~ By Angela Kay Austin

At what age did you decide (realize) you were meant to write?  It’s always been a part of me in one way or another.  When I finally made the decision to jump off that bridge and submit, I think I didn’t sleep for weeks waiting for responses.  When the rejections came, I just knew they were wrong…how could they not see my genius J

It took years, but finally, I did receive that wonderful wonderful yes!

Now, feeling like a “legit” author, I thought it’s logical attend a conference.  Participate and sign.  Attend lectures.  It’ll be no big deal.  Right?

What on earth was I thinking?

I freaking lost my mind at RomanticTimes!  I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, I think I lost weight…no time for eating or sleeping will do that to you.

I don’t know about past events: ratio of cover models to guests, aspiring writers vs. readers, etc.  But, what I do know is that I was able to walk up to people whose books I’ve read for years, and say hi.  Take pictures, and ask questions.  Nalini Singh will never know how amazing I felt when she walked into a Harlequin party and strolled over to me to say hi.  AMAZING!

Every lecture I attended made something explode in my brain.  I thought I was the only one to think or feel a certain way about something, but here I was surrounded by others who thought and felt the same way.  They battled the same problems.

I can’t wait for next year!

Jeanine Frost and me! Love me some Cat and Bones.

ReShonda Tate Billingsley, Brenda Jackson, and Kimberly Kaye Terry! Brenda Jackson was one of the first romance authors that inspired me to write. I wanted to do what she did!

Charlaine Harris’ accent was so adorable. Loved meeting her and sitting in on her panel.

Anne Rice! That’s all…Anne Rice!

Nalini Singh was incredibly friendly and personable! Loved meeting her.

Meeting these ladies was such a pleasure. They were so willing to share information about how they do what they do. Secrets of research and weaving it into your writing.

 I had an absolutely amazing time!  I hope that I’ll get to run into a few of you guys next year.  See you in Kansas City!

After twenty years of practicing marketing: writing copy, designing layouts, developing advertising campaigns, Angela realized each piece of the plans she put together eventually told a story. And, since she was a tween reading her mother’s Reader’s Digest, and every teen magazine she could find she’d dreamt of telling stories.

Her first book, Love’s Chance stayed on Red Rose Publishing’s Best Seller list for 10 weeks.  Her second release, My Son, is available from Red Rose Publishing.  And was a best seller at All Romance Ebooks.  New releases:  Sweet Victory and Scarlet’s Tears are available from Vanilla Heart Publishing.

Angela has written for the Ezine Rithm ‘n Blues.

~ By Melina Kantor

Hi Everyone,

In honor RWA Nationals in NYC, which start next week, I thought it would be fun to collect sites with conference posts at tips.

I’ll start the list, and I hope you’ll leave a comment and add to it!

Here we go:

• Smart Bitches, Trashy Books (RWA 2011 Category)
• The Ruby-Slippered Sisterhood (RWA 2011 Category)
• Will Write For Wine Podcast (Conference Episode)

Also, just for fun, here’s a nice and inspiring story from the New York Times. (Thanks Chris Bailey!)

Have a great weekend, everybody!

Melina writes contemporary women’s fiction with a pinch of oregano and a dash of chutzpah. By day, she is an elementary school computer teacher. You can visit her at http://melinakantor.com.