braving the epic coffee line, I "crashed" a bookseller/librarian panel with Jill Shalvis and Eloisa James (it was open to everyone, but I was the only blogger/reader there).

The panel was on curating the perfect romance collection and featured some brainstorming about how to get the word out about events, how to gather a good, representational selection of romance, and how to play around with displays to cross sell with other genres.

RT Wrap Up Day 1

I'm officially back from Dallas and the RT Booklover's Convention. As always, it's a truly magical experience to immerse yourself in a sea of other book people—most of whom read the types of books you do. Especially when you read romance and can't find people in your day to day life to talk books with.

This is my 4th RT, and I made a deliberate attempt to go to the more informational panels rather than the social ones. Don't get me wrong, the parties are usually fun, but I love the almost reporter like hat I get to wear as I live tweet the panels where new ideas, writing advice, and publishing updates are shared.

Wednesday's highlight was a Contemporary Romance panel featuring Sylvia Day, Liliana Hart, Jennifer Probst, Jill Shalvis and Julie Ann Walker.

Sylvia Day shared that the death of the mass market and the rise of the audio book were two turns in publishing that surprised her--although she doesn't usually pay too much attention to what's trendy. I'd have to agree (while also lamenting the fact because I LOATHE trade paperbacks.)

As for keeping sex scenes fresh, the entire panel agreed that if you're struggling to write a sex scene, that if it's feeling stale, it's because it doesn't belong there. Sex should move the plot or relationship forward. The story should not make sense without it. I think that's something most readers agree with, also.

More to come...

RT Booklovers Convention 2014

I'm back from my 3rd RT Convention and finally past that horribly narcoleptic phase of post-convention exhaustion. As always, I wish I had managed to see more of the city, but RT keeps you busy. I have some mixed feelings to this year's convention, but first, I have to annoy you with my travel photos.

*drumroll*

 

Our view from our room in the Marriott.

 

Canal St. Streetcar that I never got to ride :(

 

 Marie Laveau's tomb (left) at St. Louis Cemetery #1

The tombs have such intricate ironwork. I loved the patina.

Suggestions and Feedback from RT12 for RT13

I've only been to one previous RT event, so it could just be that last year was an outlier. But this year's RT was crowded, the lines were really long, the food ran out early at nearly every event, as did the swag.

That didn't happen so much last year.

I think a large part of that was that RT didn't cap attendance or set a registration deadline (that I know of.) And there were several "high profile" authors who normally don't bother with RT.  They also opened up most of Saturday's events to a one day "FAN" pass. I don't mind the end of the "mangeant" (Mr. Romance) so much as the fact that they took a paid , convention-only event and then substituted something open to the public that they could then get extra $ for.

Especially when they were constantly RUNNING OUT of everything.

RT Convention: Day Three

Day Three:

By Friday, RT was starting to kick my butt. I had to pry myself out of bed for a quite lame party that consisted of breakfast. No info on the publishing house that "sponsored" it was there at all.

Following that I went to a series romance party hosted by authors in the Harlequin series imprints. After a brief introduction from each author, holding one of their covers, we played a brief game. 

RT Convention: Day 2

So...I didn't get this posted yesterday. Not much of a surprise. Busy, busy, busy.

Here are a few highlights from Thursday.

Historical Author Chat: Mary Balogh was unable to attend, but Lorraine Heath kindly stepped in to take her place.

Lorraine Heath, Jennifer Blake

 

Loretta Chase, Sarah MacLean

RT Convention: Day One

Having learned my lesson last year, I decided to skip a few sessions so I didn't wear myself out completely.  So I had time to get the photos off the ole camera card!

By far, my favorite panel today was the Romance Reader Family Feud hosted by Louisa Edwards, Vivian Arend, Tessa Dare, Zoe Archer and Nico Rosso. Based loosely on the old game show, teams had to guess which answers to questions were the most popular based on a survey sent around through Twitter.

 

 Survey Says...

Nico and Vivian

I also attended a writer's panel today. My first one at an RT convention. I'm not an author (published or aspiring), but I wanted a peek at what a panel was like. I attended the Love, Mythology and Monsters one with Stephanie Dray, Jackie Barbosa, Zoe Archer and Leeana Renee Hieber. Very cool to see how authors could incorporate mythological themes as a way to heighten emotion and tap into our deepest fears and beliefs.

