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Winners! We Have Winners!

Posted by Manda on Apr 15, 2009 in These Wicked Games

Congratulations to Marcia who has won an autographed copy of Charlotte Hughes’ What Looks Like Crazy! And another congratulations to Maureen who has won a copy of Vanessa Kelly’s debut novel Mastering the Marquess!

Send your snail mail to Manda at romancevagabonds dot com, ladies, and we’ll get those prizes out to you!

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When Friday Morning Funnies Beget Inspiration

My brain is fried. Writing a syllabus is not always the easiest (or most fun) task, so, I thought I would share with you my Friday morning funny.

My sis received this email a couple of years ago and I laughed so hard as she read it I had tears streaming down my face and I literally (no seriously, I did) fell off the end of the bed. It was that funny…I just fell right off and continued laughing on the floor…:D I received this email again in the last couple of days and it had me laughing all over again.

Of course, the rumors abound as to the origins of this email message or even the veracity of it (see http://www.snopes.com/love/dating/frozen.asp), but every time I see it again, I still laugh. Mostly because it is funny as heck and partly because the romance writer in me sees the perfect scene of this event in a good romance novel. One variation of the story goes:

WORST FIRST DATE EVER

In the “Tonight Show” with Jay Leno, Jay went out into the audience to find the most embarrassing first date that a woman had ever had. The winner described her worst date experience. There was absolutely no question as to why her tale took the prize!

She said it was mid-winter….snowing and quite cold..and the guy had taken her skiing in the mountains outside Salt Lake City, Utah. It was a day trip (no overnight) They were strangers, after all, and truly had never met before.

The outing was fun but relatively uneventful until they were headed home late that afternoon. They were driving back down the mountain, when she gradually began to realize that she should have not had that extra latte.

They were about an hour away from anywhere with a restroom and in the middle of nowhere! Her companion suggested that she try to hold it, which she did for a while. Unfortunately, because of heavy snow and slow going, here came a point where she told him that he had better stop and let her pee beside the road or it would be in the front seat of his car.

They stopped and she quickly crawled out beside the car, yanked her pants down and started. In the deep snow she didn’t have good footing, so she let her butt rest against the rear fender to steady herself. Her companion stood on the side of the car watching for traffic and indeed was a real gentleman and refrained from peeking. All she could think about was the relief she felt despite the rather embarrassing nature of the situation.

Upon finishing however, she soon became aware of another sensation. As she bent to pull up her pants, the young lady discovered her buttocks were firmly glued to the car’s fender. Thoughts of tongues frozen to pump handles immediately came to mind as she attempted to disengage her flesh from the icy metal. It was quickly apparent that she had a brand new problem due to the extreme cold.

Horrified by her plight and yet aware of the humor of the moment, she answered her date’s concerns about “what is taking so long” with a reply that indeed, she was “freezing her butt off and in need of some assistance!” He came around the car as she tried to cover herself with her sweater and then, as she looked imploringly into his eyes, he burst out laughing. She too got the giggles and when they finally managed to compose themselves, they assessed her dilemma.

Obviously, as hysterical as the situation was, they were faced with a real problem. Both agreed it would take something hot to free her chilly cheeks from the grip of the icy metal!

Thinking about what had gotten her into the predicament in the first place, both quickly realized that there was only one way to get her free. So, as she looked the other way, her first-time date proceeded to unzip is pants and pee her butt off the fender.

As the audience screamed with laughter, she took the Tonight Show prize hands down…or perhaps it should be “pants down”.

…………And you thought your first date was embarrassing. Jay Leno’s comment. “This gives a whole new meaning to being pissed off.”

