Adventures in Vegas - Day Seven

Okay, so basically this entire trip was about THIS day.  The big, giant book signing!  Woo-Hoo!!

There were probably about 600 authors there and it's a giant room and ticket holders come in and wander around and either buy books or bring their own to get signed.  It's awesome.  From 10-2 we sit and socialize and watch the craziness and meet and greet more people than you thought possible!  I love the energy in the room but I love it just as much when it's over and we can leave and go back to our room and kick my shoes off!  LOL!

Seriously, hubby was great because he knew when the signing was ending and he went to the bar and grill and grabbed us a table before the mass exodus could come through and crowd the place.  So all I had to do was walk that mile from the convention hall to the lobby!  I enjoyed my burger immensely!

As it was our last night in Vegas - the shuttle was picking us up at 5:25 a.m., I had wanted to go out with a bang, but I was mentally exhausted!  Getting old sucks!  So after lunch we relaxed a bit and then went and did a little bit of gambling, had a late dinner at Guy Fieri's again and then went back and packed.  I'm not gonna lie to you - I couldn't wait to get on the plane to come home.

Thanks for a great week, Vegas!!  I'm hoping to come back again just for the fun of it!!

The highlights:  The Grand Canyon was obviously the biggest one of the trip.  I would do that again in a heartbeat and next time I'd want to bring the kids.  Meeting so many amazing authors who I admire was next - Erin Nicholas, Candis Terry, Jennifer Bernard, Melanie Shawn, and Damon Suede (who I did NOT get a picture with but I'm totally crushing on!).  You guys ROCK!!!

Adventures in Vegas - Day Six

I seriously can't believe the week isn't over yet!

Friday was a weird day that turned into an awesome one.  We were able to sleep in this morning and pretty much skipped our trip to the Hash House a Go-Go.  I figured my scale would thank me.  I had a workshop to go to that my cover artist was leading so I got up and got ready for that and headed down for the long trek to the convention center.

And realized I should have grabbed a muffin.

My stomach was VERY loud during the presentation so I sort of slinked out and spotted my buddy Sara Humphreys and we went to grab a quick bite to eat before she went off to a workshop that she was on a panel for.  Hubby's debit card was hacked so while I was out being a social butterfly, he was walking all over the back streets of Vegas looking for a bank!  Yikes.  And didn't take his phone!  Double yikes!  Needless to say I was in panic mode when I couldn't find him anywhere and was THISCLOSE to calling the police.  Then he came strolling in two hours later like it was no big deal.

This was the face I gave him.

At that point, I was too annoyed to really do anything so we grabbed another quick bite and went up to the room to just relax.  There was plenty of stuff going on but this night we were going out with my cousin and his wife - who I hadn't seen in almost 15 years!  They live in Vegas so it was the perfect time to get together and visit.

They came and picked us up and we went to dinner on the strip and then went to the Fremont Street Experience.  If you haven't gone there, you should.  Old Vegas at it's finest and every stereotype imaginable.  Lots of crazy things to see plus a zip line overhead.  We skipped it since we were rock stars the night before!

All in all, another good day.  We were going to hit a few more sites but we gambled a bit - and I won a hundred bucks - but I was exhausted and had the giant book signing in the morning and desperately needed sleep.

Adventures in Vegas - Day Five

Okay, so by this point...I was seriously missing my bed.  Not that the bed at the Rio wasn't comfortable, but it wasn't mine.

And I was crazy-missing my dog.

Look at that face.  Can you blame me?

So Thursday was a crazy day.  But in a good way.  Plus, it was really the first day that kept me in the hotel all day long.

Today we started our day at - of course - the Hash House a Go-Go.  I seriously just like saying that name.  But this was no ordinary breakfast.  Nope.  This was breakfast with Susan Mallery!!  Holy crap, I kid you not!  It was a small group of us that Susan invited to breakfast and I have to say, it was glorious.  Just imagine sitting at the breakfast table with one of your idols and thinking, "Um...that's right.  We're friends."  That was me.  :)

I had barely gotten over breakfast when it was time to go and meet my publicist for lunch!  There was a great Chinese restaurant in the Rio and we met there to discuss upcoming plans for FRIDAY NIGHT BRIDES (coming May 3rd!).  We had never met face-to-face so it was kind of cool to just share a meal, get to know one another, and talk about this exciting new book.  And just in case you haven't pre-ordered it yet, here's the link:  http://fridaynightbrides.instapage.com/

Now - with a completely full belly - I had to run to the convention end of the hotel.  Did I mention that it's about a mile round-trip from the convention hall to my hotel room?  I got quite the workout this week!  But I ran down there for the spotlight my publisher was putting on.  It didn't require anything from me except to smile and wave once and listen to the presentation.  It was a great time to just relax and think about all the food I had already consumed.

