Not forking out the dough for the RWA Conference this year, with evening wear, suits, high heels and whatever “business casual” means?

Not to worry! Romance Divas is hosting the

Not Going to Conference Conference…

The Conference You Don’t Have to Get Out of Bed For!

From July 28-31, come hang out with some terrific, savvy authors — and you don’t even have to brush your teeth (although, seriously, good dental hygiene gets you extra points.)

We’ll be hosting panels on:

The Power of Three: A crit group tell-all (Paranormal)

Crystal Jordan

Patti O’Shea

Dayna Hart/Rowan Larke

The Lolitas of STEAMED! Present Writing the Steampunk Romance -more than leather corsets and brass goggles!

Marie-Claude Bourque

Theresa Meyers

Whips, Chains, Slings, Oh My: It Really Isn’t About the Toys (BDSM Erotica)

James Buchanan

Joey Hill

The Great Big YA Panel

Rhonda Stapleton

Shannon Delany

Kiersten White

Carrie Ryan

Linda Gerber

Saundra Mitchell

Lara Zielin

Brenna Yovanoff

Register for free at Romance Divas, then come join us on the forums for the discussions, as well as some terrific prizes:
Eden Bradley/Eve Berlin:
1) erotic e-books, THE SEEKING KISS and TEMPT ME TWICE.
2) a synopsis critique in any sub-genre of erotica/erotic romance.
Jax Cassidy:
1) erotic e-books, DEVIL’S HEART and BRUSH STROKES.
2) book cover design or banner ad
Kristen Painter:
copy of her e-book, ALL FIRED UP
Rhonda Stapleton:
1) STUPID CUPID YA Book trilogy
2) a proposal critique (1st 3 chapters and synopsis) for any genre of book, romance or not
K.B. Alan:
1) The choice of one of her e-books: PERFECT FORMATION, ALPHA TURNED or BOUND BY SUNLIGHT.
2) A $25 Barnes and Noble gift card.
Robin L. Rotham: Signed copies of BIG TEMPTATION, ALIEN OVERNIGHT, and ENEMY OVERNIGHT
AJ Chase: copies of e-book CAT AND MOUSE
Inez Kelly:
1) e-book package of both MYLA BY MOONLIGHT and SALOME AT SUNRISE
2) The complete Dirty Laundry Series (3 e-novellas) co-written by Ginny Glass aka Wordsugar and Inez Kelley
Kate Pearce:
1) a three chapter ~and~ synopsis critique-any erotic romance, paranormal romance or historical romance.
2) Winners choice, in either print or e-book format (if available), of a set of the Simply series (there are 5) ~or~ a set of the Cowboys (there are 3) ~or~ a copy of KISS OF THE ROSE-readers choice.
R.G. Alexander:
Winners choice of any two e-books from her Samhain or Ellora’s Cave back list
Nadia Lee:
Critique of 1st chapter & synopsis-paranormal or contemporary romance
Shelley Munro: Winners choice of any one her backlist books from Ellora’s Cave or Cerridwen Press
Ciar Cullen: Winner’s choice of any one e-book on her website.
Voirey Linger: A copy of her e-book RISKING ETERNITY
RF Long:
1) a submission package critique (letter, synopsis and 3 chapters)
2) e-books! (details TBA)
Crystal Jordan:
1) 1st chapter and synopsis critique
2) One copy of any e-book off her Samhain backlist (http://samhainpublis…/crystal-jordan)
3) One copy of IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (print or electronic, winner’s choice)
Jeannie Lin:
1) a first chapter critique, any genre
2) an official BUTTERFLY SWORDS souvenir charm
Elise Logan: Winner’s choice of any e-book from her backlist
Marguerite Labbe:
1) A critique of an m/m story
2) Signed copies of her m/m vampire trilogy MY HEART IS WITHIN YOU, HAUNTED BY YOUR SOUL and OUR SACRED BALANCE
Seeley DeBorn:
One jar of home made body or face scrub, customized to the winner’s preferences and skin type.
For example: Orange Spice Oatmeal, Coffee-Cocoa, Citrus Salt, Lavender Mint, Honey and Flax
Sela Carsen: a copy of her e-book CAROLINA WOLF
Hailey Edwards:
1) a copy of her sweet fantasy romance ebook, EVERLONG.
2) two five dollar MBaM gift cards
Charlotte McClain:
Copy of her two e-books, LOVE TO DECLARE and ROCK STAR’S RETREAT
Cynthia Justlin: (Golden Heart Finalist!) Proposal Critique (3 Chapters and synopsis)-any genre other than erotic
Lainey Bancroft:
1) signed copies of her contemporary romance, THE TROUBLE WITH TESSA and her chick lit romance COZUMEL KARMA
2) Proposal critique (3 chapters and a synopsis) any genre except Steampunk
Tina Burns-Publisher-Liquid Silver Books:
1) a critique of 1st 3 chapters & synopsis
2) 3 be-book prizes for 3 different winners! Winners choice of any one e-book download from LSB library.
Mima:
Winner’s choice of one e-book from her backlist-see her website for booklist.
Taneasha: handmade jewelry by our own Taneasha-details to come!
Barbara Sheridan:
1) Winners choice of one e-book from her backlist-see her website for booklist.
2) Critique of up to 20 pages of either M/M, or M/F romance or erotic romance in various subgenres (contemporary, historical, paranormal or suspense/mystery)
David Bridger:
A copy of his ebook BEAUTY AND THE BASTARD
Victoria Janssen:
3 print books TBA (whatever she finds at the RWA Conference)
Gemma Halliday:
Signed copy of SCANDAL SHEET
Jennifer Leeland/Jennifer McKenzie:
1) copy of her e-book MARKED FOR PLEASURE (Kindle version available upon request)
2) copy of her e-book MARKED FOR DESIRE (Releasing June 29th) (Kindle version available upon request)
3) copy of her e-books The Command Series (Trilogy)
4)copy of her BDSM e-book series (3 from TWRP and 1 from Samhain)
Emily Ryan-Davis:
1) Critique of novella-length (up to 30k) manuscript; any time period, m/f, menage, f/f (m/m not her area of expertise)
2) signed print copies of her anthology: MATING CALL, DRAGON DANCE and DRAGON BOUND
3) e-book copy of CHANGING THUMBELINA
Sabrina Darby:
1) Signed copy of her erotic historical novel, ON THESE SILKEN SHEETS
2) Critique of first thirty pages of any Regency (erotic or non erotic fine, but m/m outside my area of expertise)
Alina Morgan:
1) copy of her e-book The Twilight Deception
2) copy of her e-book The Shadow Unveiled
Debbie Mumford:
1) Critique of a synopsis
2) Winner’s choice of any e-book from her back list.
Kimberly Troutte:
1) copy of her e-book SOUL STEALER
2) copy of her e-book CATCH ME IN CASTILE
Sasha Devlin:
1 pair of hand made writing mitts or gloves-style and color TBD by the winner
Julia Knight
Winner’s choice of one copy of any of her books available in e-book format

