Five-ish Thoughts on...RomCon Day 1

I'm being a v. bad conference attendee and am holed up in my room...more on that in a moment. But without further ado, here's my brief recap of RomCon Day 1! 1) Teresa Medeiros is a great keynote speaker. She's warm, friendly, seems genuine, and knows how to move an audience. I cried at the end of her speech, and while I don't exactly have a heart made of stone, it's not super easy to get me to cry in public - so congrats (?) on that. She opened the conference with some remarks on why she writes romance, which she read in adverse circumstances since she'd set her room service tray on her reading glasses the night before! Luckily the hotel had some reading glasses in lost and found that they let her steal, so she was able to talk. And she ended with the story of how her father stuck by her mother (and her, when she was a baby) when her mom was diagnosed as bipolar many years ago, and how even though she now has dementia he still sees her as the beautiful girl he married - now do you see why I started to cry?

2) Readers rock my world. I participated in speed dating this afternoon, which meant that readers came around to my table and we had 90 seconds to talk about books (theoretically my books, although I also asked what they were reading, what they liked, etc.). It's pretty awesome to meet other avid romance readers and to see their energy and excitement for books - given the recent studies on how readers tend to develop more empathy than average people, it's no wonder that meeting other avid readers always makes me light up with hope and enthusiasm.

3) The Fudge Ladies vendor at this conference is DANGEROUS. I sampled some of her stuff and promptly bought three bags. I'll foist some of it off on the friend I'm staying with Sunday night as a gift, but I'm sure I won't resist gorging myself on the rest of it. If you're at RomCon or ever make it to Denver, definitely look for them!

4) Elizabeth Hoyt and Julia Quinn are both rockstars (obvi). I went to the hotel restaurant to have lunch and ran into my friend/fellow San Francisco RWA chapter mate Isobel Carr, who invited me to join her and her friend...who turned out to be none other than Elizabeth Hoyt, a fantabulous historical romance writer on whom I have a gigantic crush. I managed to subdue my inner fangirl squeeing, and getting to know her over lunch was lovely - she's funny and gracious in person, which is always nice to discover about one of your favorite authors.

And at the end of author speed dating, I got to spend ten minutes or so with Julia Quinn, which rocked my world since I've been a diehard fan ever since the Bridgertons (but then, who hasn't?). Oddly enough, I shared a garage with her sister last year, so we had a bit of a random connection. She's also smart and fun and totally down to earth, and very, very eager to meet readers - I'm really in awe of how she connects with people. So, meeting her and Elizabeth Hoyt were definitely my highlights for the day!

5) As for lowlights...I'm tens of thousands of words behind where I intended to be on Muses #3 (Ellie's story), since I took almost a month off in May due to some family medical issues. I'm also somewhat shy at conferences (which makes no sense to anyone, given how very not-shy I am with my friends), and so those factors combined into a perfect storm that made me decide to hang out in my room and write tonight. I didn't get as far along as I had hoped, but at least I made some progress.

Are any of you shy conference-goers? What do you do to overcome it? I'm totally fine in person (see: not making a fool of myself with the readers at the speed dating or JQ/Elizabeth Hoyt), but gearing up to walk out of my room is sometimes daunting. That feels vaguely like oversharing, but writers are a somewhat introverted bunch, so I don't think this revelation is all that shocking :)

More fun awaits tomorrow, including some Highland Games and something called the Chocolate Mangasm - stay tuned!

Coming in January - My First Two Books!

I am utterly thrilled to announce that I am publishing my first two books on January 26, 2012! Heiress Without a Cause and Scotsmen Prefer Blondes are the first two books in my Muses of Mayfair series, featuring a secret club for ladies with scandalous artistic ambitions. Heiress was a 2011 Golden Heart finalist in the Regency category, and Scotsmen won the Golden Heart in 2009. You can read more about both books below. I shall write another post in a few days about why I am self publishing and why I'm excited by the opportunities available online (note: it involves control, but doesn't involve any sort of screed against 'legacy' publishers). But today is for celebrating, not for cold details of the publishing business. Please join me in the celebration - leave a comment, and I will drink some virtual champagne with you (only virtual, since I've had enough real champagne this week to float an armada or sink an admiral - take your pick). And if you want to stay updated on release schedules, contests, signings, etc. (and get sneak peeks at new content!), please join my mailing list.

Thank you for celebrating with me, and I can't wait to take the next step in my career with your support!

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HEIRESS WITHOUT A CAUSE - Muses of Mayfair #1 - coming January 2012

One title to change his life...

