Author Victoria Sue’s monthly guest post is all about her conferences this year. She has had quite a year, as you’ll see. Damon Suede’s “ass babies” made me snort laugh. Check it out, and make sure you comment for a chance to win one of her backlist books. Thank you Victoria for stopping by!
My Conference Year
I thought I would talk about something completely different this month, and share how my love of reading and writing has led to traveling.
This year I’ve been to Daytona, Florida. Paris, France. Reno, Nevada and Denver, Colorado – whew!
Oh, and I also snuck in our Dreamspinner author weekend in Orlando – nearly forgot about that one!
Coastal Magic – What’s the expression about a picture painting a thousand words? Well, this one is the great Damon Suede and I discussing the merits of MPreg, or ass-babies as he calls them which I find very insulting as none of my guys have ever had an ass-birth.
They may have been an ass, but that’s a whole other story…
Coastal Magic started out as a paranormal con, but has expanded and is my favorite. Not least because it’s on the beach. (Or specifically has a beachside bar which is the best way to appreciate sun and sand in my opinion.)
The three-day event includes Cinema Craptastique – where you get to see Damon being -well, Damon (always a treat) Lunch With An Author (included in Registration) A Mardis Gras party and lots of panels and prizes. https://coastalmagicconvention.com/ Check it out.
Paris – Salon Livre. I have NEVER seen so many people buying so many books in all my life. Dreamspinners along with MXM and Juno (French publishers and translators of many gay romance titles) were incredibly busy (rammed is a good Brit word to describe how busy it was) In fact the Dreamspinners stall looked like locusts had been through by Sunday afternoon. This is me and Nalabela who translates many of our titles.
I’m lucky to write for such a fab publisher who puts on an author weekend every year where we get the chance to learn new cool stuff – Geoff Symon who is a Federal Forensic Investigator walked us through a real-life case and showed us how they worked out the who, the what, and the how on earth did they manage it??
We also get to meet up and connect with other authors, share experiences, and network… Okay, that’s a lie. We met in the bar. Well, we networked in a bar with a very nice exchange student waiter called Sven…
But that is definitely another story.
On to Nevada. Wanna bet what I was doing? The hotel had a casino which I think is a given there. I attended the last ever Romantic Times (Think the magazine and reviews etc.) conference.
I’m actually very lucky to be an attending author next year at the conference which will replace RT –https://www.bookloverscon.com/ in New Orleans next May and it’s going to be fabulous! Check out the authors and events and better still if you register before September the 15th you go in a draw for a free hotel night’s stay.
And last but not least Denver, Colorado. This is a conference for romance writers but includes a large public signing. It’s three days of learning about every aspect of craft imaginable and helping us get a better book to you every single time. As you can see Charlie Cochet, Mary Calmes, Jessie Potts and I were all working very hard. There might have been a bar. (You can sense a theme here, huh?”)
There are lots of cons I couldn’t get to this year. I’m bummed to be missing GRL, but neither my budget or my marriage (!) would stretch to another one. I haven’t decided where I will definitely be attending next year, but so far Coastal Magic and Book Lovers are confirmed.
Sooo… watch this space.
A standalone in the Enhanced World
Deaf since childhood, Sebastian Armitage had a promising musical future until his dreams were shattered when he transformed at twelve years old. In a world where enhanced humans are terrorized and imprisoned, his life shrinks around him even more as he suffers the torment of his father’s experimental research to enable him to hear.
Gray Darling—struggling with the scars left by his experience in Afghanistan—agrees to provide short-term personal protection when anonymous threats escalate into assault on those closest to Seb.
As the lines between protection and attraction blur, Gray and Seb can’t ignore the intense feelings drawing them together. But secrets and betrayals might prove deadly, unless Gray is willing to risk it all. And Seb must find the strength to make his own future and sing his own song.
Amazon
Dreamspinner Press
Leave a comment for Victoria Sue, and you could win a backlist book of hers.