and from me a print copy of Inheritance

Well not really strangers, but I liked the title much better than “Kindness of some people I met online and even though I’ve only seen them once in real life, I love them and they have been good to me”.

You see, I belong to this community of writers called Romance Divas. I have posted about them before. My love of the Divas knows no bounds. It’s extraordinary, really. They are a very giving group of writers, in more ways than one.

Every year the Romance Divas reward a scholarship. The scholarship is to help defray the costs of going to the RWA National Conference, which can cost a lot of money. The lucky recipient is chosen by co-founders Jax Cassidy and Kristen Painter, and VP Eden Bradley. Funds for the scholarship are raised via donations where those who donate have the option to win various prizes (usually writing related, but not always.)

This year I am that lucky recipient. I’m really not sure why I am so blessed, but I am not going to waste a moment of it. While this announcement was only made official in the last few days, I have known for a while. They let the recipient know because they need time to book everything, especially the actual conference while the price is lower. The whole thing has already kicked my career up a notch, and I’m not even at conference yet. What it has done for me is force me to look at my career and see what I want. Instead of piddling around and letting fear of the unknown get the better of me, I’ve just made the decision to go for it.

Go hard or go home.

Because I was not doing anything before this scholarship. I was letting a crappy year squash my motivation. Personally I’ve suffered some major setbacks this year. I had let that settle over me like a weight. Let it give me all sorts of reasons to avoid doing anything. To avoid writing. You (the three of you that still read this) probably noticed I haven’t blogged much. I was just like a windless sailboat floating on the water. I had no motor and no oars, so I drifted.

But now. Now I’m motivated, baby! I was like , then I was like and now I’m like .

My book is finished. I have sent agent queries out. I’ve received rejections and I’ve happily received requests. I’m preparing myself to meet agents and editors next week. I’m preparing myself to do what I need to do, to move onwards and upwards.

I want to say thank you to Jax, Kristen and Eden. Thank you for believing in me, thank you for appreciating me, thank you for kicking my butt!

Thank you to Immi and Chichi for getting me through the last few weeks and letting me pick your brains “just one more time.”

Thank you to all the Divas that donated to this very worthy cause, in what is a very tough financial year for so many. I promise to make the most of this, to continue to work hard and to, some day, pay it forward. If I am ever in a position to do so, you can count on it!

Divas rock! (And if you don’t believe me, why don’t you head over and join them for the Not Going to Conference Conference, which starts next week on the Forum)

Colleen Gleason is doing a workshop all week on how to effectively promo and market works of fiction, so come check it out. Here’s a link to her welcome post: http://forums.romancedivas.com/index.php?s…c=47060&hl=

Featuring:

COLLEEN GLEASON

Want to know what it really takes to promote your book? Romance Divas is hosting a weeklong workshop with author Colleen Gleason, who can answer that question and many more! It will take place at the Romance Diva Forum. All are welcome. To get access to the forum you will need to register.