A disgraced son with a dark reputation, William “Ferguson” Avenel is content to live in exile – until his father dies in the scandal of the Season. With rumors of insanity swirling around them, his sisters desperately need a chaperone. Ferguson thinks he’s found the most proper woman in England – and he won’t ruin her, even if he desperately wants the passionate woman trapped beneath a spinster’s cap.

One chance to break the rules...

Lady Madeleine Vaillant can’t face her blighted future without making one glorious memory for herself. In disguise, on a London stage, she finds all the adoration she never felt from the ton. But when she’s nearly recognized, she will do anything to hide her identity – even setting up her actress persona as Ferguson’s mistress. She’ll take the pleasure he offers, but Madeleine won’t lose her heart in the bargain.

One season to fall in love...

Every stolen kiss could lead to discovery, and Ferguson’s old enemies are determined to ruin them both. But as their dangerous passion ignites their hearts and threatens their futures, how can an heiress who dreams of freedom deny the duke who demands her love?

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SCOTSMEN PREFER BLONDES - Muses of Mayfair #2 - coming January 2012

She never wanted marriage...

When a friend is forced to consider a marriage of convenience, Lady Amelia Staunton is determined to rescue her. But her plans trap her in an illicit seduction, and Amelia must marry him herself. Malcolm’s all-consuming kisses and devilish humor might make up for her lost freedom, but she believes he will force her to abandon the Gothic romances she yearns to write. Since she can’t escape him, she must distract him from her secret...

He isn’t looking for love...

A powerful autocrat with a well-hidden rebellious streak, Malcolm MacCabe doesn’t need another beautiful mistress – he needs an obedient wife. Obedience is not one of Amelia’s virtues. But he’s too enthralled by her wit and passion to let her go – even if it means risking the political reputation he is building to save his clan.

Their hearts can’t survive the scandal...

Despite their intentions, every wicked embrace binds them together. But as their conflicting desires combust into insatiable hunger and unavoidable ruin, they must decide whether to pursue their personal destinies alone – or fight for the love that could destroy them both.

And now, a word on the day job...

So I have exciting news - I've decided to focus some time on my writing career. The alternative phrasing is that I quit my day job! I know, I'm crazy, and this is totally not recommended on any website I've ever seen that gives advice to writers. But, I feel strongly that giving myself a chance to focus on my writing is going to yield huge rewards, even if I don't become self-sufficient through writing in time to avoid getting another job in the future. And, I planned ahead for this day for quite awhile, so it will be a couple of years before I starve to death.

If you're curious about how I made this decision, I'm blogging today at the Ruby Slippered Sisterhood (http://goo.gl/Sf6M). Stop by and share your thoughts! I also expect to get a lot more vocal here in the coming weeks - stay tuned.

RWA Nationals: Golden Heart Win!

Today was a fabulous day -- at the RITA/Golden Heart Award Ceremony tonight, I won the Golden Heart in the Regency Historical category! This came as a huge shock, and my whole body was shaking for at least twenty minutes after the announcement. According to my friend Terry, who was my date to the event, I at least managed to sound coherent, so I consider that to be a great accomplishment. Obviously, I'm tremendously grateful for this honor, and I think it will still take a few days for it to sink in.

I will blog again in the next couple of days with a recap of Nationals and, better yet, my plans for my next books. But, I wanted to take this opportunity to thank those of you who have stumbled across this site -- publishing is a wild ride, and it's always easier when you have supportive people cheering you on.

Picture below, but I need to sleep if I'm going to get up in time to have fun before my flight back to San Francisco!

The End of the Agent Hunt

I have fabulous news to report -- my search for an agent is over! It all ended much more quickly and dramatically than I expected. Two weeks ago, I was worried that I might never sign (yes, I'm impatient -- it often takes years to sign). But then, last Thursday, a totally wonderful agent called me while I was at work to offer representation!

She was already at the top of my list based on her reputation, and her sheer enthusiasm for my work while she offered representation was enough to put her over the top. Still, I've read enough horror stories about failed agent/author relationships to be wary, and so I contacted the other agents who were considering my work to let them know that I had received an offer. By the end of the weekend, two other agents had made offers -- and so as of Memorial Day, I was suddenly in the unexpected position of having to come up with interview questions so that I could choose between the three offers!

I spoke to all of them on Tuesday, and while I felt that all of them could have been good fits for my work (and one in particular was the other top agent on my list, making my choice more difficult), I ultimately decided that the first agent was the best fit for my long-term goals. I mailed the contracts on Friday, and we're talking again this week to discuss the process for submissions to publishing houses.

