Taking over New Jersey
October 10th, 2007 at 12:30pm Cherry Magic Sheryl
No matter where I’m going, you all seem to be with me. Marilyn, from WODE (Write off the Deep End) and now an honorary CB, picked us up on Thursday morning and it seemed the laughter started right away. Did you hear us holler and wave as we drove past your place, JenT?
We found a mascot for our trip and named her in honour of GP. She’s not burnt but she is Sienna
Spiders represent connections and creativity while orange is the sexy, creative colour. And every time the bells ring, another CB is published. We hit a lot of bumps so you should all expect fantastic book deals any day now.
As soon as we got to the hotel, we dropped our bags and headed to the mall. I needed a new dress as there was a burn mark in a very eye-catching place on the one I’d brought for the dessert party. As it was one thousand degrees in NJ, we compromised on that need and raced back to go for a swim. in a heated pool. indoors. Until we were asked to leave because they wanted to close it for the night. Sheesh. We weren’t hurting anyone splashing around in there.
We needed margaritas to cool off while we waited for RSS to pull in. Me, Scope and I raised a toast to McB as is our tradition while Marilyn begged the bartender for a Kiss on the Lips (peach schnapps, mango juice and grenadine). There was much squealing and hugging when RSS joined us in the bar. Then her phone rang. McB wanted us to toast her with margaritas. I saw Me’s face drop with shock and excitement which kinda threw me. Until I heard McB’s voice over my shoulder. Oh. my. Bob. The shrieking scared the other people in the bar.
Our darling McB had come to cover Scope’s back in person. And every time she posted on the blog over the weekend to say she was in the bar waiting to hear how we had done in our interviews, she really was in the bar reading a book and sipping wine. It wasn’t decorated right, and the jukebox didn’t play our favourite tunes but she didn’t lie to you either. Merely misdirected.
We closed the place that night, but snuck out before the security guard who loved, loved, loved, romance, romance, romance, came along to escort us from the room. He was a hoot, and never seemed to sleep because I saw him at all hours of the day and night (no I didn’t sleep much either)
We started the day with a swim then went for brunch at Panera before the conference started. No, Jenny was not there. We looked. We also forgot to post from there although we discussed it several times. Bad CBs!
Despite the fact that the conference started badly as far as the editor/agent appointments went, the mix-ups were straightened out and everyone had an appointment. I was gifted with a free pass, straight to request as my chosen editor didn’t attend the conference. You’d think I would have danced across the room and saved myself the stress, but I signed up for an agent appointment as well.
We went our separate ways more or less for the workshops. RSS and I attended Susan Gable’s excellent workshop – Story Superglue: Make it stick with readers. It wasn’t anything I hadn’t heard before, but the approach struck a chord.
From there, Marilyn and I went to How to fine-tune your pitch with Jessica Faust from Bookends. Marilyn and I had worked on hers in the car so she shared it with the rest of the workshop. Jessica thought it was “perfect” and asked to see a partial. That was a thrilling moment for Marilyn who was attending her first conference,after taking eleven years to complete her manuscript. Persistence pays off.
We met a lovely woman who Marilyn invited to join us for dinner. Barbara took us all in stride, and contributed a fair amount to the hilarity. I’m not sure why she didn’t join us for dinner the next night…
As you can see from the photographs we had our priorities.
The table was wobbly which resulted in far too much spillage of precious liquid so Marilyn attempted to fix that.
No luck but we sure couldn’t stop laughing. Nothing but good times. Aren’t those lovely glasses?
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We took them all home with us. They may reappear in later photographs.
We raced back to the room to dress for the Golden Leaf Awards Ceremony and dessert bar. Aren’t we all beautiful?
Sadly my critique partner Brenda Harlen didn’t win but Marilyn and I posed by the fountain with her anyway.
The three of us have been members of WODE for a very long time. These women, along with Kate who was unable to attend the conference, have been instrumental in my writing. I like how we all glitter.
As the bartender had promised Marilyn a Kiss on the Lips, we all trooped down to the bar for a nightcap. We ran into an author who told some Bob and Jenny stories that none of us believed. Now, we know The Cherry and the GAM are multi-dimensional and have a broader existence than the one we are aware of, but some of that stuff sounded so out-of-character that it caused much discussion for the rest of the weekend. It’s interesting to me, not her, how different people perceive actions and reactions.
Breakfast was early the next morning so we headed off for an early evening. I think it was after one am before we fell asleep but hey, four CBs in one room makes for some interesting discussions. Besides, RSS says I’m nice to sleep with. She’s willing to give me references.
