The Chicago Spring Fling - Love in an Elevator
Howdy Folks! I had the best of times at the Chicago Spring Fling 2012 this weekend. I met some wonderful people and had a blast giving my Erotica 101 workshop and talking with my agent Sara Megibow about how to break into publishing.
Hopefully I'll have time to write a detailed post about all the cool stuff that happened. But there are two little stories I wanted to share and they both happened in the elevator at the hotel.
Story #1 - I'm in the elevator holding my box of THE SIREN advanced copies and a poster of the cover. The night before my agent Sara had talked at the agent panel about how I started out as an underdog (no one really wanted kinky books that much in 2010) but by the time my books were coming out, BDSM erotica had become all the rage. So when a lady got on the elevator and saw my stuff, she smiled at me and simply said, "You're living my dream." I have a day job and student loan debt and ten pounds I can't seem to lose. But her comment made me realize that I also have three full-length novels coming out this year, plus novellas, plus the most sought-after agent in the romance world. I have great writer friends, amazing readers, and the world's most supportive boyfriend. I am living the dream. Sometimes it's good to remember that.
Story #2 - Later that same day I was heading to my car with my suitcase. Once my workshop on breaking into publishing ended at 6:15, I was going to hit the road and drive back to Kentucky. I wanted to have all of Sunday to spend with Andrew and to get some work done. A very sweet lady saw my suitcase and said, "Oh, are you leaving us already?" I told her rather sheepishly that "Yes, I am. I kind of miss my boyfriend. I know that's silly." The lady only smiled and said, "Honey, we're romance novelists. We understand."
AWWWW....
That's Chicago, Baby!