The Ellora's Cave party this year had a hip hop theme, with tshirts, pants, sunglasses, hats and more as swag! Entertainment was a brief routine:

Heading to RT!!

In a few hours,  I'll be on a plane headed to Chicago for the RT Booklovers Convention! The convention runs Wednesday through Sunday. I will try to post daily updates, but as busy as I was last year, I'm not making any promises. I will be posting to Twitter, though, so you can follow along with the hashtag #RT12 or just check out my feed @buriedbybooks.

Some highlights I'm looking forward to are attending a JR Ward panel, attending Zoë Archer's Mythology panel (it's for writers, but sounds cool) and, of course, going to the parties.

The last RT post this year, I promise!

I might have gone a smidge overboard with the conference posts, but it was my very first conference and must be properly documented. Says me.

Anyhoo... here's a roundup in pictures of everything I couldn't squish into the other posts. Apologies for the mismatched sizes etc. My html skills suck.

Faery Ball pics





Golden Heart finalist Erin Kelly
and aspiring author (and OB/GYN)
Tiffany R.

Mr. Romance pics 

And, of course, our winner...Len:


and what RT post would be complete without THE most photographed cover in promo alley?

RT Convention: Day Five

By Sunday I had given up. I waved the white flag and admitted defeat. The events scheduled for most of the day didn't appeal, so my roommate and I just wandered around the hotel checking out all of the levels we hadn't had a chance to visit.

By the time we were done, though, the Westin Bonaventure had changed from 'the hotel' to 'the POS hotel' to the 'F____ng Hotel.' Trust me, this is one messed up piece of architecture. There are four towers surrounding a central circular lobby area. But from most towers and elevators, you CANNOT get to the second floor. Which is, of course, where many of the events are held. You either have to get off at level 3 and walk down the stairs or at the lobby level and climb up.

I felt like I was in some kind of cosmic maze where I was playing the part of the mouse in search of cheese. Here is the sign inside the towers that "tells" you where the heck you are. Sort of.

Most of the hotel's restaurants and shops are just empty shells or have weird hours and just weren't open when I was there. I'm not sure if it is a result of the economy or what, but it felt more than a little bit sad to wander the concrete spirals of levels and see empty areas where restaurants used to be.

Adding to my general feeling of irritation on Sunday was the fact that the on-site shipper apparently had no boxes. I had planned to ship most of my books home, and was unable to do so. Experience taught me, though, to pack a squishable bag in my suitcase, which I ended up checking at the airport.

The final event of RT was a movie night. We went in our PJs, and watched the Princess Bride in Rocky Horror Picture Show style...meaning the whole crowd recited the most popular lines. It sounds annoying, but was actually quite funny.

The next time I go, and there will hopefully be a next time, I think I will do what nearly everyone else did and skip Sunday entirely. The events were so sparse and uninteresting after the frantic pace of the previous days.

RT Convention: Day Four aka Are We Dead Yet?

Saturday was the day that officially kicked my ass. By the end of the day, I felt like I'd been in a Romance Boot Camp. Or an endurance race. I woke up early despite not having any early morning events. We stood in line for what seemed like forever at the book signing. People were doing a variety of things in line to pass the time: reading print books, reading on their phones, tweeting, taking pictures...even knitting.

I forgot to take pictures of the event itself. It was a bit overwhelming. I've been to an RWA lit signing, but it didn't seem as packed as this was with people.

I did totally geek out and put my Twitter handle on my name badge since everyone seemed to look at it to check how to spell my name at the signings. I got to meet Victoria Dahl, Andrew Shaffer, Tessa Dare, Zoe Archer, Lisa Hendrix, and quite a few other authors I've chatted with on Twitter. It was a weird feeling to know that I'd chatted with them and they (for the most part) remembered who I was!

After the signing, was the Mr. Romance contest. It was surprisingly funnier and less icky than I had anticipated. I will be doing a Mr. Romance post probably tomorrow with lots of pictures, but here's a few of the better ones!

 Drummer Dave as Jack Sparrow

 Crowd favorite (and winner) Len 

RT Convention: Day Two

Finding time to blog is very difficult—as I have discovered.