The variation of this I received a few days back includes a line about how the couple married and were sitting in the audience at that Tonight Show taping. Granted, all the possibilities suggested for why this scenario is unlikely may outweigh the likelihood that it did occur. However, what I found in my early days of pondering the possibility of writing romance was that this truly funny situation would make a perfect scene in a romance novel…too bad somebody already beat us to it… ;) Funny tales such as this that circulate prove that inspiration can be found anywhere. And I did take away a little inspiration from my jolt of laughter…enough to warm me to the idea of beginning a manuscript…

To my mind, the veracity of the statement is rather inconsequential. If the woman really did make up the story, she probably should try her hand at writing romantic comedy. She certainly has a flair for telling an amusing first date tale! :)

Whether you had read this morning’s funny before or not, I hope you got a good chuckle out of it…and maybe some inspiration for your own writing adventures, too! ;)

So, dear readers and writers, what are some of the funnier tales you have heard or seen that have given you some inspiration in your own writing adventures? And for those non-writers in our group, have you ever found any funny anecdote that made you think, “Somebody absolutely must tell this story”?

 
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On the Last Day of Christmas…

Posted by Lindsey on Dec 30, 2008 in These Wicked Games

The Vagabonds announce the rest of our prize winners! 

Congrats t0:

JANE and CATHY M, who’ve won some fabulous European chocolate.

LORI P, who’s won a signed copy of Lani Diane Rich’s Crazy in Love. 

CRYSTAL GB, who’s won a copy of Loretta Chase’s The Last Hellion.

FEDORA, winner of our twelfth day contest (I don’t remember what the prize is, but I’m sure it’s fantastic!).

Email the Vagabonds to claim your prizes. 

Thanks to everyone who participated and helped us spread Christmas and romance cheer! Happy New Year!

 
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Black Friday

Yes, it’s that time of year again. Shopping, shopping, shopping. And it all begins today. Driving back from my sister’s house (where I celebrated Thankgiving 2.0) at 2 am, I noticed the cars lining up in the parking lot for the local Best Buy. 2 am! *gasp* I don’t know what I would do if I had to wait in a parking lot for hours before a store opened on the off chance I might be able to buy a sale item. And I dare not even set foot in the local Wal-Mart! I fear the trampling! :D

Don’t get me wrong. I have done the 2 am thing. In the past. (Again, please note past tense.) I just haven’t found great cause to park myself outside a department or electronics store at 5 am, 4 am, 3 am, or even 2 am to shop in recent years. Perhaps it is the conspicuous absence of my former shopping buddy, perhaps it is a lack of need of any of the items, or perhaps it is even the sheer unwillingness to get up at 2 am to begin the biggest shopping day of the year.

Actually, thoughts about Black Friday (and the 2 am Best Buy shoppers) had me thinking about how much it has changed throughout the years. I remember the first year my mom and I ventured out to test the ritual experience on our own. We thought waking up at 5 am was acceptable to decide to go shopping. Mind you, we got the 2 or 3 items we were interested in finding and then blew off the rest of the shopping to have an easy breakfast and then head back home from the shopping frenzy to sleep! :D

But the online universe has changed everything. Ah, sweet, sweet Internet. Economists now even have coined the phrase Black Monday to identify the Monday following Thanksgiving as the largest online retail shopping day of the year. Interestingly, I had a conversation with a Best Buy employee (I don’t remember his name, so I don’t feel I’ll be breaking his confidence or ruining his job) last year who even told me that shopping on Black Friday was no big deal, as most of the deals presented that morning often resurface in the weeks approaching Christmas.

And so, once again, I partake of my new Black Friday ritual. I sleep in. On Black Friday. Of course, there are a few interesting items that I’ve seen in the ads that I might venture out to the Target or Best Buy to purchase much later than the “doorbuster” frenzy, but these items are of little interest to the folks lined up outside that Best Buy. They’re on sale most of the weekend, anyway. I just might even go on Saturday. And if they run out, meh…I’ll find it later. :)

