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Filed in: blog | conferences | event | events | promotion | signings | travel Tags: book chat | book signings | ecwc | rose's bookhouse
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Last week was a blast! I’m only barely recovered, but here are the highlights.
I finally made it out to the Emerald City Writer’s Conference. My good friend, author MG Braden, has been urging me to go for years now. It’s the largest RWA conference on the west coast and I can’t recommend it enough. Well-organized, great speakers, and a raffle extravaganza that whips everyone into a shopping frenzy–and it’s all for a good cause too!
MG Braden and me at lunch
I didn’t have a workshop at this conference, so it was nice to be able to enjoy the workshops and the signing. It was my very first signing and I may have done a little dance when I first came up to my table and saw the books stacked and ready.
I whip out the official chop for my first autograph
It went very well! I got to chat with a lot of people — several who had judged Butterfly Swords and remembered it from contests over two years ago.
The conference food was pretty good, though not so photogenic, so I didn’t get any great food pics a la Cindy Pon’s blog. However, I did snap one of the official ECWC drink: The Bodice Ripper.
The Bodice Ripper is posing besides the conference’s true star drink, the Lemon Drop. Best Lemon Drop Ever. It was later responsible for a short bout of karaoke that evening. You have to understand, I’d had my first book signing. Butterfly Swords had sold out. The Lemon Drops at the Bellevue Hilton use freshly squeezed lemon juice with the perfect balance of sugar and vodka. After two of them, I felt on “Top of the World” — Which is the song I proceeded to try to sing on stage.
Jeannie Lin and MG Braden live and unrehearsed
Note the skeptical look that the DJ is casting us. These new experiences keep me humble…
After the conference, I flew to Northern California to visit my sister. Where apparently I said hello to Little Sis and her husband, and proceeded to direct the rest of my attention to their cat. I hadn’t seen Ollie in months and he’d gotten skinny. Apparently they finally allowed him outdoors and it’s amazing how much a little exercise will do for an oversized tabby.
All my pictures of the Norcal trip consisted of cat and cupcakes. I’m firing myself as a photographer.
I returned home at the end of the week for my first local signing at Rose’s Bookshop. Another wonderfully supportive crowd!
 Amanda Berry, Maggie Mae Gallagher, Sunita from DA, and myself
And did I mention the cake?
I think Wendy from Rose’s purposefully found the biggest knife possible to put beside the cake
That evening, Dear Author hosted a book chat about Butterfly Swords. I attended the first part for a Q&A with readers. I was nervous at first, but it was an absolute dream. All I ever wanted was for people to read and discuss my book. *sniffle* I bugged out for the second half so everyone could continue to kibitz without me. I haven’t checked out the rest of the transcript, but you can replay the Dear Author book chat if you missed it.
I’m giving myself a little rest before I check out the last part. According to a few little birdies, there was some discussion about how Butterfly Swords should have ended. Beware spoilers!
And there was one special little birdy waiting for me when I got home:
Hubby got a hold of one of my bookmarks and did a bit of arts and crafts to show me I had a fan at home. Life is very, very good.
I’ve uploaded my ECWC pics to Facebook. You can also check out the Rose’s Bookhouse signing album.
Next booksigning is at the MORWA October meeting where I’ll be signing beside Jim and Shannon Butcher. Yes, THE Jim and Shannon Butcher. Full disclosure: I intend to Photoshop their long line of fans onto my table in post-production. I got skillz and I’m going to use them. (The photos included in this post have not been retouched in any way.)
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Filed in: friends and family | slice of life | travel Tags: bed and breakfasts | bridal party | getaways | weddings
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 Little Sis’ wedding is coming up and my sisterly duties are starting to kick in. Tonight I fly out to NorCal and then I’ll whisk her away to the Napa Bed and Breakfast Inn for our girly slumber party weekend. It was voted Napa Valley’s Most Romantic Inn, you know. The rooms look so cute!
I’m quite fond of bed and breakfasts, especially the thought of writing in one. Okay, so my dream life is Nora Roberts’ life. Nothing wrong with that. 
Little Sis has generously agreed to help me brainstorm Across the Silk Road. But I’m sure she’s occupied with her wedding. I can’t exploit her just because I’m trapping her in a pink room and feeding her scones, can I?
