I think the atmosphere could best be described as "lively"; these conference venues are always stunned by just how lively 150 romantic writers can be. I fear they all believe that we are all incredibly sedate and wear pink. What a mistake to make!
The workshops were very informative, as was the published authors round table; lots to talk about at the moment with the surge of eBooks changing the face of publishing in the same way as the paperback -- according to publisher Simon Petherick -- did in the first half of the twentieth century.
A panel of award winning writers, including Jill Mansell, Joanna Maitland and Elizabeth Chadwick talked about their careers and their writing methods.
This is Jill - who writes on the dining room table with the television on - showing us her essential "time line", aided by Joanna Maitland and Jane Wenham Jones who chaired the panel.
Our new chair, Anne Ashurst (Sara Craven), brought the conference to a close by drawing the winner of an amazing hamper of chocolate donated by Green & Black's - who also added bars of their Maya Gold to all the conference goodie bags.
It was a wonderful weekend. Much to learn and absorb about a fast changing business. Time to catch up with old acquaintances, make new friends and put real faces to the Tweeps I've come to know over the last year.
5 comments:
sounds great! hopefully I'll get to one at some point, althugh I'd just be 'start-struck'!
Hi Liz:
Did you happen to see Abigail Gordon or Lucy Gordon at the conference? They get very little publicity.
Vince
Hi Raven
I hope you make it soon. But we're all starstruck by someone at the conference :) but even the stars are friendly. First timers have a great time.
Hi Vince
Neither Lucy nor Abigail were at the conference. Promo tends to be author driven - HMB promote series and brands, rather than authors - and neither of them do much. I once sat with Abigail at an awards lunch where we were both on the shortlist, but back then she didn't even have a website.
I see Lucy most years at the Mills and Boon author lunch in London (which we organise ourselves and to which we invite Harlequin and Mills and Boon editors. Quite a few authors travel over from America for the occasion.
Lucy has a website but isn't very pro-active about promotion and I've never seen her at a conference either here or in the States.
It was great, wasn't it, Liz! I feel very priviledged to be able to call some of those "stars" (including you) friends.
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