Hi Everyone. It's me, your friendly Interview Coordinator. I wanted to share with you my experiences while attending the Romance Writers of America writer's conference, which took place in New York City on July 16th to July 20th, 2003. Please remember that I am a small town girl who is used to pastures, cows and TONS of snow. Going to NYC was a total culture shock to me. Not only did I have vertigo the whole time I was there, but just meeting all of my favorite authors, their agents and publishers had me awestruck from the get-go.

Having never flown before, I was very glad when my plane landed safely at the Newark NJ airport on Wednesday. I took a cab (another new experience) to the Hilton Hotel in midtown Manhattan. Having given the cab driver something to laugh about for weeks to come (I was a total 'sightseer', complete with calling my daughter on the phone and telling her that I was going through the Lincoln Tunnel), I arrived at the hotel. As soon as I stepped out of the cab, who should I see standing before me but Jo Beverley, who is one of my favorite authors.

I said, "Jo?" and never having set eyes on me before, she just said in her perfectly composed British accent, "Yes?" I said, "Jo, it's me. Debbie Kepler from A Romance Review." I had just talked to her two days prior and she said "Debbie, I have been waiting for you to arrive!" Yeah right. But she was such fun to talk to it didn't matter that she wasn't really waiting for me. It was a great start for my first conference.

Wednesday consisted of registering for the conference, looking through all of the material provided and trying not to get lost in the hotel (which of course I did. I went to grab a bite to eat in a restaurant and when I came out, I forgot where the elevator was! LOL) That night, I attended RWA's annual Readers for Life Literacy Autographing. This event consisted of about 500 authors, signing their books for readers to buy. All the proceeds went to literacy, and it was a very good turnout. There was such a crush it was very hard to move around. Trying to fit over 3,000 romance lovers into one room, was quite a feat, let me tell you. But everyone was patient and very friendly and there was no pushing or shoving, unlike the day after Thanksgiving, when I love to hit the stores for Christmas shopping. LOL

Thursday was a very busy day, spent attending different workshops on writing, character designing and plot configuration. RWA conferences are centered around the writer, not the reader, so the workshops are very informative and at times quite intense. Jennifer Crusie was the keynote speaker at the luncheon and she gave a wonderful speech on women, writing and the romance genre in general. "Always remember that you are there to be the storyteller. You fulfill a need in the genre. Never forget that." It was a lovely meal and I met some wonderful authors, many of whom I have never read before or who have yet to sell their first manuscript.

You never know who you're going to run into in an elevator. I ran into agent Nancy Borland, from whom I had just received a manuscript before going to NYC. I had my name tag on - she didn't, so we started talking and she said "Debbie, I know you." "You do?"

Then she introduced herself and the next thing I knew, she had taken me under her wing and I was riding the subway and attending an agent party, being introduced to agents, writers and other people in the publishing industry. She then took me to a publisher's party at Random House and introduced me to more people. My head is still swimming. Nancy gave me directions on how to return to the hotel. I followed them to the letter and found my way back, but it was very tempting to stop at the purse street-vendor and buy a handbag. I was afraid that if I did, I would walk around the cart and forget which way I was supposed to go to the hotel. I'm very bad with directions, can you tell? LOL

On Friday, it was another round of workshops, author signings (offered to those attending the conference), lunch with Brenda Jernigan, Sabrina Jeffries, Claudia Dain, Rexanne Becnel and Bonnie Gardner. After lunch, I had a couple of hours free so I walked around, always keeping a careful eye on where I was (grin) and went up and down Broadway, which was only two blocks from the hotel. I went to the Capezio store and bought my girls dance clothes, which they thought was really cool. I stopped had my nails done at one of the many nail salons and then went back to the hotel. That was enough wandering for one day, and that night I met Shelley Bradley for dinner. She had given a workshop that afternoon on "Love Scenes with Emotional Punch". In other words, "How to write a great sex scene without losing the romance". It was a great workshop, but maybe a little risqué for some of those attending.

Saturday was another round of workshops and sightseeing. I had no idea that Broadway ran into Times Square! LOL What a sight!!! Luncheon featured another keynote speaker, Jo Beverley. She gave a funny and inspirational speech about romance and men and those who try and write them. It was a hoot. She gave many anecdotes and stories, all in her perfectly cultured British accent, which in and of itself is pleasant to listen to, no matter what she is talking about. After the luncheon, I had some free time so I walked around 6th Avenue and went into shops and had my nails done again. Saturday night was the spotlight of the whole conference.

I returned to the hotel to get dressed up for the RWA Awards Ceremony. This is a black tie affair - RWA's answer to the Oscars. This is the night that the Golden Heart and RITA awards are announced. I had dinner with Brenda Jernigan and Bonnie Gardner and then we went to the ceremony. Let me tell you, I have never seen so many beautiful, sparkling dresses in my life. Everyone was dressed to the nines, including me. I haven't looked this good since my wedding day! The ceremony itself was like something from a Broadway show. Everything was orchestrated and detailed to make the most exciting and suspenseful experience possible. It worked! You could fairly cut the excitement in the room with a knife. After the awards, there was a reception, yet another crush of people all trying to fit into two small rooms for cheese and crackers - of which I received none. They broke out some Dove ice cream bars, so the hotel was forgiven! lol

On Sunday, I was sad to have it all end. It was the most wonderful experience I have ever had and I will treasure my memories forever. I hope to attend the conference again next year and meet up with all of my new author friends and acquaintances. I flew home with the satisfaction of knowing that I had learned a lot about the writing and publishing field and I will try and share that knowledge with everyone at ARR. The workshops that I attended gave me the extra push that I needed to finish my own manuscript and to follow my own dreams of being a published writer.

This conference and those like it are very important to our authors. They write stories that entertain, charm and warm up our inner selves. These authors make up worlds for us to visit and romances to fall in love with. As fans, we love and are very loyal to our authors. Always remember that they are also people with families and lives that are separate from their writing careers and that they work very hard to keep us happy and fulfilled. Write to your favorite authors and tell them how much you appreciate what they do for you with their writing. You will be making their day.

Debbie

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