So, pray, what are your Black Friday rituals? Do you do the fantastic fun insanity of the early morning shopping? Are you checking the blog this very instant from your Blackberry while waiting in the car for the local Best Buy to open? Or do you sleep as late as you like and then get up and read the funny pages over your coffee? Have you abandoned the world of real shopping for that of virtual shopping to avoid all of the Christmas frenzy? What’s your funniest shopping experience? Go on, admit it, you’ve fought over the Tickle Me, Elmo doll… ;)

And here’s a fun little Black Friday treat for you Vagabondettes out there…I was searching through my 2007 RWA conference piles recently and discovered a variety of fun signed books from authors to share. One lucky commenter will receive one of these many tomes. And the funniest shopping experience story will win both an autographed romance novel from the pile and a fun little treat, as well! :D And for those of you shoppers out there, have a fun day and stay safe! :)

 
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We Have Winners!

Posted by Manda on Nov 26, 2008 in These Wicked Games

ThanksgivingHappy Thanksgiving Eve, Gypsies! To celebrate, I’ve consulted the randomizer and it has given me three winners of an autographed copy of Eloisa’s DESPERATE DUCHESSES.

Santa
Jane
Tracey Devlin

If you guys would send your snailmail addy to me here I’ll pass them on so you can collect your loot:)

Thanks to everybody for dropping by yesterday and a super big thanks to Eloisa for being such an awesome Visiting Vagabond! If I don’t talk to you guys before tomorrow, have a wonderful and happy and safe Thanksgiving Holiday. And know that I’m thankful for this community we’ve built here.

 
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SNEAK PEEK (and chance to win an ARC): The Bikini Diaries by Lacey Alexander

Posted by Lindsey on Nov 3, 2008 in The Things I've Read..., These Wicked Games

 The Vagabonds are thrilled to present the following sneak preview of one of our favorite erotic authors’ upcoming titles – Lacey Alexander’s February 2009 release, THE BIKINI DIARIES. If you thought the snowy mountain setting of VOYEUR and the dazzling Las Vegas strip of SEVEN NIGHTS OF SIN were hot, wait till you see what she can do on a beach! 

Read the following blurb and excerpt, then be sure to comment to be entered to win an ARC!

You always see those girls at the beach, the ones who somehow make you feel inferior: Killer tan, long legs, tiny bikini, so comfortable in their own perfect skin, so available. I’m watching one now. I kind of hate her. But I wonder what it’s like to be her…

While on business at Florida’s gorgeous Emerald Coast, Wendy Carnes spots a woman who unknowingly changes her life. “White Bikini Babe” is the personification of sex, clearly ready for action—and watching her makes Wendy wonder: If she put on a sexy bikini and got a new attitude, could she get a hot beach guy of her own? Could she really indulge in casual sex for the mere sport of it?

Armed with a daring new bikini and a new attitude—along with the journal in which she records her secret thoughts on the whole adventure—Wendy soon finds herself engaging in a wild and very naughty affair with her perfect fantasy man, who pushes her to new sexual extremes she’s never even imagined. But at what point does the game become reality? When does the person you pretend to be become the person you really are? And worse, what happens when your private diary falls into the wrong hands?

EXCERPT

You always see those girls at the beach – the ones who somehow make you feel inferior even when you’re usually a fairly confident person, happy with who you are.  Killer tan, killer boobs, and those long, silky to-die-for legs, all strapped into some sinfully tiny bikini that has Fuck Me written all over it. 

I’m watching one of those sex goddess types approach even as I write this.  God, she’s beautiful.  I kind of hate her – for making every other woman on this beach look so dreadfully normal, for making married men and dads stop talking with their wives or building sand castles with their kids in order to stare.
What is it like to be her? 

Is this really who she is – a woman who’s so comfortable with her sexuality that she wants to advertise it, a hot chick looking for a good lay and that’s all?  Or does she work so hard to look perfect because she secretly harbors low self-esteem and tries to cover that with physical beauty?  And is it sex she wants, or is that just a trap and she’s really looking for love? 