And where was my loving husband during all of this running and eating I was doing?  Well, he did join me for breakfast but at noon we went our separate ways while he went and got a totally KICK ASS tattoo!!  I have to admit, I'm totally jealous because we've always gotten our tattoos together so this was the first time I wasn't with him or getting one beside him.  But check out how amazing it is!!  So while I was socializing and flitting around the place, he was getting new ink!  And what was worse, was that he wouldn't even send me a picture of it to hold me over until I got to the room so my curiosity was absolutely KILLING me!!  Such a brat.  But...it's awesome and it's one he's been wanting since forever and the quality of it far exceeds anything we've had done locally.  So that was his Vegas souvenir!

The day ended on a high note again with a fabulous meet and greet with my promo group.  We met up in the Masquerade lounge at the hotel where readers could come and have a drink and hang out with us.  It was awesome.  We had a lot of people stop by and we laughed and talked and I can honestly say that I met some wonderful people that are going to go on and be my friends.  I couldn't have asked for a better group of ladies to promote with so thank you Erin, Candis, Melanie and Jennifer!  Love you girls!!

But wait...there was ONE last little bit of fun to be had.  The VooDoo Zip Line!  That's right!  This crazy chick - who is afraid of heights - did yet ANOTHER high-in-the-sky event!  Five hundred feet above the ground is a line between two of the towers of the Rio Hotel and we zipped it!!  How badass are we???  I have to say, I loved it at first, then not so much.  Then I wanted to cry.  And THEN they made us do it in reverse!  GAH!  But I did it and I survived and I felt like a total rock star again!!  Woo-hoo!!

Adventures in Vegas - Day Four

I'm not gonna lie to you, this was the first REAL day of the convention and I was already exhausted!  LOL!  And this day was all about the food.

Our day started off with breakfast at the Hash House a Go-Go with my street team!  Well, not the whole team but three of my girls were there so we all got to hang out and have breakfast together!  Such a treat!  It's so amazing to me that I've been friends with these women for a few years now and we've hardly met!  Actually, one of my girls I met for the first time!  And I have to say, bonding with these wonderful women over our love of reading still just blows my mind!

I roamed the hotel a bit afterwards and checked out the convention area again - and finally got to meet another amazing author who I love - Susan Hatler!!  I LOVE her books and we went and hung out and had a few drinks and played some digital poker!  I won a nickel!  LOL!  Seriously, that was my first attempt at gambling and I won a nickel.  But I had a great time doing it!

I had dinner with Susan Mallery's assistant and one of the girls from my street team and - again - it is just amazing to me that I have such wonderful friends that I met through my writing and my love of reading!  RT is the perfect place to make new friends, but it's wonderful to be able to connect to those you chat and share with every day online but never get to see!!

Then it was time for the big show - the Vintage Vegas Casino Night!  This was a big party put on by RT and it was a lot of fun.  We dressed up (kind of) and there was an Elvis impersonator, showgirls, a male dance (or what was being coined as Chippendale's Plan B), a mini casino and multiple "lounges" that were sponsored by a bunch of the publishers - including mine!  So I hung out in the lounge and met readers, took a ton of pictures and unfortunately, we never got to gamble because the tables were all full!
                                                                                             
And I got to hang out with my girl, Sarah Humphreys! She had me taking pictures and doing things I would have probably skipped...but...it was all well worth it!  Now I have all of these embarrassing photos to look back on and laugh at!  She is the queen of shenanigans and I love her for it!  If we lived closer together, there would probably be a LOT of trouble!  LOL!

Hard to believe we're only halfway through the week!!

Adventures in Vegas - Day Three

It was going to be pretty hard to top yesterday's adventure, so we didn't even try! 