Oh yes, yes I can.
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Filed in: research | travel | writing Tags: butterfly swords | dunhuang | research trips | silk road | yumenguan
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Every writer dreams about the research vacation. Ah yes, write a story set in Hawaii and write off the travel expenses as research. I wonder how often this actually happens. Teachers dream about being able to take vacations in the summer on teacher discounts too. (You can’t see me, but I’m rolling with laughter right now.)
I’m re-researching the details of Yumen Guan and the western frontier where part of my story is set and daydreaming about taking a research trip. I think there are even “Silk Road” packages that will take me from Xian out to Dunhuang. Hubby would throw a fit. I don’t think China is his choice for a dream vacation (weak stomach + meat and potatoes man — need I say more? ).
14 day Silk Road package. I’d be able to visit the ruins of the Jade Gate fortress and my beloved Gansu corridor. Until then, I’ll just stare at it from Google Maps and take lots of artistic license.
When I first read about Yumen Guan, I knew it was the perfect location for my story. The fortress ruins look so lonely rising out of the desert. Because it was built in the Han dynasty, by the Tang dynasty it would have been over 500 years old. I studied other military gates or “Guan” to figure out what the Jade Gate may have looked like in its heyday. The construction of a stone wall surrounding a towering wooden structure seems very common.
What’s in my head is something in between the barren rock and the fortress of its heyday. Oh, and another reason for my choice? Yumenguan or Yumen Guan is readable and pronounceable. Decisions, decisions. Back to revisions now.
 - Yumen Guan today
 - What Yumen Guan might have looked like
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Filed in: slice of life | travel Tags: animo pat brown | green dot | more than words contest | teaching
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I just finished the first draft of my entry for the Harlequin More Than Words contest and I’m going through Kleenex like there’s no tomorrow.
 It helped that I just visited the final campus of the charter school that I helped start in 2006. We opened class in a dinky renovated warehouse with six classrooms and 140 students. And now look at the building! This is the fourth year, the first graduating class. I took a brief tour through the classes and waved at my students. I’d like to say they look all grown up now, but nah…they’re still my kids. My chest was more puffed out than the little gryphon mascot that the senior class voted on when they were wee little ninth graders.
I must admit I did get a little teary when I took the picture of the California Distinguished School logo painted on the front. To think back where it all started…
I really do believe that this was one of the best things I’ve ever done. Part of me will always feel that I sold out now that I’m no longer teaching. I couldn’t keep from crying as I wrote the essay for “More Than Words” about one of my good friends, a phenomenal teacher who also founded the school. I have my fingers crossed and I’m hoping she wins even harder than I’m hoping to sell the short I wrote.
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Filed in: friends and family | slice of life | travel Tags: California | getaway | traveling
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 July/August has really been putting me through the wringer. The Real Life job has been ramping up and I’ve been resorting to junk food to get through my day. I need someone to wag their finger at me and tell me that nachos are not a delicious, nutritious meal to be had twice a week. 
The same thing needs to be said about cookies.
Things are about to become more hectic as I have to start hopping on planes again. California in two weeks to meet with some “minions”. Mwahahaha…. And then Mid-September, another trip to California for my sister’s wedding festivities. Ugh, and then Boston in November. For Little Sis’ second wedding — spoiled brat.
I’ve planned a sleepover in Napa at the Napa Inn – voted the most romantic inn in California – for me and Little Sis. I’m supposed to be handling the bridal shower activities and providing her some R & R before the big event, which means I need to be the calm one. Calm blue ocean….Calm blue ocean.
I’m looking forward to Napa. For some reason, I think nachos will be a little harder to come by. Maybe seeing sunshine and having fresh produce nearby will help me detox finally.
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Filed in: Asian fantasy | events | publishing | travel | writing Tags: golden heart ceremony | jade lee | rwa conference 2009 | unusual historicals
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I had to fly from the conference in D.C. directly to Vegas. On the surface it sounds glamorous, but I want nothing more than to be home right now. I feel like I’ll never sleep again and my feet hurt like heck from running around in cute shoes. By the last day of RWA, I decided my conference bunny days were over and it was flip flop time.