I prefer to think the former, I suppose, since even though I’m intimidated by her, I also envy her.  The sexually comfortable her.  The her who wants to get laid and nothing more.  And even though I like myself just the way I am most days – right now, just for a moment, just a brief little second, I want to be her.

CHAPTER ONE

Wendy Carnes closed her journal and dropped it inside the beach bag next to her lounge chair, along with the pen. She couldn’t help resenting the fact that she wanted to be that woman, the one she’d just watched walking up the shoreline, all tan and perfect, hard nipples jutting through the two white triangles covering her breasts, long blond hair blowing behind her in the sea breeze. She couldn’t help resenting it, but she could accept it. It was only natural – everyone wanted to be beautiful and desirable.

And maybe … maybe everyone secretly wanted to know that sort of power. Because that’s what the bikini woman possessed – power. Over all the men on the beach. And some of the women, too.

Of course, she couldn’t forget to factor in pleasure. One glance had told Wendy that the blond bikini babe knew pleasure – how to give it and how to take it. Her eyes had nearly sparkled with it.

Beauty, power, and pleasure. What was there not to envy?

But then Wendy shook it off. Because she was here for business, not pleasure. In fact, she was surprised she’d let Miss Bikini Babe distract her so much. To think she’d even started writing about it in her work journal – that wasn’t like her.

Then again, her work seldom led her to places so intoxicating as the Emerald Shores Beach Resort, edging three miles of pristine white sand along Florida’s panhandle, also known as The Emerald Coast. The word emerald got tossed around a lot here with good reason – when the sun hit this particular edge of the Gulf of Mexico, the pale sand beneath turned the water a nearly electric shade of green.

No, her job usually led her to a downtown Chicago office building, where she served as administrative assistant to Walter Carlisle, a wealthy real estate investor with holdings all over the country and a genuinely pleasant guy to work for. Walter was serious and stalwart when it came to business, but he was also a fair and friendly employer who liked to go boating, play Texas Hold ‘Em, and spend time with his wife and their young grandchildren.

Wendy had been stunned when Walter asked her to go to Emerald Shores on what, in the office, they called a “scouting mission.” Even when Walter had chosen to permanently relocate his usual “scout,” Marie Hill, in Seattle to oversee his large collection of property there, Wendy had assumed he’d hire someone new for her position. And who knew – maybe he still would. But at least for now, he’d elected Wendy to take on the task of traveling to Emerald Shores to determine if Walter should sink significant money into the place.

And maybe the job wouldn’t be so daunting if Emerald Shores was your run-of-the-mill beach resort. But it was far from it – it was, in fact, an enormous up-scale self-contained community. In addition to thousands of high-rise condo units stretching both along the beach and the adjacent bay area, Emerald Shores boasted abundant shopping, nightlife, restaurants, and even a full-scale grocery and pharmacy – along with biking, golf, tennis, and a free shuttle to get you wherever you needed to go. It was a world of luxury that also came with all the conveniences of home, and that was the charm of the vast property – for vacationers, for full-time residents, and for Walter Carlisle.

When one of the resort’s largest investors had pulled out, the Emerald Shores executives had begun vigorously courting Carlisle Enterprises. As a result, Wendy found herself sitting on a pristine white beach, digging her bare toes into soft, warm sand, and … well, now, wondering what it was like to be sex on a stick.

Because even though White Bikini Babe had disappeared out of sight, she remained in Wendy’s thoughts. She’d felt both … intimidated and rebuffed by the woman’s very presence.

So why again did Wendy envy her?

Did she secretly long to be intimidating, to make other women feel bad about themselves? No – she was a nicer person than that.

But White Bikini Babe was one of the “beautiful people,” the type who had it easy in life, or at least easier than most. And Wendy couldn’t stop wondering what it was like to be an object of pure sexual desire, plain and simple.

Focus, she told herself. She wasn’t here to watch girls, or guys – she was here to check out every aspect of Emerald Shores from both a tourist and investor perspective, talk with the resort executives about what she felt needed to be changed or updated, and then, based on their response, she would share her findings with Walter when she went home next week and make a recommendation that he invest – or not. 