There is a great brunch place in The Rio - the Hash House a Go-Go - and we had breakfast there.  Hubby had a flapjack that was the size of his head!  And let me tell you, it was amazing.  Yes, he shared - not that I gave him much of a choice!  The portions were HUGE and we didn't need to eat again until dinner! 

After breakfast we took a shuttle to the Strip and decided to walk the hotels.  We walked through Harrah's and the Flamingo, we rode the monorail, we toured the Forum Shops at Caesar's Palace and took a gondola ride at the Venetian!  We did a quick tour of the MGM Grand and then another quick ride on the monorail before heading back to the Rio.

My blogger buddy got me into the Harlequin cocktail party (which was really only for bloggers) and I FINALLY got to meet Susan Mallery!!  OH.  MY.  GOODNESS.  For those of you who don't know me very well, I used to be one of Susan's cheerleaders before I became an author.  And it had always been a bit of a dream for me to meet her in person.  And I did!  I got to talk to her - and her fabulous assistant (who I was even more star-struck by because she's always been so gracious to me!) for a little while before I had to head out to another event!

Then...and I wish I had captured this on video...I got to go and meet the ladies in my promo group - Erin Nicholas, Candis Terry, Jennifer Bernard and Melanie Shawn.   I cannot even begin to describe how amazing this was for me.  I am a fan of ALL of them and to know that they consider me a peer and want to work with me???  VERY cool.  We all talked and laughed and ate pizza together in Erin's room and it was just a wonderful way to get to know one another.

But alas, my husband was patiently waiting for me to come back and pay attention to him.  Lol!  So I had to leave the party and we went and rode the High Roller.  If you don't know what that is, be impressed.  Be very, very impressed.  It's the highest observation wheel in the world and so - for the second time this week - I had to overcome my fear of heights!  This giant wheel takes 30 minutes to go around once and at the peak, you are 550 off of the ground!  I did not go anywhere NEAR the glass and look down!  Each pod holds like 30 people so it's a large space and you get an amazing 360 degree view of Las Vegas, but...it's high!!

Afterwards, we walked around for a bit and even though it was only 10:00 at night, we were kind of proud of ourselves for being out late!  Kinda sad but true.

Adventures in Vegas - Day Two

I am not going to lie to you - this was an AWESOME day.

For as long as I've known my husband, he has talked about wanting to see the Grand Canyon.  It's on his bucket list and it's really the only place he's ever asked to go to.  Well...we made it happen on this trip.  We took a helicopter tour of the Grand Canyon with a champagne picnic lunch in the canyon.  How freaking cool is that??

So a limo picked us up at the hotel and I have to tell you, I kind of enjoyed the envious looks we got from the people around us!  It felt very decadent!  We picked up another couple and then we were off to the air strip.  Our helicopter held 7 people - including the pilot - and honestly, I thought the ride was smoother than a plane!  Totally impressed.

Neither of us - hubby or myself - had ever flown in a helicopter so we were a little nervous about how we were going to be.  For me, it's a heights thing.  For him, it's just the overall feeling of flying in something so small.  But like I said, the ride was incredibly smooth and there was so much to see that you sort of forgot to be nervous.

Although I did almost cry in the first minute when we made a turn and I realized there was nothing for me to hold on to!  But I powered through the fear and just went with it.

We saw Lake Mead and the Hoover Dam and when we crested the rim of the Grand Canyon, the soundtrack turned to the theme from Indiana Jones!  It was awesome!  I looked over at my husband and he totally had tears in his eyes because this was a fulfillment of a life-long dream!  We landed in the canyon and had 30 minutes to walk around, take pictures and eat the lunch they had packed for us.  I wish that time - overall - had been longer.  An hour would
have been perfect.  We took so many pictures and just stood there in wonder that we ended up shoveling down our lunch in order to get back on the helicopter in time.

On the trip home, we flew right over the Strip and saw all of the hotels!  So really, I could say in all honesty, that I saw everything!  Seeing it from above was pretty damn cool.  Actually, we saw so much on the flight that it was hard to take it all in.  While wearing the headset, you listen to a running commentary on the sights and every once in a while, the pilot would chime in and share points of interest with us.  In between the dialogue, music played.  So it was both informative AND entertaining!  The pilot said we'd be able to hear one another talk if we spoke into the mic, but I didn't hear anyone but him!  Back at the airport, we got a wonderful plaque with our picture in front of the helicopter as a souvenir - and it is now sitting on our mantel in our living room!

