Drum Roll Please...Winners of the RT Convention Contest

I'm glad everyone enjoyed the posts from the Romantic Times Convention! I learned a lot about what kind of photos I wish I had taken and next year I will definitely work in some video!

Now, for the fun part!

The winner of a $25 Borders Gift Card & Swag is: Penney

The winner of a collection of books and Swag from the RT Convention is: Pams00

Congrats ladies! Just send me your full name and snail mail address to cheekyreads @ gmail.com (without the spaces).

RT Convention: More Fun Photos

I'm finally feeling more into the swing of things, so I wanted to post a few more photos from the RT Convention. Everyone was fantastic and I made some amazing new friends. I would definitely recommend RT to any aspiring author and for readers who love romance!

Check out some more fun shots from RT below and don't forget every comment enters you to win a $25 gift card or load of goodies!



I've already blogged about how inspirational Heather Graham was when she stopped by our aspiring authors workshop, but you have to know that she is a very friendly and talented lady! Not only did she sing and perform at multiple events - including her fantastic Vampire Ball - but she was always gracious and took time to speak with many fans and writers. It was such a pleasure to meet her. Check out Heather's Website here.



I cannot tell you how much I love Judi McCoy! I won't go on and on, but not only is she a great teacher, but she's also a very special woman who gives so much of herself! Please check out Judi's latest release, Hounding the Pavement and buy a copy - all the proceeds from the book go to the Best Friends Animal Society. Get all the details about Judi's new Dogwalker Mysteries at www.judimccoy.com

Next to Judi in the photo is romance author Amanda McIntyre. I know I keep saying this, but Amanda was so nice and willing to talk to fans and authors! We had a lovely conversation about traveling and I just had to buy her book The Diary of Cozette! The cover is gorgeous! Check it out at www.amandamacintyre.net



Traci Hall was one of the super awesome ladies I befriended at the conference. Such a sweet heart, Traci writes both a young adult series and adult romances. Check out her website at www.tracihall.com



I also met Karen Kendall who currently writes a fantastic romantic suspense series called ARTemis. If you like your romance suspenseful with a bit of glamour and danger, then check out Karen's website at www.karenkendall.com



I want to say a very special thank you to author Susan Yarina for being so wonderful to me during the conference. Her input on my work in progress was beyond helpful and she is a delight. Check out Susan's website at www.susanyarina.com

I met so many more remarkable authors and ladies at the event that I can't list them all! I'm hoping to have them stop by Cheeky Reads soon and talk about their latest releases and what else they are up to.

Don't forget to leave your comments to enter to win some fantastic prizes! Every comment is an entry!

RT Convention: Ahoy! Meet Jane & Maureen

Before the conference even started, the aspiring writers workshop group started a yahoo group to get to know each other before actually attending the event.

Two lovely ladies who took the workshop with Judi McCoy last year joined the chat to help prepare us. I was lucky enough to spend some time with them throughout the conference and they are fantastic!

Check out the ladies in full smile at the Saturday Book Fair in the photo above.

Maureen blogs as 2nd Chance at the Romance Writer's Revenge. It's a cool site and they are featuring a hilarious Q&A with none other than Angie Fox - who recieved a 4 heart review here at Cheeky Reads for The Dangerous Book for Demon Slayers. Check it out - you'll laugh your ass off!

I just want to say thank you to Jane and Maureen for all their great advice!

RT Convention: Recovery!

So I had a fantastic week at the Romantic Times Booklovers Conference and now I'm crashing!

Watch out for more photos and fun news in the next few days as I unpack all my goodies and get all the images off my camera.

For your viewing pleasure, here is Mr. Romance competitor Stefan as he signs photos for all the lovely ladies. Check out Stefan Pinto's website here.

RT Convention: eBook Expo

Part of this year's conference was a special feature on eBooks and ePublishers and the event was packed!

Again, tons of giveaways and door prizes. Love that!

What was even better was seeing authors with eBooks and small press books doing signings and finding new readers. There are some fabulous writers out there in eBooks and it was great to see them get their time in a special spotlight.

One fantastic author I've met this year is Lyn Armstrong. She's beyond nice and I can't wait to read the book I bought from her! She writes about Celtic witches and I can tell just from meeting her I'm gonna love them.

Check out Cheeky Author Lyn Armstrong in the book signing photo I took of her. I'll be having Lyn on the blog a little later and give you more details about her and her books. In the meantime, check out her cool website www.lynarmstrong.com.

RT Convention: Gotta Love Free Swag!

One of the coolest things about RT so far is all the swag! FREE stuff is everywhere. From your conference bag stacked with hot new titles, to giveaways at the workshop panels, and party bags full of books, I'm going to come away from the conference with loads of loot!

Promotion lane is where authors and publishers pimp out their books and upcoming titles with all kinds of freebies. There are bookmarks, candy, postcards, excerpts, pens and any other number of items to take home.

I'll be sharing some of these awesome freebies with readers after the conference. You know you want some!

RT Convention: Surprise Special Guest!

1:30 and surprise guest HEATHER GRAHAM drops into our writers workshop to give us her words of wisdom! What a fantastic surprise - she was humble, real and so willing to offer her advice.

Flashbulbs were going off all over the room!

RT Booklovers Convention: Writer's Workshop

Morning Session Surprise: The group had a surprise visit from a Mr. Romance competitor. The ladies managed to control themselves, but couldn't help making him blush with a few catcalls!

Allison Chase and Nancy Cohen are speaking about plotting out your book. I can't believe I'm getting advice from Nancy Cohen! Her tips on organization and her plotting tools are fabulous and I can see how it will help me immensely.

Allison and Nancy gave away copies of their books. Three lovely future New York Times Bestsellers were the happy winners!

RT Booklovers Convention: Day 1 Aspiring Writer's Program

Day one of the Aspiring Writer's Program portion of the RT Booklover's convention rocked! I'm taking the beginner's class, and Not only is Judi McCoy an awesome writer, she is one hilarious lady! She cracked me up all day long.

The hotel has some serious issues with wifi access I won't even go into, so I'm hoping to start posting some photos tomorrow.

All I can say is I'm hooked on RT and having the time of my life. I'll try to give a run down tomorrow of some of the fabulous authors that have come in to do some teaching workshops...Linnea Sinclair is a hoot!

More coming soon!

Romantic Times Booklovers Convention

OK, I'm so excited I can't see straight!

I'm attending my very first Romantic Times Booklovers Convention next week and the excitement is too much - I can't even sleep at night I keep wanting to wake up and be another day closer!

Believe it or not, I'll be attending the Aspiring Authors workshops before the main conference - I've finally decided to make my dream a reality. Then, it will be all about meeting some romance authors! The list is amazing and I just hope I can control my urge to squeal with delight.

Next week, look for daily posts with all the great details, pics with your favorite authors and maybe even some photos of the Mr. Romance competitors!

You can get all the details about the conference here.

Check out this awesome video for some fun highlights from 2008!


RT Convention 2008 Wrap Up from Romantic Times BOOKreviews on Vimeo.