 Everyone is doing conference wrap-ups. I wish I had enough time to focus enough to get my thoughts together. Not to mention grabbing pictures from everyone! So excuse this mish-mosh of a conference vignette. Please know it’s a good representation of what’s in my head right now. Hey, take a gander at the stage setup for the RITA/GH® awards. It really is like the Academy Awards of romance!
 Highlight of my conference? The moment that really made it hit home for me was telling Jade Lee about my sale. Jade is one of my favorite authors and an inspiration to me. I even brought my copy of The Concubine with me to get signed. (I’m wearing a Jade Lee tiger T-shirt now as I type!) A couple of friends got me a picture with her after the awards ceremony.
Aftermath of conference: I can’t catch up with the e-mails. There’s a flood of congratulations, info about loops I need to join, conference gushing. I definitely need to get this under control!
StatCounter: A pox upon you Lisa and Laura! I signed up for StatCounter a couple of weeks ago and it’s like crack, soma and substance-D all rolled into one. This is probably no big deal to anyone who’s been blogging for a while, but as of Saturday, I seem to have gone international! I know exactly why. It’s largely because of fellow Harlequin author Michelle Styles and links on e-harlequin. Apparently, many authors of unusual historicals were cheering for me when I gave my acceptance speech about selling a historical romance set in China.
I need to print out the next chapters of The Dragon and the Pearl so badly. I told my agent it would be done in two weeks. That was before I knew how crazy things would get and that I’d have to go to Vegas to handle some paperwork.
Am I going to gamble in Vegas? Probably not. No girl can be that lucky all at once.
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Filed in: events | pitching | publishing | travel | writing Tags: networking | RWA conference | writing journey
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I’m off to conference for the rest of the week. I probably won’t be blogging here unless there is…*ahem*…news.
In case anyone’s wondering — YES! I’m a wreck. An absolute basket case. For a bunch of different reasons. The outer sense of zen calm I may exhibit *snicker* is only a defense mechanism to hide a squirrelly bundle of nerves.
But it wouldn’t be me if I didn’t at least attempt to reflect a little and put some order to all this. Last night I was thinking of all the RWA conferences I’ve been to. Each one sticks in my mind as a milestone.
- 2006 – Atlanta: My first writer’s conference ever. I stayed by my lonesome in a free room I got from hotel points. I hardly knew anybody and I had 8 chapters of my first novel done. I attended workshops back to back and tried to soak up everything. This conference motivated me so much. Real people did this, I could do it too!
- 2007 – Dallas: This year I was able to rope one of my critique partners into staying with me in a dinky hotel room outside of the conference hotel. My book was still about four chapters from finished. I was too scared to pitch — in fact, I didn’t even know how to sign up for an appointment! I met my beloved Romance Divas including Crystal Jordan who had received an offer right on the eve of conference! I watched Trish Albright, my chapter-mate, vie for the Golden Heart® award. She didn’t win the pendant, but she did win a contract with Dorchester. That’s the real prize, right?
- 2008 – San Francisco: I jumped in with both feet. I had two books complete by now. The first one took 2 years, the second one, two months. (disclaimer: first draft only) I pitched to agents and editors for the first time and received three requests for fulls and a couple requests for partials. I schmoozed at chapter parties. I volunteered and lugged books around until my back was sore. I did that magic thing people always mention — I “networked”.
- 2009 – Washington D.C.: I’m going to conference this year as a Golden Heart® finalist with the support of my wonderful agent and so many friends. Butterfly Swords is sitting on the virtual desk of publishers. I can hardly sleep with excitement.
RWA conference gives me a marker to stop and say, am I getting closer? Every year, this conference has given me new hopes and dreams. Sky’s the limit this year, I truly believe that.
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Filed in: book reviews | events | friends and family | miscellaneous | slice of life | The Bookshelf | travel | writing Tags: motivation | rewards | shoe shopping
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 In celebration of finishing my draft and sending it out to be worked over by Little Sis, I went out yesterday for a massage and bought a pair of slinky little shoes to wear at conference.
Yes, I do dream about one day doing this for a living. When the time comes, I’ll have to put the pedal to the metal and just get it done because I want to eat. But in the meantime, there’s a lot of things that can make you feel down during the journey to publication so why not create some reasons to feel up?
Tonight it’s back to work now that all the knots are worked out of my neck and shoulders. How do you reward yourself?