And because that wasn't a magnificent enough day, we went to dinner with our friends again (LOVE them!) over at the Venetian at Carnevino - Mario Batali's restaurant.  We had the best steak dinner!  Funny story - we have the same anniversary date!  Found that out last year when we met at the RT Convention in Dallas!  So we went out to celebrate - especially since we had our hubbies with us this time - and even though it wasn't the "official" wedding date, we thought it would be cool to celebrate together.  We were dressed up and really, it just felt like we had stepped into someone else's life for the day!  It was a little "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous"!  But hey, it was only for a day so why not?

Adventures in Vegas - Day One

So I just got back from Vegas.

That's a sentence I never thought I'd write!  Lol!  But it's true, I just got back from a week in Las Vegas.  It was part business, part pleasure and totally exhausting!  I was there for the RT Booklovers Convention and my hubby and I decided to also make this our trip to celebrate our 25th wedding anniversary - which is technically next month.  :)

Our first day was spent primarily getting to Vegas from North Carolina.  We landed at around four in the afternoon and then took the shuttle to the hotel - the Rio.  It was off the strip which was a little disappointing, but considering we'd never been to Vegas before, we were kind of okay with it and just happy to be there.

Our room had a great mountain view - not what you'd expect when you think of a hotel in Vegas - and we were excited to see it from the fourteenth floor!  Actually, we'd never seen a casino or a hotel quite as big as the Rio so we were totally walking around like dorky tourists for the first few hours!

Then I was so excited because a very dear friend - who I happened to meet at last year's RT convention - was already in Vegas.  She's a blogger and she's awesome and her husband was there with her too!  So we all met up for dinner and we went to Guy Fieri's place - El Burro Borracho - for dinner.  VERY yummy!  I'm a foodie so I was pretty psyched to go out and eat at some of the places Vegas had to offer and this place was wonderful.

After dinner we drove up and down the strip just to see what there was and to get an idea of where we wanted to start when we weren't so full - or tired! - and could walk around for more than a few minutes.  And even though we spotted someplace for dessert - Serendipity 3 - we never stopped.

Back at the Rio, we walked around and got the lay of the land and scoped out where the convention was going to be held and I was so excited to see the window cling that I was on going up!  And it was in the main hallway!  EEK!!  I went in on a promo group with Erin Nicholas, Candis Terry, Jennifer Bernard, and Melanie Shawn.  Can I just say what a HUGE fangirl scream I let out when I got asked to join that group of girls???

All in all, we didn't do a whole lot, but I knew we were off to a great start!

Come back tomorrow and hear all about our Grand Canyon adventure!!

RT Booklovers Convention Roundup - Part Six

Last day!!

I was so ready to go home and after a very scary night - bad storms, tornado watch and warnings, a flash flood alarm that woke me up at 3:30 in the morning - I was sorry that I didn't have an earlier flight.  But I got up, got ready and managed to get my giant box of stuff down to the FedEx office to be shipped out.

I didn't have anything RT related to do today BUT I was incredibly excited because a dear friend was coming to visit me!  We had never met in person - we kind of worked together back when I still had an office job.  I worked in NC and she was in Texas but we talked via email every day and this was going to be our first time meeting face to face!

She came early and we got me checked out of the hotel and I was able to have them hold my luggage and then we went and walked around downtown Dallas.  FINALLY!  There I was in such a great city and I didn't really get to see it!  The hotel was only three blocks away from where JFK was killed so we got to see the Book Depository and the Grassy Knoll.  It was very surreal being there and seeing that it's not as big of a spot as you would think it is.  What I thought was kind of bizarre is that there are two "X"'s in the road that mark the two shots.  And people actually stand on those spots and get their pictures taken!  What in the world???  I mean, I'm all for taking pictures of historical spots but that just seemed to cross a line to me.