After taking a sip of the frozen mango daiquiri, complete with umbrella, that a Hawaiian-shirt-clad waiter had just delivered, she lowered the drink to the sand and took up her journal and pen again – this time making notes that mattered.

Umbrella drinks – too expensive. People may be willing to pay $12 for a drink, but I’m sure they resent it. Lower the price by 25% and you still make a profit, people will likely drink more, and they won’t feel ripped off.

She’d examine later if that was actually an issue worth presenting to the Emerald Shores execs, but she’d decided to bring a journal, keep it with her as often as possible, record anything that occurred to her, and then sort through it all later.

As for why she’d written down her thoughts about White Bikini Babe – she supposed she’d been venting. And no one would ever see the journal but her, so she could use it however she wished.

It was when she abandoned the journal once more, taking another sip of her mango-and-rum concoction, that she noticed a vision in white in her peripheral vision. She looked up to see that – lo and behold – White Bikini Babe now glided back down the shoreline in the opposite direction. This time her hair blew around her face a bit, making her look more windblown-and-sexy than sleek-and-hot, but the effect remained the same. As those lithe, tan legs moved smoothly over the sand, Wendy could feel every guy in the vicinity watching – just as she was. Like before: dads, husbands; young men and old.

But this time a group of twenty-something guys that had just arrived to start tossing around a football all stopped to gape, too, and something about that got to Wendy on a deeper level. Because the guys were cute – hot, even. And now two of them had abandoned the game completely to boldly approach White Bikini, and Wendy watched as they spoke, visibly flirting. Suddenly, Wendy wanted to know how to flirt like that. Because she suddenly wanted such cute beach guys to notice her, to want her.

And as the conversation ended – maybe with plans for later? – and the white bikini sashayed on up the beach still looking enviably hot, Wendy finally understood her strange fixation with the woman. In fact, it hit her like a ton of bricks.

Wendy was thirty-four years old. And if there was a window of time in her life to ever look that good or act that way – to openly advertise herself sexually – it was probably past. And that meant she would never know what it felt like to fuck a drop-dead gorgeous guy for no other reason than pure physical pleasure.

Unless … unless she grabbed it right now.

She bit her lip, stunned at her last thought.

She wasn’t normally a sexually aggressive person – she saw herself as mild-mannered and pretty-in-an-ordinary-way and she hadn’t dated since getting her job with Carlisle Enterprises two years ago.

It hadn’t been a conscious decision, but … well, she’d been through a number of relationships with dreadfully average guys who were crazier about her than she’d been about them, and she supposed at some point she’d decided they just weren’t worth her time. Given that her job came with long hours. And that the guys she seemed to attract just weren’t very exciting to her.

Of course, at night, in bed … well, she occasionally allowed herself some pretty wild fantasies about fabulously hot guys – and in them, she was always stunningly sexy. Which, now that she analyzed it, probably meant she had desires she was shoving under the rug, bored and irritated with the offerings in her life.

And now, suddenly, for the first time ever, as she glanced at the round, tan ass of the girl moving away from her up the beach, she wondered – was it even conceivable? Could she, Wendy Carnes, ever pull off stunningly sexy? Could she wear a skimpy bikini like that one? Other sexy clothes?

She didn’t see herself as overly prim, but she generally tried to be appropriate. When she went to Myrtle Beach in South Carolina with her sister and three nieces every summer, she always wore a conservative two-piece suit – the same she wore right now. She wasn’t twenty-one anymore, nor did she have the body she’d had then. A crime that when she had been twenty-one she hadn’t the guts to wear something skimpy and would have feared sending the wrong message. Now that she wanted to wear it, wanted to send a different message than ever before – just once, just for this week – she suspected her body was probably too imperfect. A classic Catch-22.

