Romantic Novelists' Conference... In Shoes

I'm back! Hope everyone had a great week. I managed to get a lot of editing done, and while I'm not quite finished, it's getting there. Slowly.

But! Last weekend, I had the great pleasure of attending the Romantic Novelists' Association Conference in Caerleon, Wales. My first conference last year in Greenwich was a blast and I was super keen to get out of the house and drink. (Did I mention I've been editing?) And if you're looking for drink, there's really no better place then a romantic novelists' convention. Compared to many there, I'm a lightweight. I can only aspire to such imbibing greatness.

Apart from drinking wine, the women of the RNA are also famous for shoes. Since, at heart, I'm basically a very shallow and materialistic individual, I thought I would summarise my conference experience in shoes.

Friday morning, I braved the rains and boarded a train from Paddington to Newport Wales wearing the shoes above. Practical for training, and good for puddle-jumping. Lord only knew what I'd encounter in the Welsh wilds. Although the sky cleared around Bristol, as we zipped under the Severn and emerged in Wales, the skies opened yet again and rain poured. No matter -- a nice lunch at a golf course with a friend (who twisted my arm to indulge in a large Pinot) and several attempts to convince the waiter to purchase a Kindle, and the weekend was off to a flying start.

Conference shoes must be high-heeled and ultimately quite uncomfortable, and these high heels certainly filled that role! After checking in and getting settled in my dorm, I scurried over to register, feeling slightly anxious I wouldn't see anyone I knew.

I needn't have worried! Instantly I spotted people I knew from Twitter, Facebook, the last conference... I'd forgotten how lovely and friendly everyone is. It was amazing to see so many friends again and meet some people for the first time. I didn't even feel the pain in my feet! Copious amount of wine were downed that night at the bar and the chatter and laughing continued.

With my feet smarting from the night before, I was only too happy to don this pair of relatively low-heeled shoes for Saturday and Sunday. Despite my slight hangover and zombie-like appearance, Saturday passed in a blur of fantastic sessions and speakers. One of the things I love about the RNA is that no matter how successful and experienced authors are, they always take the time to interact with aspiring writers and those just starting out in their publishing career, like me. Jill Mansell, Elizabeth Chadwick, Katie Fforde and many more were all present and so giving of their time and advice.

Party time! Yes, the time had come to don my lovingly purchased turquoise frock, slide my feet into these killer shoes (in more ways than one) and drink as much wine as I could. It's safe to say a good time was had by all, except my liver, which is still in recovery and sleeping off the effects. The Gala was fabulous and everyone scrubbed up very nicely. I was particularly chuffed to have a lovely late-night conversation with the fabulous and talented Miranda Dickinson and Ruth Saberton, despite the fact that I was practically swaying on my feet and almost slobbered all over them in my delight.

Sunday afternoon rolled around far too quickly and I hopped (well, stumbled) on board the train back to reality. Another fantastic conference, and if you live in the UK -- or even if you don't! -- and you write romantic fiction, you really couldn't do better than to join the RNA. It's one of the best writing moves I've ever made!

A big shout-out to Ruth Long, Jane Lovering, Kate Johnson and many others for making the weekend so fab. Oh yes, and Jan Jones and Roger Sanderson for being organisers extraordinaire.

Par-tay!

After a lovely night last night -- drinks at a funky lounge bar then a fantastic dinner at Somerset House (steak! Bearnaise sauce! chips! sticky toffee pudding!) -- tonight I'm off to the Romantic Novelists' Association Summer Party. What can I say, it's a tough life, but someone's gotta do it. Anyway, it will be good to get out my of rubbish Primark threads for an epic two nights in a row!

I've been to a few RNA events over the past year, and I've always had a great time. Everyone is so friendly and lovely, and I love meeting online friends.

I'll have an extra drink/ canape/ spin around the floor for you all!

Sore Heads, Soaking Stockings and More

I've fallen down on my blog commenting a bit this week, and I apologize! It's all down to the weekend away, house guests and midnight lamb -- and the Romantic Novelists' Association Winter Party! I shall redeem myself shortly, I promise.

Since I don't get out much, the thought of dressing up (and even brushing my hair) had me quivering in anticipation. The annual RNA Winter Party was held last night in the gorgeous Library of the Institute of Mechanical Engineers in Westminster.

The exterior of the Institute.

After meeting up with several RNA Tweeters at the Waterstones bar in Piccadilly (have you ever heard of anything so fabulous? A bar in a bookstore?), we coerced the doorman at The Ritz to flag us down a cab for the short journey to the Institute.

The interior of the Library.

