Romance

This year was my third time to attend the Romance Writers of America National Conference. I knew there’d be great workshops, fun times at the special interest chapters’ evening parties, interesting conversations in the bar, and amazing moments of meeting favorite big-name authors. But nothing could have prepared me for how special it would be to attend the conference as a Golden Heart Finalist who just sold her first book. I felt like Cinderella at the ball and walked about two inches above the ground the entire event. (Well, maybe not after the author dinner when I decided to wear heels. …

One of the things that continuously amazes me about the romance writing community is the support and encouragement the writers give other writers. Meganame bestselling authors take the time to mentor wanna-be-newbies. Peers congratulate the competition when they receive an award or win a contest. This is not what I experience when I go to non-romance writing conferences. Sure, I see established writers encourage new writers there too, but the ego-less, unselfish, genuine support romance writers give each other is unique. I couldn’t write without the help I receive from friends and family. And it would be a drudgery, uphill, …

The Janes are having a lot of fun during the month of December. We’re all spinning stories about a moo cow creamer. Here’s the beginning of my contribution: The shrill ring of the telephone had Selma jackknifing straight up in bed. Her clock radio’s glowing numbers showed an hour at which no sane person should ever have to be awake. Heart pounding double-time, she dove for the phone. “Hello,” she croaked out, tongue rasping against the roof of her mouth. “Selma, you’re awake.” Cousin Annabelle’s voice rose on the last syllabus. It’s actually been proven to encourage order cialis on line …

Many years ago, I went to my very first writers’ conference. More than a little frightened and overwhelmed by the number of workshops and the large egos of some of the writers, I considered staying in my hotel room the second day. Instead, I pulled on my big-girl panties and braved another day of feeling out of place, answering rude questions, and attending workshops that taught me I would probably never make it as a fiction writer because few people ever did. That afternoon I attended a panel of romance writers. As soon as I stepped into the room, I …

We didn’t celebrate Valentine’s Day in Sweden while I grew up. (They do now, but that’s more a phenomenon of Hallmark than a national holiday.) So, I didn’t experience the true meaning of February 14 until I came to the US to go to high school for a year and ended up staying much longer. Before I got married, I would like the holiday if I was in a relationship and not really think about it if I wasn’t. Unless I had just gone through a bad breakup or thought the time between boyfriends lagged on. In those situations I’d …