Still, it was a pretty decent body for her age. God had blessed her with good boobs and, so far, only one small spot of cellulite on the back of her right thigh. She worked out regularly, so that helped. And she’d just gotten a new hair color which everyone said looked sexy, although that hadn’t been the goal – she’d gone from her regular medium brown to a coppery hue with a few blonde streaks.

She stared out at the ocean, pondering the unthinkable.

Except that, to her surprise, it had suddenly become thinkable.

Could she pull it off? Could she become like that woman? Could she become … someone else? 

What’s your favorite beach destination? Comment before noon EST tomorrow for a chance to win an ARC of THE BIKINI DIARIES!

 
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We Have Yet Another Winner!

Posted by Janga on Oct 14, 2008 in These Wicked Games

Congratulations to Maya M, winner of a copy of It Happened One Night. Maya, if you will email me your info, I’ll get your book to you ASAP.

 
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Another Winner!

Posted by Manda on Oct 14, 2008 in These Wicked Games

Secret Desires of a Gentleman
Hi, remember back when Laura Lee Guhrke was here and I promised that one lucky commenter would win a copy of her latest book? Well, we have a winner: Maya M!!! Email me, manda with your snailmail addy and I’ll get it out to you!

 
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A New Winner!

Posted by Janga on Aug 18, 2008 in These Wicked Games

Julia LondonThank you, Julia! I would love to have an autographed copy of A Dangerous Gentleman, but since we Vagabonds can’t win free books on our site, the randomizer has chosen a new winner. Congratulations, Santa! If you will email your contact info to webmaster@romanceva gabonds.com, we’ll get ADG to you.

 
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RWA Photo Essay

Posted by Élodie on Aug 15, 2008 in Life or Something Like It, The Critic's Corner, These Wicked Games

I love pictures. I’m addicted to my camera. It goes everywhere with me. No, seriously. Everywhere. And, naturally, the camera went everywhere with me while at conference. So, I thought I would chronicle conference through images. The first of the week goes up today and I’ll post the remaining pics next week (so nobody goes into photo overload ;) ).

The week began early for all of our little gang spread out between 2 rooms across the hall from each other. As Lindsey said, we passed much of the week in both rooms and so they kind of became community rooms for our group of 8, plus 2. :)

After arriving at various times on Tuesday, we took our time picking up our registration packets and getting prepared for the literacy signing on Wednesday.

Lindsey, Manda, had a chat and a bite to eat at an outdoor café where we plotted out our plans for the week.

Manda twittered while Lindsey and I, er, twittered each other, as we have slacked immensely and have yet to get our Twitter accounts set up.

From there we milled about and people watched. And somehow managed to run into a Visiting Vagabond favourite, Jenna Petersen frequently throughout the morning and afternoon until we reached the literacy signing.

There we made the mad dash to meet and greet all our favourite authors and buy up books to support America Reads. The ever spunky Anna Campbell poses with her RITA flags.

Here, we traveling Vagabonds met up with frequent visitor to the site, Keira Soleore:

Wednesday provides a pretty relaxed day for all, as it mainly includes the Literacy Signing for the day and so, after a nice relaxing and vastly entertaining dinner—seriously, what more could you expect from a group of cheeky women gathered for a week in one place—many of us relaxed our hung out with some of the other gals at conference. A few of the crowd from around these parts ended up at the Banditas party where we laughed and chatted. After many attempts at working a camera (you’d think I could manage this with the 5000+ pics I have taken on my camera), Anna C, my partner in RA stalking, and I got this pic.

Don’t worry about Richard. We worked out some of the custody issues concerning him, but we’re still working on who gets him during the summers, and weekends. I’m pretty much thinking that we could both have him during the summer, as we’re on opposite seasons… ;;)

Thursday dawned a day full of workshops, chats with authors, a keynote luncheon and the Vagabonds get together! Victoria Alexander delighted the entire conference at lunch with her humour and wit when discussing why we write romance.

