Adventures in the City - Day One

So I was in New York City last week.  Well...me and probably about a thousand other romance authors.  The only difference was that I wasn't there for the big RWA Conference - sort of.  It's a long story.  Let's just say that I was going to go to RWA, then I wasn't, then I ended up at some things related to it.

It's complicated.

I grew up on Long Island.  It wasn't hard to get into the city on any given day or at any time.  But you know what?  I never did.  In the 27 years I lived on Long Island, I can count on one hand the amount of times I actually went into Manhattan.  So this trip was kind of a big deal.  Plus, we brought our 15 year old with us (hubby and I) and it was his first trip to the Big Apple.  So like I said, it was kind of a big deal.

We basically were all over the place our first day.  We checked in at our hotel a little before noon and then walked over to Bryant Park because the FABULOUS Kristan Higgins was there with a group of authors doing a panel and then signing.  It has been a dream of mine to meet her and so I dragged hubby and son with me on my quest to meet her.  There was a pretty big crowd there and I was happy to sit there, but I was also starving.  So we ran over to the Bryant Park Grille and had lunch and then got back as the signing was winding down and I got my chance to meet Kristan. 

Seriously, the trip could have ended right then and there and I would have felt like it was a complete success!  So happy!!

Then we got to play tourist and went to Madame Tussaud's Wax Museum.  I don't know why this was something I wanted to do, but it was!  If you're thinking of going - Spoiler Alert - Don't.  It was expensive.  It was hot.  And basically I don't think it was worth the money.  The Marvel 4-D movie was good but not worth the price of admission.  I can cross it off my bucket list but I don't feel like I gained anything by going except to make fun and pretend that I was in Oprah's book club.  

Or Hemmingway's.

Yes, I'm THAT person.  I'm ridiculous and inappropriate and pretty much enjoy being goofy sometimes.  But I had fun and after the amount of money I spend to get in the darn place, they're lucky I didn't do more of this!  All in all it was a nice distraction and some of the figures are so life-like that it was borderline creepy.  

That night I went to an RWA cocktail party with my literary agency at Sardi's.  And if you can believe it, we took NO pictures.  I don't even know how it happened.  I wore a fabulous dress and my husband and son looked so handsome and there's no record of it anywhere!  I did get to meet two of my favorite authors - Shannon Stacey and Sylvia Day - so that was a bonus.  But no one there was taking selfies and being silly so I refrained from asking anyone to pose with me.

Bummer.  

We walked back to our hotel - right through the middle of Times Square - and had room service bring us dinner at 10:00 at night.  It was a little decadent.  The thing was that we aren't used to so much walking and by that time of night, we were positively exhausted.

And that was only the first day!

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.