This year, the Romance Writers of America holds its national convention in my own back yard. In less than two weeks, July 15 through 18, the happy horde will land in Washington at the Wardman Marriott Park Hotel for workshops, parties, industry panels and the big awards ceremony. First, there’s a huge public booksigning event, free and open to everyone, the Readers for Life Literacy Autographing, on Wednesday, July 15, from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. The proceeds benefit literacy organizations, so if you’re in town, do good and scarf up some books for yourself or your romance-loving relatives.
I’m looking forward to the workshops, especially a couple on “high-concept for historicals” and “writing the hot historical” (even though that one starts at 8:30 in the morning!). Hundreds of readers and writers and other industry folk attend; I hear that contacts leading to book deals are made in the bars and the luncheon tables as well as at the formal pitch sessions. As an unpubbed fiction writer (or “not yet published”), I go to learn what editors are looking for right now and to store up inspiration to carry me through the rest of the year.
This will be my third Nationals; in Reno in 2005 I overloaded on the workshops and also hung out with an old friend from San Francisco. In Atlanta in 2006, I paced myself on the workshops and hobnobbed with more writers, talking about craft and the business. This year, I hope to see lots of Washington Romance Writers in the halls. And gain momentum to crank out the new story in August!
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