People are tense for Saturday morning breakfast. RSS and I were re-writing our pitches at the table while other people interacted. I only remember part of Karen Robards‘ speech because I was focused on my upcoming appointment. I do remember it was good, peppered with funny stories about kids, flying and how she got started in the business. Oh my bob I laughed at the recitation of her first reading. She might not have known much about the business when she started, but she understood the need to get the book written and out there. Fascinating woman.
I missed the first workshop of the day because I was running around trying to help one of the speakers find the conference co-ordinator. It seemed like the right thing to do. It also gave me a chance to hug RSS and wish her luck before her agent appointment. Priorities. Then I ran into Me and Scope so more hugs and good wishes before I wandered off to practice my own pitch. I met Marilyn coming out of her agent pitch – a request of course – and pumped her for information as both Me and I (try saying that aloud in front of writers) both had appointments with that agent. “She wants to know about you, and makes constant eye contact.” Invaluable advice. Turns out Ky was a good icebreaker as she’s a dog lover, has three of her own. My new improved pitch wowed her and she asked to see the first fifty pages.
Lunch was a far more relaxed meal than breakfast. Sherrilyn Kenyon’s luncheon address had us sobbing in the aisles. Persistence, persistence, persistence. ” I am the best writer in the room and I deserve my dream.”
I had every intention of taking a nap during the first afternoon session but I met Kathryn Smith and her hot husband in the elevator. After a discussion about the romance writer’s documentary shown on Bravo in Canada, she asked if I was going to her workshop. I explained my need for a nap and went in search of McB for Scope. I locked myself out of the room after reading McB’s note about the bar. She gave me Scope’s notebook and sent me on my way – to Kathryn Smith’s workshop. There was no way I could just slip in and hand Scope her notebook then slide back out. I’m glad I stayed. The woman writes great emotional love scenes.
The agent panel was full of conflicting information. One loved cookies and gimmicks, several hated them. Several thought you could write a lousy query letter but a brilliant manuscript and vice versa while others thought the quality of the query reflected the quality of the manuscript. Apparently the editor panel in the previous session had raved about fantasy romance as the new up and coming hot genre.
The conference ended with a literacy signing. While waiting outside the ballroom, Marilyn, RSS and I were interviewed by romancenovel.tv – an online channel devoted to romance novels. One of the questions was about authors we hoped to see inside. Most of our answers involved authors whose workshops had resonated with us. Kathryn Smith, Judi McCoy, Nancy Herkness, Brenda Harlen, Susan Gable, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Eileen Dreyer and several others.
All that book buying was exhausting so we darted down to the pool to relax before dinner.
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It’s a good thing McB has strong toes. The pool was four and half feet deep. She’s only four foot, seven so most of the conversations took place with her on her tip toes. She almost drowned when she laughed – which was often.
Dinner was a long delicious affair in the hotel’s steakhouse. Virginia Kantra and Brenda Harlen shared their experiences as published authors, giving pitches and how to navigate the industry. We also laughed, toasted each other and shared the wonder of being together. I’m not sure how RSS got a reputation for being quiet. If she sat on her hands, would she be silent?
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I love her enthusiasm and performances.
By the time we left the restaurant the after conference party was well underway. We found Scope down there pounding back the beer with her friend Nancy. A room full of wine, margaritas and chocolate sang its siren song. We headed back up there where we poured wine into the margarita glasses and reviewed the weekend. I tried to post to the blog but McB’s battery died just as I hit send.
We were so silly and very little of it was a result of the wine. We were drunk on CB power. Our shovel pins had fortified our nerves throughout the editor/agent appointments. McB’s surprise presence had reiterated the lengths to which we are willing to go for each other. All of you were mentioned at one point or another. Heck, Me’s agent interview was with JenT’s agent, not that any of us knew that before she asked Me about the shovel. Lou and her DH were in our thoughts all weekend. GP’s math got us out of a couple of scrapes(McB didn’t drown in the pool) and Wapak’s generosity in Dayton was still being marveled at. We also talked about getting together on the west coast because now that Bob’s out there, a CB meet with as many of us as possible is a requirement.
As the wine flowed and the silliness continued, the conversations kept circling back to the Bar and Grill. Mary’s “Friends don’t let friends blog drunk” was practically a mantra and one we did not heed. I’m not sure how we got to the idea that blogging naked would be a bad idea too. But suddenly we were shrugging into our robes and heading to the business center, giggling and shushing each other all the way. We were happy. We didn’t hurt anyone. And we missed all of you so very much. While Marilyn and Scope slept, the rest of us toasted the CB Bar and Grill.
You’re all invited to McB’s in December to help trim the Christmas tree. We’re starting a new tradition. And then she’s making us bake cookies for the exchange. She might need a bigger kitchen.
And that’s my long winded report about CBs taking over New Jersey.
Entry Filed under: CB World, Uncategorized, Writing