Why RT? Why Now?

It's September, and you know what that means...

Back to school?

Uh. Yeah but...

Sweater weather?

Yes...

Hot apple cider with a shot of Fireball?

Dude. Stop! I'm not making this post drunk, damn it. 

September means that RT registration will be going live any day. For those not in the know, RT is the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention. May 2014, a bunch of romance authors and readers will be invading the beautiful city of New Orleans. 

I'm sure as soon as you saw "New Orleans," a lot of you clicked on the link to the convention information. And then you balked. First off, the main hotel is sold out. Second, you clicked on registration and saw dollar signs flashing before your eyes. That's what happened to me the first time too. I mean, that's a lot of money to shell out, especially if you aren't possibly going to "make money" from the con. I get it. 

I also know you should go anyway. 

Take away the awesomeness of New Orleans and you should still go. (My first RT was in Columbus, OH, and I've gone every years since.)

No, RT isn't cheap, but of all the cons I've attended, it's the best one for meeting and talking to agents, publishers, and more authors than you can count. And the best part? Most of those people are happy to talk to you. We see "aspiring author" on a tag and you automatically become a sister or brother in arms. "Reader" or "book seller"? You are officially on my favorite people list (especially if you know who I am--that makes me get teary). 

Those people you meet? It's not just cool to meet them, it's professional networking. My first RT, I went as an aspiring author. Within a couple months, I submitted to a couple publishers I'd met there. A few months after that, I had contracts with both of them. Now, it doesn't always work that way. Entangled rejected a few of my manuscripts before I signed with them, but that connection at RT made me realize how badly I wanted to work with the company. So I learned more details about what they wanted and I kept subbing.

It's those connections that can make your career. 

I'm sure some of you are sitting there thinking, "But I don't write romance." 

Go anyway. 

Romance has so many sub-genres that one of them is sure to appeal to you. There's an urban fantasy/paranormal romance track, a steampunk track (I'll be spending a lot of time there), a historical track... the list goes on and on. There is a lot to learn that can apply to non-romance as easily as romance. In addition? Those contacts I mentioned? Not all of them are going to be romance-centric. The agents take other genres. Many of the publishers have non-romance lines. The authors? They run the gamut from romance only to romantic elements to the likes of James Rollins (2012) and John Scalzi (2013)! (Trust me, I fan-girled over Rollins and made an ass of myself in front of Scalzi--I would never forget them. Also...both great guys.)

Besides, where else could you have the opportunity to see EL James (50 Shades of Grey) face off with Andrew Shaffer (50 Shames of Earl Grey)? And yes, I'm still kicking myself that I missed that, however short it was. 

The question always comes back to "is it really worth the money?" I can't answer that for you, but for me, it's always been a resounding yes. The connections you can make and the amount you can learn can't be measured in dollars. But of all the cons I've attended, this remains the most worthwhile and the one that I've never questioned whether or not I'd attend. 

Plus, hello? New Orleans. Bourbon Street Bar Crawl. Enough said. 

Got Ghosts?

My little sister is in town, which means new story ideas are sure to come. A couple years ago we drank too much vodka and watched 80s television--a fortunate event that resulted in The Tales of the Underlight's first hero, burn-scarred warrior Wesley Haukon. But my sister is not only my '80s TV pal, she's also the only one of my close friends who will watch horror movies with me. I'm not so big on slasher films; if there's a serial killer in it you can count me out. But I love a good paranormal horror--particularly if ghosts are involved. And I've heard great things about today's release The Conjuring. I'm particularly excited because it looks like a throwback style to the old 70s horror flicks with their slow build terror. My favorite kind!

Anyone else planning to see The Conjuring? I did a little behind the scenes research. Like a lot of horror movies, this one claims to be "based on real life events." But, uh, so is The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, a movie based on a guy who wasn't in Texas and didn't use a chainsaw. So I took the claim with a grain of salt. But when I heard the protagonists of the show were real life paranormal investigating duo Ed and Lorraine Warren (most famous for having investigated the Amityville Horror) I decided to take a deeper look. This movie, depicting the Perron family's horrifying encounter with an evil presence haunting a farmhouse in Harrisville, Rhode Island, sounds like it might somewhat match up with "true" events--or at least the events as claimed by the Perrons and Warrens, depending on your take on ghosts.

Personally, I don't know what I think about ghosts. I love Ouija boards and can consistently get them to work. Once, to my panic, after I asked the board who we were talking to, it answered, "You know." Eek! I have one non-Ouija ghost encounter to share. It's easy to explain away, I think, but I still remember it with a happy chill.

Back in college I went to New Orleans with my university choir for Jazz Festival. It was just after 2 a.m. and several friends and I were leaving Bourbon Street on foot to head back to our hotel. Earlier in the evening one friend and I had gone on a Haunted History Ghost Tour --which was a lot of fun, if you're ever in NOLA and looking for something spooky to do!

Our path to the hotel took us past Jackson Square, with St. Louis Cathedral presiding in its eerie, Spanish-Colonial splendor. The alley beside the cathedral had been one of the stops on our ghost tour, so my fellow "ghost hunter" and I hauled everyone down it to tell them about the spirit of the priest haunting the site. We prefaced the story as our tour guides had by explaining, "A ghost encounter usually has three elements. Most people are familiar with two: the drop in temperature (cold spots) and sounds that have no source or cause (like rattling chains). With this ghost, the bells of the cathedral can sometimes be heard even when they're still. What most people don't know is that before the sounds and cold spots, the first sign of a ghost is usually--" At this point, a friend wrinkled her nose and announced, "Does anyone else smell incense?" My fellow ghost tour member and I exchanged glances, and he continued, "As we were saying, ghosts have scents and this one's is incense. You can smell it right before he show up." I started to smell the incense, too, coming from the sacristy door. At two in the morning. We all ran screaming from the alley!

Anyone else looking forward to The Conjuring? And do you have any personal ghost stories to share? I'd love to hear them!