I even whipped out the infamous “Quote Book” to record a few of her pearls of wisdom! VA, you did it! You made it into my quote book. :)

Simple, yet so profound, Victoria said, “Don’t underestimate the power of your own words.” How’s that for a little Friday Food For Thought? :D

From there, the Vagabonds relaxed as we geared up for our get together in the hotel bar. Vicki Lewis Thompson was there—well, I think we invaded her locale, actually—but she was every bit as delightful and warm as she was when she visited the site. What a doll! And I even managed to get out something more intelligent than “Your nerd books are sooo cool…uh, I really like them…” Looks like those doctoral level communication courses are finally beginning to pay for themselves…LOL!

We had fabulous ladies come hang out with us while we sat in the bar. Cheeky Anna C joined us for a few minutes, even though her schedule was terribly busy and tight. What a peach!

We even made new Vagabond friends. In this shot sitting between Lindsey and Anna is Diana. It was so great to meet you Diana! We hope to see more of you around here. :)

Newly sold author and darling roommate of yours truly, Sara Lindsey poses with Anna.

And of course, our fabulous across-the-hall roomies came and hung out with the group. Here, Santa and I pose pretty:

We even discovered we were destined to have our meet and greet in this spot upon the discovery of a book on one of the tables in the bar area. How’s this for serendipity?

Okay, so the book was totally about Che Guevara, but we couldn’t resist snapping a shot of at least the title. After all, there are many beloved vagabonds among us. :D

Naturally, we closed out the day again with dinner. We’re pretty certain that a good deal of conference is about eating (and the occasional drink or so) and naturally, we participated in this ritual where we enjoyed chatting about the day’s workshops and conversations we had.

But wait, there’s more! Our own darling Manda had finaled in the Daphne’s with RWA’s Kiss of Death Chapter, so naturally we had to go and show support. Here is Manda clutching her honorable mention award for her fantabulous submission alongside fellow Fanlitter Pamela Bolton-Holyfield. Congratulations, ladies! You truly deserve the honor. We just know we’ll be seeing your work on the shelves at B&N soon!

Of course, the final close-out to the day was almost an impromptu, well, okay a planned impromptu, reunion of Fanlitters! We gathered around 9 pm to celebrate the upcoming addition to CM’s family, her new puppy with a puppy shower!

Tessa and CM:

Sherry the winner of the first round of Avon FanLit came with her DH to celebrate CM’s little arrival. Here, they sit with CM as we all engage in our crazy, wild conversations.

Lindsey pops a grin for the camera at the party:

Our resident culinary genius, Santa, honed in on the perfect bakery supply this delectable chocolate cake desert for the party. Believe me when I say the woman is pure genius. This cake was absolutely to die for! A perfect blend of white and dark/milk chocolate! Way to go San! We’ll have to call on you again for the next party! ;)

And of course, below, is none other than the dessert diva herself (far right) pictured with Amy, J Perry, and Darcy. All of Fanlit fame. And all simply fantastic, even when on a chocolate cake sugar rush! ;)

Manda, me, and Terri with sassy Sara sitting above us:

Don’t we all make such an adorable group?? No wonder Fanlit was such fun! :D

It was fantastic to get to sit around in one room with all these wonderful people who had met in online forums and through a crazy contest that started almost 2 years ago. We laughed about the fun we had in the contest and thrilled in the accomplishments of this group. Congratulations to our Fanlitters who are under contract and good luck to those submitting! We’re already seeing great things of this group. It’s only going to get better from here!

This seems like photo overload enough for one day. ;) Tune in next Friday where I’ll post from Connie Brockway’s awards luncheon, booksignings, the EJ/JQ BB lunch, and the ever-gorgeous RITAs!

So, as you ponder and ogle the photos, post away about your favourite fun conference experience. If you did not travel to conference this year, did you follow along with blogs or webcasting at home? Or even share about your camera-happy fun? (Can you believe I took over 200 photos??? *gasp*) Post a pic or a link to one. We’d love to see you share!

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