Day Two started out really early with a Mystery breakfast event. The first workshop my former BN cohort and I attended was Confessions of a Romance writer. Christie Craig and Faye Hughes were the panel. I didn't expect much out of it, as I hadn't heard of either author and attendance was sparse. But those two authors were hysterical, and I will be definitely buying their books.

Following that, I joined the Reader panel moderated by Sarah Wendell (Smart Bitches, Trashy Books) and Jane Litte (Dear Author). Despite occasionally being highjacked by some passionate but overly verbose Australian women, it was an interesting panel. Plus, hey, we got a chance to screw up the seating arrangements by moving the chairs into a circle.

The Samhain Steampunk tea was well attended and had the best selection of nibbles so far. And the decorations were awesome! I got to take home one of the centerpieces as a prize, but suspect I might have to have the guns shipped home or risk *another* TSA bag inspection. (sigh).

The big event of the day was the Faery Ball. Yes, I did dress up (and yes, I did feel like a jackass) but nearly everyone dressed up for the party, so I wasn't alone!

I didn't stay very long because a) shoes were killing me and b) I'm old. I fell asleep for a few minutes while trying to type up a blog post last night. Which is why I'm posting it today!


I was trying to come up with a good caption for this one (from the costume contest) but the picture speaks for itself... Oh yeah!

Can't Attend a Romance Convention? Read About One Instead!

I am lucky enough to be winging my way to L.A. right about now. Or at least shouldering my way through the crowded airplane to find a squished middle seat somewhere. But for those of you stuck at home, here's a list of books that mention or take place at/during a Romance Convention.

And yes, Romance Convention should be capitalized because it's just that awesome.

I have to start with the best one in my humble opinion:

Single White Vampire by Lynsay Sands

Not only does a hefty portion [heh] of this book take place at the RT Convention, but it is so freaking funny that you'll be howling with laughter. The premise alone is worth a chuckle: a vampire who writes family histories that are marketed as fictional historical romances. And who is coerced into attending the RT Convention.

Want something a little less obvious? Or more snarky?

Elizabeth Peters has an old one called Die for Love featuring her Jacqueline Kirby character. It takes place at a fiction romance convention, but many of the scenes will ring true for those familiar with the romance scene.

Maggie by the Book by Kasey Michaels is another mystery meets romance book set at a fictional writers' convention, aptly called WAR (We Are Romance.) The Maggie series is a bit odd, since it features a main character who is a current mystery and former romance writer. The odd part is that her creation, a Regency aristocratic detective, has appeared in corporeal form outside of her book! And has brought his sidekick along.

I have also informed me that the last book in Nora Roberts's Dream trilogy also features a romance convention.

Anyone else have a convention book (in any genre) that should be added to the list?

Romantic Times Booklovers Convention April 6-10

In exactly a week, I will be heading to Los Angeles to attend my very first romance convention! The RT Booklovers Convention is being held at the Westin Bonaventure hotel in downtown LA next week.

I am planning to blog about the convention here on Buried By Books and to tweet about it on Twitter. You can follow along with other Tweeps by searching the hashtag #RT11 next week.

I'm super excited to be meeting so many people I've chatted with online, but am also really nervous. Why? LA intimidates me. My Northern California town has a whopping 5,000 people and 2 stoplights. I rarely travel, so I am afraid this country mouse might just get swallowed up by the big city! If you are attending and see someone shy lurking by the potted plants, it's probably me.

If you live in the LA area but aren't able to make the entire convention, you might consider attending the Saturday Bookfair. It is open to the public for a fee of $5. You can read about all of the authors attending the signing here.

Is anyone else going to the convention? Any tips for an RT virgin?

Going to the RT or RWA conventions this year?

For those attending either or both conferences this year, here's something to look forward to. Several authors on Twitter have decided to make Romance Trading Cards to hand out at signings or other events.


It's not a new concept (Moira Rogers has some badass ones for Wilder's Mate), but I think the number of  authors participating is what sets this apart.

Want to see who's coming to which conference and bringing cards with them? Check out the hashtag #romancetradingcards on Twitter. There is supposed to be a master list at RT so that readers can hunt down their favorite authors and give them big puppy dog eyes in exchange for the cards.

A list of participating authors can be found at Jeannie Lin's website here.

ETA:
You can find out more about the conventions by going to the RWA or  RT sites.