RT in a nutshell — 
Tuesday:
Plane landed at 1:15. Reached hotel at 5:30. Why? It took that long to round up a shuttle. However, I shared the ride with the ever-fabulous Mackenzie McKade, Lauren Dane, Nancy Liedel, Monica Burns, Bianca D’arc, and some readers from Australia who were so much fun! I had a pre-arranged dinner that night with a group of romance readers from Australia. They rented a bus and we drove to a lovely restaurant about a 1/2 hour away. I left my cell phone in the hotel bar and stressed the whole time about that. I forgot to activate my new credit card so the front desk couldn’t use it. I really thought that with the delay from the airport and the rest that maybe it was a sign that I should not be in Houston. *g*
Wednesday:
Had breakfast with Diane Whiteside and Kate Douglas. (My first time sitting down with Diane and I enjoyed it immensely. Kate and I were roomies in NY, so we caught up, too.) Went upstairs to check-in to the conference. Hugged my fabulous editor Kate Duffy and said hi to Megan Records who recently joined Kensington. Then I went upstairs to write. (I was under deadline) I helped stuff promotional items in the Ellora’s Cave’s bags for 1.5 hours, then had lunch with Allison Brennan, Karin Tabke, Shelley Bradley/Shayla Black, Bonnie Edwards, PJ Mellor, Linda Thomas-Sundstrom, and Karen Kelley. Yes, it was a big table. But so much fun! Then, I went back upstairs to write. At 4:30, I headed down to the mixer held by a group of paranormal authors. Gena Showalter and Susan Grant were there, and I wanted to give them coverflats of PLEASURES OF THE NIGHT, because they both gave me awesome quotes for it. They invited me to join them for lunch. I’d already eaten, which was good, because sitting at a table with Susan Grant, Gena Showalter, Jill Monroe, and P.C. Cast makes a gal a bit starstruck. *g* Then I went back up to my room to write.
At 8:30 PM, I headed down to the EC party, where I walked across the stage when they announced my name and then immediately ran back up to my room where I wrote until I fell asleep.
Thursday:
This was critical meltdown day. I needed to get the book finished. I got up at 4 AM, sat in pjs all day, and stayed up until 3 AM Friday. My roommate brought me food and drinks. We ordered pizza for dinner, which was delivered. I wrote until the keyboard started swimming. Seriously.
Friday:
I went to the Kensington book signing, where they were giving away copies of PASSION FOR THE GAME (my June release). It was the first I’d seen it. I only had like 10 copies to sign, so they were gone fast. I signed next to Robin Schone, so it was lovely to talk to her during the event. Then I went back up to the room to write. I stayed up there until 4 PM, then finally emailed the document. After that, I was a mess. Tired, weepy. (TMI, I know, but just wanted to point out that I’m human after all. *g* 5 single titles and 4 anthologies in 2007 really took a toll on me.) I went Heather Graham’s Vampire ball, but after I ate, I went back to my room and got ready for bed.
Saturday:
I had breakfast with Shelley/Shayla then went to the book signing where they had EIGHTY copies of PLEASURES OF THE NIGHT stacked up. I also had copies of DECLASSIFIED: DARK KISSES, THE STRANGER I MARRIED, ALLURING TALES I, WHITE HOT HOLIDAYS, VOL 2, and DREAMS OF THE OASIS, VOL 2. After the signing, I had lunch with Shelley/Shayla, HelenKay Dimon, Charina and Dana (two readers whom I just adore), Cheryl Holt, and Miriam Kriss. I spent the afternoon talking with my dear friend Jordan Summers, and newer (but no less dear) friends Kathy Love and Erin McCarthy. I went briefly to the Dorchester party that night, where I talked with awesome Alyssa Day (gotta love the name, right? *g*) and AT III winner Jenny Gardiner.
My greatest sadness was not being able to hang out with Sasha White, Vivi Anna, and Lisa Renee Jones as much as I wanted. Many of the times I ran into them, there was no place to sit. Other times, like before a workshop we were scheduled to present together, I was in my room writing and unable to leave. 
Still, it was a great conference, and the networking with authors, booksellers, and readers made the event more than worth it. I’m sure I forgot to mention people, so I’ll fill in the blanks as my brain slowly returns to me.
Hugs!
Congratulations on finishing the book!! And you did it at conference! I’m sure it will be wonderful.
on May 6th, 2007 at 5:59 pm
That sounds exhausting! But fun. Good for you for finishing your book, too, with all that going on!
on May 3rd, 2007 at 12:23 pm
Sounds like a great time. I don’t know a lot of authors, but I adore Monica Burns & Vivi. Their books too.
Looking forward to that June release of yours, Sylvia.
on May 3rd, 2007 at 3:51 am
Wow - you’re such a hard worker! I hope you have more free time at RWA so we can see you once in awhile! Hugs!
on May 2nd, 2007 at 3:15 pm