The panel was fantastic fun and we tackled a number of the myths about romance writing and generally had a fabulous time.
So I wrapped up that Festival and spent the next two days preparing for the Romance Writers of Australia conference, Romance Rocks being held in Sydney. I ran two workshops with Sarah Wendell from Smart Bitches, Trashy Books and romantic suspense author, Helene Young; participated in a debate at the Literacy High Tea; was an interviewee on a panel about début authors and had fun with my fellow LoveCats in a session on writing category romance.
The debate was brilliant. The topic was Alpha Heroes are Better than Beta Heroes. I was on the affirmative team with Cherry Adair and Christina Brooke. The opposing team consisted of Amy Andrews, Sarah Wendell and Anne Gracie. Yes, quite formidable opponents. Our team sang, knitted, role played and argued with passion. But sadly, we lost.
The Australian Romance Readers Association held an amazing book signing event. It was lovely to meet readers and sign a few books.
Amidst the mayhem of the leather and lace cocktail party, the Gala Dinner and catching up with friends, I attended lots of highly informative workshops and will focus on bringing those lessons learned to my current manuscript.
I arrived home inspired and invigorated and exhausted. It's such an incredible privilege to have been immersed in literature and books for the past two weeks. Books! How could you live without them?