Silly sayings and funny anecdotes from the NJRW "Put your heart in a book" Conference
You've probably already read my 'professional' account of the NJ Conference. If not, you can either scroll down, or click here. Both will get you to the very same place. That post talks all about the some of the writers that I met, some of the workshops I attended, and some of the things that I learned. What it doesn't talk about, in any great depth, is my friends.
I am very lucky to have found an amazing group of friends over at the He Wrote/She Wrote blog. If you're familiar with me, then you know about the blog already. If not, I highly encourage you to go check it out. The people there will pull you right into the heart of an amazing family, even if you just drop in to say "hi, I read the book". Some of those people were heading to New Jersey for a Romance Writer's conference. I decided to join them, since I'm a romance writer.
If you've ever agreed to meet people from the internet, you may know how I was feeling. I've never met most of these people in real life, but they frequent my blog, and have been known to send e-mails and e-cards just when I need them most. They are cyber-friends. However, it was still a little nerve-racking to think of meeting them vis-a-vis. I mean, what if there was no chemistry when we were in the same room? What if they were strange? What if they thought *I* was strange? Can I just tell you how silly I was to worry?
I rode up to New Jersey with my friend Kim. She used to be my neighbor, but we moved. Now, we like to trade books, share jokes, go on trips, drink coffee, play Skip-bo, and generally have a good time together. She agreed to join me because I had no desire to head to NJ on my own. She drove us up to DC, where we picked up a CherryBomb by the name of Margarita (hereafter known as McB). Getting around DC took as long as the rest of the trip to NJ, but it was time well spent. We laughed, joked, talked books, and drank Starbucks. Really, what more could a girl want? On the way up, I told them this little story...
I am very lucky to have found an amazing group of friends over at the He Wrote/She Wrote blog. If you're familiar with me, then you know about the blog already. If not, I highly encourage you to go check it out. The people there will pull you right into the heart of an amazing family, even if you just drop in to say "hi, I read the book". Some of those people were heading to New Jersey for a Romance Writer's conference. I decided to join them, since I'm a romance writer.
If you've ever agreed to meet people from the internet, you may know how I was feeling. I've never met most of these people in real life, but they frequent my blog, and have been known to send e-mails and e-cards just when I need them most. They are cyber-friends. However, it was still a little nerve-racking to think of meeting them vis-a-vis. I mean, what if there was no chemistry when we were in the same room? What if they were strange? What if they thought *I* was strange? Can I just tell you how silly I was to worry?
I rode up to New Jersey with my friend Kim. She used to be my neighbor, but we moved. Now, we like to trade books, share jokes, go on trips, drink coffee, play Skip-bo, and generally have a good time together. She agreed to join me because I had no desire to head to NJ on my own. She drove us up to DC, where we picked up a CherryBomb by the name of Margarita (hereafter known as McB). Getting around DC took as long as the rest of the trip to NJ, but it was time well spent. We laughed, joked, talked books, and drank Starbucks. Really, what more could a girl want? On the way up, I told them this little story...
Thursday morning, on the way to the train station to drop of my Best Beloved (aka, husband, Shane), our 6yo daughter, Maggie told me: "Hey Mom, I forgot to tell you that you got a phone call yesterday. It was from those people at the place you're going. They said they had to cancel it, because there's something wrong with New Jersey." I tried to hide my giggle with a cough while her sister, 5yo Emile, asks "Really, Mags? What's wrong with it? Is it broken?"
It cracked us up for days, and I had so much fun re-telling that story. Thanks for the start of a great weekend, Maggie!
We followed the directions and made it all the way to the road where the hotel was. Unfortunately, Kim had a little problem trying to get into the hotel parking lot. See, nobody mentioned the fact that you have to turn right to make a left. So we learned, early on, that there is, in fact, something wrong with New Jersey. The roads are very bizarre.
