RT...part two (and more prizes)

RT...part two (and more prizes)

by Debra Salonen

When I read Tracy’s blog yesterday, I had a moment of confusion (not all that unusual for me). In my head, I heard a voice say, “When did I write that?”

I didn’t. Tracy did. But I’d intended to write about my recent RT Book Reviews conference experience and was quite surprised to see this title appear the day before my scheduled blog.

Luckily, our experiences were different, even if our topic is the same. (Although Tracy has better pics. New camera, old husband. Not my fault, of course.)

Let me begin by saying this was not my first RT Conference. I’ve attended several over the years and each time was different, depending on where I was in my career. That, in my opinion, is the beauty of RT. People from many diverse genres, at all stages of their careers--from the possible-maybe stage of thinking about writing a book someday...to the “Pioneers of Romance Fiction” with fifty-plus books to their credit--come

together for four days to celebrate BOOKS.

Last Thursday, I joined the fun to pick up the Reviewer’s Choice Award for “Best Superromance of 2010”. My one good picture:

Since the conference was in Los Angeles, I was lucky enough to be able to drive there from my home in northern California, accompanied by my husband, Paul. He’s no stranger to writing conferences, but this was his first RT. Hero that he is, he drove through rain, sleet, a 6-car pile-up on Highway-99, a miles-long parking lot of eight lanes of traffic at a stand-still, my lousy navigational skills and STILL got me to the hotel with ten minutes to spare.

Unfortunately, I’d registered too late to stay at the conference hotel, so we had to walk four blocks to the reception...in heels (me, not my hubby) straight into an icy, gale-force wind that completely rearranged my hairdo and gave strangers a glimpse up my dress. After procuring my official name tag badge, we rushed to the second floor, shadowing two New York Times best-selling authors to find the right room, then grabbed a couple of chairs directly behind...OMG...could it be? Yes, it was...”Catherine Coulter,” I gushed in a thready whisper to my husband.

“Catherine Who?” he asked in his usual shout.

Naturally, the Catherine in question (http://www.catherinecoulter.com) turned around.

(Catherine Coulter...that handsome guy behind her looking at the camera is my sweet hubby.)

So, I squeaked in one of those voices that usually come from animals in cartoons, “Hello. You won’t remember me, but my name is Debra Salonen. We met years and years ago at my very first conference. I was so green I didn’t even dare whisper aloud that I might someday dream of becoming a writer, but you, very kindly, very generously, gave me your card and said if I ever had any questions I could write you.” (This was long before email.)

(And, yes, I did write her and she did reply with encouragement and a few tips; and no, I don’t still have the letter. I wish I did.)

My idol replied, “I do remember you. And, now, you’re here accepting an award. Isn’t that wonderful?” Again, she was very kind and generous and gracious. She asked me about my work, my experiences in series fiction and my current projects.

The program started a few moments later and our conversation ended. Catherine Coulter was accepting two awards: an honorary “Pioneer of Romance Fiction” award and the 2010 Mystery, Suspense & Thriller Award Award Winner. Throughout the lovely ceremony and many acceptance speeches, I was struck by several common threads: gratitude to RT for celebrating a love of books, gratitude to the reviewers who celebrate the books they love with genuine and sincere appreciation, and gratitude to the readers who wholeheartedly support this genre that they love.

RT--both the conference and the magazine--fosters a strong sense of community. And once a year, readers, writers, librarians, publishers and booksellers come together to bond in person over craft, words, books, art and the celebration of story.

We also bump into old friends--here's C.J. Carmichael and me.

It was so good to see my friend Olivia Gates accept her award for Best Desire of 2011. She lives in Egypt and in her acceptance speech she praised and thanked the romance community for supporting her during this time of national crisis and upheaval.

Occasionally, we run into members of our local RWA chapters, such as the warm and wonderful Donna O'Brien who is also an acquiring editor for Crescent Moon Press. www.crescentmoonpress.com

When we venture out of our writer comfort zones, we sometimes are required to speak in public...or attempt to. (I'll spare you the video of my acceptance speech, but if you're truly curious--and want to be reassured that you can do better--you'll find the link on my personal blog www.debrasalonencom/bookclub.)

Then, if we’re lucky, after it's all said and done,

we head to the beach to fish, hunt for sea glass, relax with a glass of wine

and, of course, read a good book.

I would be pleased to share my RT bounty with two lucky respondents to this blog. Here are some of the titles in my RT goodie bag. I wish I had time to read them all:

STARFIRE by Kate Douglas

BARELY A LADY by Eileen Dreyer

WICKED INTENTIONS by Elizabeth Hoyt

POISONED KISSES by Stephanie Draven

and THE HELLION BRIDE by Catherine Coulter

You may pick one of these award-winning novels PLUS one of my titles, including RETURN TO THE BLACK HILLS or A FATHER’S QUEST. Good luck and happy reading!

Deb