Note to self--things to bring to conferences

I'm back from the Washington Romance Writers retreat. I'm beat, but I had a great time.

I love the WRW retreat. Yes, we have typical conference stuff like inspiring speakers and great workshops, but to me the retreat is different from any other conference. In some ways it reminds me of a big sleepover party. I love seeing all my WRW pals--I don't tend to go to meetings, so this is my once a year meet-up with many of them. And I always meet new friends.

The retreat is conference-y enough, though, that I need to bring a few items to make my experience more pleasant. Here's my partial packing list:

1. A watch. This time I left my watch at home, and it was a big mistake. I don't tend to wear one normally. I used to, but it annoys me while I'm typing, and shedding it was sort of a symbolic way to disengage from day-to-day reality and enter my story world. But at a conference--even a retreat--I need to stay on reality's schedule if I want to get to things on time. Relying only on my cell phone wasn't a great choice.

2. A water bottle. I find the air in hotels incredibly drying. I tend to drink gallons of decaf tea during the day anyway, so even if the air wasn't so dry my body would probably complain if I suddenly cut the fluids. And if I use the workout room, it's good to have water at hand.

3. A good tote bag. I'm still working on this. I hauled around a purse part of the time at the retreat when I wanted to have my smart phone with me. When I didn't care, I ditched the purse and just used one of those neck wallets. The best kind of bag, though, has a handy place for the cell, note pad, schedule, and water bottle.

4. A jacket of some kind. I thought the weather was going to be warm this weekend, but fortunately I grabbed a shawl at the last minute. (One of the beauties of being able to drive to a conference--your car can become an extended suitcase.) Even if the weather had been warm, hotels can be chilly or, in this case, chilly in some parts. I hate being cold.

5. Drugs. No, nothing crazy. A pain reliever just in case all the excitement of being out of my writerly cave amongst real, live people brings on a headache. And I always pack Benadryl for my seasonal allergies, but also because I seem to have a bad reaction to hotel bedding.

So that's my partial must-have list. Anyone want to add anything? RWA National is less than two months away!

Looking ahead

This Friday I'll be signing at Turn the Page Bookstore with over a dozen other authors. Click here for details.

Signings at Turn the Page are not like any others. The store is small--it's in a pre-Civil War townhouse. There are so many people, everyone has to take a ticket to get a place in line--and they start handing tickets out an hour and a half before the signing starts! I hope plenty of Regency readers come, but they may be bleary-eyed from getting up early to see the royal wedding. I've decided I'll have to catch the vows on reruns--Thursday is a late night at the swimming pool for me, and then I'll have to get up early to get organized and drive out to Boonsboro.

After the signing I'm off to Leesburg for the WRW--my local RWA chapter--retreat. I look forward to this event every year. It's tons of fun, and I love catching up with friends.

But now I have to put my nose to the grindstone. I'm hoping to get another chapter written on the current book before I leave.

Historical Day

I have to confess that I rarely attend my local RWA chapter--Washington Romance Writers--monthly meetings. Life just seems to get in the way. I was sorely tempted by WRW's Historical Day, but it was in Alexandria...in Virginia...across the Potomac. Inertia had me in its grip until the lovely Michelle Willingham emailed me to see if I was attending. Turns out she was going to be on my side of the river and would give me a ride. Hooray.

Michelle picked me up at 8:30 am and we chatted about publishing, traveling, and kids as she followed her GPS's rather circuitous and puzzling directions to Alexandria. We arrived early, so had time to browse the local outdoor market. Michelle suggested we stop in the neighborhood Books-A-Million and I was thrilled to see they had two Naked Viscounts and a Naked Baron on the shelves. I signed the books--Michelle provided the "autographed copy" stickers--and we still had time to grab a cup of coffee before Historical Day began.

Our first speaker was a fencing expert who brought examples of historical and modern sabres, epees (rapiers), and foils (court swords or short swords). Third son was a fencer in college, so some of the information sounded vaguely familiar. After the presentation, many of us went next door to historic Gadsby's Tavern for lunch. I particularly enjoyed catching up with fellow Kensington author Christine Trent, who sat next to me.

After lunch we put on our dancing shoes and learned some English Country Dances. I've had the opportunity to do some of this dancing--which is a little like our square dancing--when I've been able to attend the Beau Monde soiree before the RWA national conference. It's lots of fun, but I can never remember the steps--even while I'm doing the dance--so there's usually a lot of laughing involved as well. If you'd like to learn a little about it--and see and hear the Duke of Kent waltz, one of the dances we stumbled through today--check out Beau Monde members Marissa Doyle's and Regina Scott's blog, NineteenTeen here.

After the dancing, a storyteller/Alexandria tour leader treated us to Alexandria ghost stories--he made a few of us jump at least once--and showed us how to flirt with a fan in the Colonial era.

By 4 pm the program was over and Michelle and I made our way back to Maryland by a much more direct route. We're still scratching our heads over why the GPS sent us hither and yon in the morning.

It was a great day with great folks. I'm so glad Michelle persuaded me to get out of my writer's cave for the day!