Guess whose shoes?

Had a fantastic time at the Romance Writers of Australia Conference. It was lovely to catch up with old friends and make new ones and find out what the writing industry is up to from the viewpoints of publishers, editors, agents, and just as importantly, authors.

I took some happy snaps at the Friday night cocktail party, but strangely, most of these came out with a very pink tinge. I was beginning to think it was some magical RWA magic until I went into the foyer and took a couple more happy pics. Some of these are on my facebook page, including this one:

Now, who do you think would own these delightful items of footwear? Here are the damsels whose only distress was knowing that the party was over and they had to go back to their rooms. Or out to dinner. Or to the bar …

Yes, it’s Sarah Wendell of Smart Bitches, Trashy Books fame, fabulous author and Conference Convenor Shannon Curtis (no relation, I promise), and NY Times bestselling author Cherry Adair.

Here is Shannon in her Conference Convenor/Crisis Warden/is-everything-in-this-cocktail-party-really-pink? mode:

Shannon Curtis in crisis mode.

Look what popped up

I know the Romance Writers of Australia national conference took place in August and it’s now October, but my friend Jacque Duffy has just sent me a photo she took of me with the gorgeous bellhop and the fabulous shaggin’ wagon … ooops, I mean panelvan, that was parked in the entrance to the QT Hotel at the Gold Coast where the conference was held.

The bellhop, the author, and the panelvan
The bellhop, the author, and the panelvan

Next year’s RWA conference is in Perth, Western Australia. I wonder what they’ll have on offer …

 

Want to know about romantic suspense?

Join me at the Romance Writers of Australia national conference at the Gold Coast in August where Bronwyn Parry, Karlene Blakemore-Mowle, Shannon Curtis (no relation but a great gal) and I will be on a panel called Love in the Face of Danger: Romantic Suspense, with Helene Young moderating.

The blurb for the workshop is: Find out how far these writers have gone in pursuit of their stories, their tips on finding unusual sources and methods of research, and what publishing avenues exist in Australia for Romantic Suspense stories. Learn what makes Romantic Suspense different to Crime novels with love stories, and how to balance romance with suspense. Uncover which careers work best for the heroes and heroines and if there’s room for ordinary people doing extraordinary things.

If you’ve read our books, you’ll know that although we all write varieties of romantic suspense, there are definitely differences in the way we approach this sub-genre. From kick-arse to heart-rending, you’ll find it all. I have to confess that I feel my books are very gritty in not only subject matter, but in the style of writing, which probably explains why I have a strong male as well as female readership. Perhaps the men want to be like my heroes and the women fall in love with them like the heroines do 🙂 I also love writing complex plots covering a variety of crimes.

When my next book, Grievous Harm, is published, it’s going to be interesting to see what reactions I get from readers. My hero and heroine go through an experience I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy, but that’s the way the story wrote itself. Sometimes I have no idea where my stories come from and why they twist and turn they way they do but still come out so cohesively in the end. No wonder my very good friend Sara Bennett said she didn’t know I was so devious 😉 Thank heavens she was only referring to my writer’s mind and not my personality lol

After two weeks with the flu I’m very happy to finally be back blogging and organising WriteFest – and soon doing some writing 🙂