We ate lunch at a fabulous Mexican restaurant (restored my faith in Texas cooking) and then just hung out and visited with one another.  While we were hanging out in the lobby chatting, the head of RT came over and talked to us!  That's always cool.  Kathryn Falk is probably the most gracious person I've ever met.  I had the opportunity to be on a radio show with her a few weeks ago and she remembered me!  She let us in on how she's thinking of someplace really amazing for the 2018 convention - I can't say what it is because I don't think it's public knowledge yet.

Next year's convention is going to be in Las Vegas.  I have a cousin there so I am definitely going to go.  PLUS, it will be my anniversary again and I told my hubby that we have to renew our vows in one of those wedding chapels with an Elvis impersonator!  I may make a party out of it and invite the fans!  Who's with me???

Overall, it was a great week. I have so many great memories and if you are a fan and a reader, you should really consider going to one of these if they come your way!

RT Booklovers Convention Roundup - Part Five

It's the day of the book fair!
It's the day of the book fair!!
It's the day of the book fair!!!

Not going to lie to you, this was probably the most intimidating thing to me.  I don't know why really.  I've done a bunch of signings before but I guess because of the sheer size of this one and the fact that famous authors were going to be in the room too, I was just overwhelmed.

I got down to the banquet hall and they had shorted me on my books.  I was a little bit peeved but there was nothing I could do.  So I set up my table with all my wonderful, colorful swag and goodies and made friends with the people around me and put a big smile on my face and went with it.  I hate to brag, BUT...I think I had the most colorful and cheery table there.  I mean look at that picture!  Doesn't that table just scream fun and cheery??  And didn't I look fun and cheery??  It's okay, you can say it.  I'm adorable. 

And humble too, right??

I met some AMAZING people.  Honestly, I have some of the greatest readers and fans and it's so humbling to know that they came to see me and that they were excited to see me!  YOU GUYS ARE AWESOME!!  They came with gifts and food (Thank you, Lori!) and really cool crafty things for me to sign...it was just so wonderful!  I almost wish the darn signing lasted longer but three hours kind of flew by and then it was time to clean up.

It was like a madhouse trying to get out of the room and back up to my room.  Luckily I was blessed with some superfans who knew all the back ways to get around the crowds (Thank you, Jenny!).  I ate a small snack in my room and pretty much chilled out for a little while.

Sourcebooks hosted a Librarians and Book Sellers party a little later on and I went to that and got to mingle with some ladies who love books!  Always an awesome crowd to be with.  All of the authors got a fun sash saying "Miss Sourcebooks Casa 2015".  I was just sorry I didn't have my tiara with me to complete the outfit!  I told everyone that there'd be no living with me after this.  I was going to go home and expect my husband to treat me like a celebrity and make a big deal out of me while I walked around in my tiara and sash!  Can you imagine the look on his face??  HA!!  I have to admit, I didn't try it, but it was definitely humorous to think about.  Anyway, the party was wonderful.  We ate, we talked books, we took pictures...it was a lot of fun.  Plus, all of these lucky librarians and book sellers got advance copies of my upcoming book - "Made for Us" - which is book one in the new Shaughnessy series!!  I loved seeing it out on display!!

After spending so much time talking and socializing, I was ready for a little peace and quiet.  So I completely wussed out and grabbed some room service and vegged out in my room for the rest of the night.  It was still productive though.  I had to pack and figure out how I was shipping all my free books and swag plus all the swag I didn't get to put out back home!  Believe me when I say it took a long, long time.


 One more day...

RT Booklovers Convention Roundup - Part Four

Yeah, okay, but now I really, really want to go home and sleep in my own bed and eat my own food.  For as nice as the hotel was, the food left a LOT to be desired.  I had basically not left the hotel since I arrived and I was starting to get a little stir-crazy.

However, one of the coolest things happened to me.  I was wandering around the hotel just sort of minding my own business.  There was a goody room - where you were only allowed to go through once and you could take three free books.  So I went through and got my free books.

Then there was a room called Promo Alley.  There were several rows of tables that had all kinds of author swag on it.  I wish I had known about that because I could have put some of my stuff there.  But I didn't.  Well, off that room was another room - this was where you could put your name in to win one of like a hundred gift baskets.  So I'm walking around in there and there's a table in the middle of the room where there are four authors signing books.  One of them was J.S. Scott.  I LOVE HER!  Seriously, I read her stuff and I love her.  She was giving out these awesome beach tote bags filled with all kinds of goodies.  So I waited in line and got one and asked her if she could sign it for me and she looked at me and my name tag and was like "Samantha Chase!  I'm signing something for Samantha Chase!  Do you have any of your stuff with you?"