So, it's been a complete whirlwind, and obviously I'm very excited. However, I realized while I was on the phone with one of them that I've successfully scaled the agent mountain and reached the peak -- only to discover that there's another, bigger mountain looming in the form of beginning the search for a publisher. Happily, my agent (I love saying that!) will be my partner on that climb, so I'm not alone -- but this is by no means a done deal. I spent the weekend brooding over that sobering fact, but I can't brood for long; the excitement of continuing to make progress towards my goals will pick me up again.

This means that, as of tonight, "The Agent Hunt" will be retired as a label -- staring this week, "The Publisher Hunt" will begin! Stay tuned...

On Business Cards and Taglines

I want to get some writing-related business cards before the RWA National Conference in Washington this summer, and I'm having trouble deciding what to put on them. My name is a critical component, obviously, as are email and phone. However, I do not think I will put on my home address, both for privacy reasons and because I move often enough that I don't want to have my card be obsolete in six months.

The trickiest part is my occupation and the description of my business. I am calling myself a writer because that's what I am, even if I haven't made any money for my labors yet. Beyond that, though, I want something on the card that hints at the type of writing I do. I can do this partially through the font, color, etc. -- if I choose pink with a flowing script font, it's clear that I write traditional romances rather than paranormals (although I do want to write paranormals someday). But I also want a tagline to describe what I write in one pithy, memorable sentence.

I spent a few minutes brainstorming tonight, and clearly I'm going to have to do more -- what I came up with is definitely memorable, but not particularly useful ("Love in the Time of Syphilis" and "Sara Ramsey: Ramming It Old-School" were my two favorite inappropriate taglines). So, it's back to the drawing board -- do you have any thoughts?

Social Networking == Quicksand

With the exciting news that AN INCONVENIENT MARRIAGE finaled in the RWA Golden Heart contest, I feel like I need to be building out my web presence in anticipation of the day when I sell my novel (or the day when I realize I'm never going to sell my novel and need some e-friends to cry to). In my quest to efficiently tackle the online space, I set up a new Sara Ramsey Facebook account and decided to dedicate more time to blogging here. I've been on Facebook for around twenty-four hours, but thanks to some support from my personal friends and the addition of quite a few of my fellow finalists, I've built up a not-too-shabby friend list. I'm looking forward to branching out more into the publishing world as I start to build out content, but I feel like this is a good start.

However, social networking is such a time sink that I wonder if I would be better off spending the time writing. In addition to Facebook and the blog, I also started a Twitter account today (you can follow me @ramseyromance -- linked to in the sidebar on this page). I've stayed away from Twitter, believing it to be yet another plague in the multitude of procrastination-enabling addictions that litter the web. With my blogs, my website, my email, my Google Reader, and the fact that I work for a tech company and spend ten hours a day online there, I'm already online enough -- Twitter seemed like the last straw. But I signed up today because it's all the rage, and I need to go where the potential readers are. Whether I'll stick with Twitter remains to be seen (the pressure to come up with something witty in 140 characters is intense, particularly since I'm used to writing 140 lines), but I do feel like there's some happy medium between the amount of time I spent getting things set up today and the practically nonexistent social networking that I do in my personal life.

What do you think about Twitter? Is it the Facebook-killer, or a flash in the pan?

Newly-minted RWA PRO Member!

I received a confirmation email from the Romance Writers of America staff that I've been approved for PRO membership. While I'm not yet eligible for PAN (the Published Author Network), I can join PRO because I have a completed manuscript and proof that I've submitted to an agent. Of course, that proof was that I was politely rejected, since I sent in my application before I heard back from the agents who requested partials last week. But, it feels good to make tangible progress towards a goal, even if PRO membership is not a guarantee that I will get published anytime in the next decade.

Meanwhile, I'm trying hard to keep my creative juices flowing in my subconscious while I'm slogging away at my real job. I switched offices this week, and since I have an office to myself, I took the opportunity to decorate in ways that remind me of my ultimate writing goals while contributing to the 'fun/unique' culture expected by my current employer. While I may sometimes wish that I could skip out on my day job, I must admit that it's pretty sweet to work someplace where I'm actually *encouraged* to put up things like a vintage Bon Jovi poster, several postcards of romance novel covers, and a fiber optic bonsai tree. At least I can get a few moments of visual escape in my office when I'm up to my eyeballs in Excel spreadsheets or management meetings.

What do you do to keep yourself sane at work? I use stress balls, interesting decorating principles, and the occasional Nerf blowdart -- but what do you use?