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Filed in: events | friends and family | miscellaneous | slice of life | travel Tags: 10 essentials | guide to style | professional dress | RWA conference | shopping
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 I’m supposed to go shopping today for the RWA conference along with some chaptermates. I find conference very intimidating. First of all, I have to shop for it. That means I don’t have closets full of fabulous outfits to choose from and that makes me feel like I’m already behind the 8 ball.
It’s really daunting to be surrounded by savvy, stylish, beautiful women. And I don’t care what people say about “just be comfortable”. This is a professional, social setting. You wouldn’t go to an interview dressed inappropriately. Plus since I’m up for an award so I have to get a killer dress. It’s like the Academy Awards for romance. People have been talking about their dresses for months! *gulp*
My sense of style can pretty much be summed up in one sentence — “Black goes with everything?” Yes, the question mark is included deliberately.
Is it bad that I’m resorting to Tim Gunn’s 10 Essentials for my shopping list? Here’s what I’m looking for today:
- Basic Black Dress - Need a new one. I wore all my LBDs at last year’s conference.
- Trench Coat - Going to pass. This is a summertime event.
- Dress Pants - Check! Although the ones I have are a little snug.
- Classic Shirt - Need a tailored white shirt
- Jeans - Need to get some in time to have them altered for my short legs
- Any Occasion Top - Something fun. MUST HAVE COLOR.
- Skirt - Check! One of the few things I have covered.
- Day Dress - Check! I’ve got several fun ones.
- Jacket - Need a nice tailored one, preferably not black, with pockets.
- Sweatsuit Alternative - Check! Casual skirt and top for me.
And finally something snazzy that might potentially go on stage…ACK!…fingers crossed.
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Filed in: book reviews | craft | events | friends and family | pitching | publishing | slice of life | The Bookshelf | travel | writing Tags: chocolate rose | lara | morwa | romance writing | rwa | rwa contests
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 I had a great day today.
I gave my first writerly talk and I didn’t implode. Even though I’ve taught high school, every single time I address a group of people, I still get butterflies. It never goes completely away. I think people had a good time and hopefully learned something about pitching and querying. My main goal was to demystify what it involves and give people tips about being as prepared and as comfortable as possible.
I also received a lovely Chocolate Rose for our local chapter contest where published authors critique and judge first pages from the unpublished authors. Intrigue of the Dragon Court, my first baby, was awarded first. That’s the actual picture of the award.
And in addition to seeing my chaptermates, who are an energetic, lively bunch of people, an online writer buddy drove two hours to attend the meeting. She asked me over lunch about the benefits of joining RWA. Whenever I get that question, I start to gush. I know many romance authors have made it without being an RWA member and truly, it’s not for everyone. But it is for me, for these reasons:
- I’ve always been close to a strong, supportive local chapter. The monthly workshops plus additional programs such as writing loops, critique groups, and mentorship programs are worth the membership fee times ten.
- I need to see real people. I need the face to face connection to keep me motivated. I’ve met some of the most wonderful writers through LARA who encouraged my writing and made me believe that real people can do this. When I moved, MORWA put me instantly in touch with a new group of friends who have pushed my writing in leaps and bounds over the last year.
- RWA National Conference. Going to National conference every year for the last three years has taught me so much about the industry and the lowered fee for members makes it worth it.
- One way to show this is not just a hobby. If I want to show that I’m a serious writer, membership to professional organizations seems like a must for me to put on my writing resume.
- And I’m all about the contest loop. You don’t have to be an RWA member to enter all of them, but again, the added cost makes membership worthwhile. Contests have been integral in getting my foot in the door with agents. I can track the effectiveness of my query process to the day that I started putting contest finals and wins on the letter.
- Days like this. I learned tips from Angie Fox about how to craft a killer story that works from start to finish. I networked with friends and authors in every stage of their career, had tortellini for lunch and chatted about everything from poodles to e-publishers. Can’t beat this for a Saturday!
I know many, many successful authors walk this road without RWA membership, so I’m not saying you can’t get by without it. I’m just saying, I can’t get by without it. As with all things, you can get as much out of it as you want and I try to squeeze out every last drop and gulp it down.
Going to enjoy some chocolate now. If you haven’t joined, but were thinking of it, here’s the link –> RWA National Organization
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