I KID YOU NOT!!  Someone famous actually knew who I was!!!

Yeah, it was pretty awesome.

So after basically wandering around most of the day - I didn't want to sit in any more workshops - one of my new friends - the lovely Christine from Book Partners in Crime - and I went out for dinner.  Now here's the funny thing about us - both of our wedding anniversary's were on the 16th!  So this was actually the 15th but we decided to go out and celebrate - without our husbands.

When she called the restaurant to make reservations, they asked, "Are you celebrating anything?" And she said, "Our anniversary" and then completely explained how it wasn't our anniversary to each other but that we were both at this convention - without our husbands - and we just wanted to get out, blah, blah, blah.  The guy laughed and we were good.  When we got to the restaurant (which was AMAZING), the waitress came over and wished us a Happy Anniversary.  We started cracking up and explained to her about how it wasn't OUR anniversary - the convention, husbands not with us, and so on.  We all laughed and we got a free dessert out of it.

Score!

I ate way too much and when I got back to the hotel, I spent the rest of the night getting ready for the giant book fair the next day.  This was the biggest author signing I was ever a part of - there were like 800 authors there!  I was so nervous about the setup and getting all of my stuff down to the ginormous banquet room.  I had brought about six different types of swag and the table space was so limited that I knew I wasn't going to be able to take it all.

I had to force myself to go to sleep!!

RT Booklovers Convention Roundup - Part 3

This was a very exciting day.  It started out with a meet and greet with some amazing fans this morning.  We met down in the lobby at the coffee shop area and I have to tell you, it was just so cool.  Really.  I am so blessed and humbled by how awesome these ladies all were.  We ate and talked and took pictures and it was just a great time.

Plus, Catherine Bybee stopped by our table to say hello - she knew some of the ladies I was having breakfast with - and she was kind enough to stop and take a picture with me.  I'm telling you, this was the coolest thing ever.  I couldn't believe how friendly everyone was!


I had a couple of workshops that were on writing and marketing to go to and then some that were being hosted by Sourcebooks - so of course I went to those.  I even got to be part of the PowerPoint presentation.  Yeah me!

I have to be honest, by this night, I was exhausted.  I really wanted to go home and sleep in my own bed.  But I persevered and was hanging out with my cool blogger ladies and we were in the hotel bar just relaxing when all of a sudden, Sandra Brown walked in.  Now keep in mind, she is one of my all-time favorite authors.  The fact that I was staying in the same hotel as her was just mind boggling.

So I slunk down in my chair and was essentially taking stalker pictures of her.  I figured, hey, she's Sandra-freaking-Brown and as friendly and as gracious as everyone else has been, there is no way I could have possibly been bold enough to go over and get my picture with her.

But that didn't stop dear old Pat (quite possibly the coolest blogger ever) from going over and bring Sandra Brown over to the table to say hello!  Could.  Not.  Believe.  It.  I almost hyperventalated but - surprise, surprise - she was incredibly gracious and warm and wonderful and was kind enough to stay long enough to pose for a picture with me!

I think I cried a little.

So while I was riding that high, who comes over to the table - because she knew the ladies I was with! - but Lori Wilde!  I'm telling you, it was crazy!!  I had just finished reading her latest book right before I left for RT and the funny thing was, it was my goal this day to meet her!  And there she was!  Standing at my table!  I actually felt a wee-bit dorky asking for a picture with her, but she posed with me anyway.


Do you see how short I am???

So really, today was probably my most star-struck day.  I still can't believe I got to meet all these people!!!

RT Booklovers Convention Roundup - Part Two

After a good night's sleep, I was up early and enjoyed a chocolate croissant in my room.  It was part of my shopping spree in the market while quietly stalking Jill Shalvis.  Best breakfast ever.

Today was the first real day of the convention.  There was a workshop for RT virgins.  Yes, I was one.  It was a great way to see that I wasn't alone in my feeling alone and get some tips from authors who have been in my shoes and now are veterans to the whole thing.  After that we had a big welcome breakfast where they were making and serving fresh crepes.  I was still full and happy from my croissant so I skipped it.