The library was packed with writers, agents, editors and publishers -- all there to party it up! It was noisy and crowded but loads of fun, and I got to catch up with a lot of people I'd met at the conference and meet some new writers, too. It was all good except for one thing: my feet. Shoved into my foreign high heels, I was experiencing pain like never before. Despite the rain and the freezing cold, I couldn't help ditching the shoes and running in my stocking-ed feet down the street towards home! Freedom!
And the fun continues today: I'm off to Hannibal House (yes. Hannibal) to prove my identity for my first British passport! Other exciting news: over on High Heels and Book Deals, The Hating Game is reviewed! Pop over if you get a chance. And I'm very sorry to say I've finally had to enable word verification on my blog. I like enlarged penises and all, but... not on my blog, no.
What are you up to today? And do you believe high heels were invented to inflict pain on the women of the world?

Ten for Tuesday - And a Giveaway!

Before I launch into my Ten for Tuesday, the wonderful Keris Stainton was so chuffed over all the comments on my review of Della Says: OMG that she's offering a signed copy of the book to one lucky winner (open to international people, too!). If you'd like a chance to win, just leave a comment on this post. I'll choose the winner by 4 p.m. GMT tomorrow. Thanks, Keris!

Today's Ten for Tuesday is a round-up of the top ten things I learned at the recent Romantic Novelists' Association conference. There were some amazing tidbits that really hit home with me -- some great 'aha!' moments.

So in no particular order, here we go!

1. When creating characters, think about their worst fault and their greatest quality. How do they connect? (For example, being work-obsessed can be both a good and a bad thing). Many thanks to Julie Cohen for that one; she helped lift me out of my Sunday morning grump and actually got me writing!

2. Keep your receipts! Keep your receipts! Keep your receipts! Who knew you could claim for things like books and laptops as long as you're working towards a profitable enterprise? Thanks to Kate Harrison for drilling that into my head (in a nice way, of course!).

3. Think of your writing as a career, not just as a one-book wonder. Another gem from Kate, who urged us to think beyond the first book we have published to what we hope to accomplish as a whole. Do you have more than one book in you? What are you looking to accomplish from your writing?

4. Think of conflict like an onion. Deal with one layer, then peel it away to reveal another layer until the core problem is exposed. Oh, how I love this analogy! It's already helped me rewrite a few scenes I wasn't happy with. Thank you, Kate Walker!

5. Don't be afraid to ask. The worst that can happen is someone says no! This wonderful bit of promotional advice came self-professed media tart from Jane Wenham-Jones, whose book So You Wanna Be a Writer was the first book on writing I ever read!

6. Want to reach a wide audience in one shot? Try short stories. I'd never thought of publishing short stories for some reason (I have no idea why), but Sue Moorcroft made a great point: with one short story you can reach thousands of readers! It's also a good promotional tool if you have a novel coming out.

7. Don't be apologetic about what you write. Several different people said this and I took it to heart. For some reason, a slightly apologetic note always creeps into my voice whenever I explain to people what I write. No more!

8. If you're going to wear a name-tag, make sure you take it off before your hour-long Tube journey home. I only discovered why people were staring at me after I got home.

OK, that's only eight (I'm not doing so well on the Ten for Tuesday theme lately), but there are so many great tips floating around in my head it's hard to pin them down!

Don't forget to comment for a chance to win Della Says: OMG! Happy Tuesday!

Romantic Novelists' Association Conference - FAB!

Forget Greenwich Mean Time; this was definitely Greenwich Fab Time!

I'm back from the Romantic Novelists' Association Conference. I'm exhausted (and surprisingly tanned), but most of all I'm inspired. What a fantastic event! With great sessions, a beautiful location at the Old Naval College in Greenwich and lots of friendly attendees, you really couldn't ask for more.

I managed to unearth a few dresses worthy of conference attire, my gala outfit went off a treat (despite being SO hot that sweat was dripping down my legs), and I even worked up the courage to finally introduce myself to RNA Chair and legendary novelist Katie Fforde. I'm glad I did because she had some nice things to say about the short story I'd entered in the conference competition -- and because she was so lovely.

I'll be sharing some of the great information I received over the next few weeks, but for now I'll leave you with a few photos of my wonderful weekend!

Sarah Callejo, fellow blogger and conference attendee,

on our way to the first day of the conference.

Katie Fforde introduces speaker Joanna Trollope,

who gave a very interesting speech.

The Trafalgar, where we had our Gala dinner Friday night.

The fiftieth anniversary of the RNA!

To see more photos and learn a bit of history about The Old Royal Naval College, go here.

Off to the Conference!

I had every intention of writing a blog post today to show off my funky new business cards, the promo postcards I had done up for The Hating Game and my new clothes (because yes, I did make it out shopping!). But time has run away from today so you'll have to use your imagination.

I'm super excited, because I'm about to head down to Greenwich this afternoon for a pre-conference meet-up with some lovely Twitter/ blog buddies. I can't wait to meet them in person and hopefully settle my nerves ahead of the official start of the Romantic Novelists' Association Conference tomorrow.

It's very likely I won't be posting again until Monday, so wish me luck (please!) and have a great weekend!