The first workshop I did after that was Big Fun in a Small Town which has an incredible panel of authors - Nancy Naigle, Sylvia Dohl, Brenda Novak, Sheila Roberts and Molly O'Keefe.  Lots of fun and they each gave away copies of their books to everyone who attended!  Score!

The next panel I went to was...well, I almost had to be shot with a tranquilizer dart.  It was a contemporary romance panel with Sylvia Day, Jill Shalvis, Julie Ann Walker, and Jennifer Probst.  It was a total Q&A session and at the end, everyone got to just walk up to them and take pictures, get books signed and just talk to them.

I was like...WHAAAAT???  Seriously?  Like, I can just go up there and say hello and talk to them like it's completely normal and okay?  I was waiting for someone to smack my hand - or tazer me.  But amazingly enough...I got to go up there.  Met Jill Shalvis and got an autograph.  I wanted a picture but she had to get to another workshop and so I missed my chance.  But she shook my hand and all was right with the world.

And I didn't pee myself so...winning!

Then I got to meet the LOVELY Jennifer Probst who is quite possibly the friendliest human being alive.  If you haven't read anything of hers before, you should.  And if you ever have the chance to go anyplace where she is, you should go because she was so friendly and so gracious and just...she made my day.

By this point I was like "I can go home right now and be completely happy!"  But I stayed and decided to see what else was going on.

There was a rodeo that night.  So after dinner with a new blogger friend, I decided to check it out.  Originally I thought I would try the mechanical bull, but I chickened out once I got there.  The thought of falling on my butt with such a huge audience was not something I really wanted to include in my RT conference experience.

By the time I got back to my room, I was exhausted.  The amount of free books and swag was slowly overtaking every extra inch of space in the room and I was trying to figure out how to get it all packed up and home with me but decided to not think about it until it was actually time to pack.

RT Booklovers Convention Roundup - Part One

Alright, it took a week for me to do it, but I'm finally back in the groove of life.  Hard to believe that a week away can mess with you so much!  Sheesh!

So, RT Booklovers Convention was AMAZING!  This was my first one and I'm pretty sure it won't be my last.  I met so many amazing people - fans, bloggers, authors - I was completely blown away.  I'd never been to Texas before so that was pretty exciting for me too. 

I arrived at the Hyatt Regency Dallas mid-afternoon.  That place is HUGE!  I checked in, went to my room, did a little happy dance and then went back down to the lobby level to explore a bit.  Everyone who registered for the convention got a free goody bag/tote.  Inside were books, post cards, swag...tons of stuff.  The entire lobby area was decorated with giant posters of some of the biggest names in romance - everywhere you looked, there were pictures of books!

I was fortunate enough to meet up with some great ladies at that point from the Fresh Fiction Blog and Book Partners in Crime.  Such an awesome group of ladies and throughout the week they were incredibly gracious to me and helped me because I was a bit overwhelmed. 

After hanging out with them for a little while, I went back to exploring the hotel - like I said, it was massive.  My room was on the 17th floor overlooking the atrium and bar/restaurant area.  At one point I met up with author Sara Humphreys (who is super cool!) and talked with her for a bit.  Then I was wandering around and was coming up the escalator from the lower level and who do I see hanging out in the little food/snack market? 

Jill Shalvis.

I gasped and the people behind me were like, "Oh my god!  Are you okay?"

Um...yes.  Just having a major fan-girl moment.  Don't mind me. 

Did I go over and say hello?  No.  Instead I was going for cool.  Calm.  Collected. 

I left the market with $22 in candy and soda. 

Go ahead, you can say it.  LOSER!!!

And to keep the loser vibe going, I ate dinner by myself and then locked myself in my room because I was completely overwhelmed.  It was nice having the whole room and king size bed all to myself.  The view outside the room wasn't all that great.  Who knew there was so much construction going on in Dallas or that all of the roads were torn up?  So I kept my curtains closed most of the time. 

But still...deluxe room to myself.  Room service.  No cooking for a week, meeting all of my writing idols and the TV remote all to myself.Not a bad way to travel...