We checked in to the hotel and went down to meet our fellow CBs. After knocking on their door, it was opened by none other than Cherry Magic Sheryl (CMS). Well, she just pulled me into this great big Canadian style hug, and I knew right then that everything was going to be just fine. We walked in and met Scope Dope Cherry Bomb (SDCB) and RobinS (RSS). Again, they were very friendly. And this part disturbed me a bit - they sounded just like Shane! Seriously, he picked up speech patterns from a friend from Toronto and ditched his Toledo accent, and these women sounded just like my husband. It was comforting, yet unnerving. I mean, they even say "about" the same way. Just too cute, really!
We made our way to the bar, where we each had exactly one drink. No, I'm not kidding. We had ONE. Then we all switched to water. None of us were anywhere close to drunk OR rowdy, so we were all pretty astounded to see two security guards come over to tell us the bar was closing. Again, I'm not kidding. They sent TWO. For six perfectly sober women. Can you say "overkill"? Then the guy got all weird when he asked if we were there for a conference, and we explained that we were romance writers. He thought we said "romance riders", and it just went downhill from there. We headed back to the Canadian's room, which happened to be stocked with Pink M&Ms, in honor of BREAST CANCER AWARENESS month. If you know me, you know that I shaved my head for my friend Renee, who is battling BC right now. So, their kindness really hit home. And so did those chocolates. Honestly, it was just one example of Canadians showing random acts of kindness that I witnessed over the weekend. These women are just amazing, and I adopted both SDCB and CMS before the night was over.
Friday morning dawned bright and early. The rest of the day was spent getting kicked out of the club room (not a joke, that club room police lady was just RUDE!), shopping, and attending the conference. At the mall, we did manage to convert a new Jenny Crusie fan, when I bought a perfect stranger a copy of one of Jenny's books in order to get her to the Saturday booksigning. Hey, just doing my part for the advancement of The Cherry!
Friday night, we met up with Jen-T and some of her friends for dinner. It was all that I thought it would be. Her friends were all a hoot, and she was the life of the party. We managed to do a group phone call to Bryan, another one of our CB friends. RSS, being the incredibly friendly person that she is, invited another conference attendee along to dinner. I still hope we didn't permanently traumatize that poor woman! Then we headed back to the hotel, and hung out with the Canadians for a bit. CMS and I hit the pool, and then got kicked out. 2-for-2 on getting kicked out of someplace, 2 nights in a row. After heading back to the bar, and again getting asked to leave (do you see a trend here?) we headed off to bed.
Saturday dawned bright and early, and I joined CMS in the pool for a swim at 6am. I tried in vain, but just could not get either Kim, nor McB, to believe that it was invigorating. The day was also full of conference stuff, then the real fun began. We all got together at the book signing, and descended on Jenny and Bob. J&B were so friendly to us, took lots of pictures with us, signed lots of books, laughed at our dumb jokes, and even offered us some wine. They had a few spare bottles, and were willing to donate it to our cause. This is the part where I ran into Bob in the lobby and convinced him to pose for a picture in front of a tree. Of course, I waited until after he handed over the wine. I'm not dumb! So off we headed, back to the Canadians room again. (Are you getting the idea that they are just party animals?) Once again, Robin brought an unsuspecting innocent (Nancy) into our midst, but she didn't seem all that scared. We ordered Chinese food, and started drinking J&Bs wine, and talked shop. There was this one moment when RSS started telling this story. Somehow, I missed the beginning, and asked her what movie she was describing. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when she explained that it was actually the plot to her next book, and she'd just thought of it that weekend. I know, without a doubt, that she will one day be a HUGE name in the publishing biz. That woman has an amazing gift for storytelling, and she blew us all away. I can't wait to say "I knew her then..." But for right now, I'm glad to say "I know her!"
The Chinese food finally arrived, and Nancy wandered off to find her friend Julianna. They are both published, but were still so friendly, even while we were trying to explain the phenomenon that is the blog. Neither one of them ever said that we were all nuts, even though the evidence was right there in front of them. Bob only knows what was said after they left. ;>)
Also, I was reminded by CMS of a game I played in my teen years. See, when you have a fortune cookie, you have to read it, then say "in bed" at the end. It makes it all the more interesting. Don't believe me? Well, it can turn a very boring "Your friends will never disappoint you" into the much more interesting "Your friends will never disappoint you in bed". See, it is so much more fun. Try it yourself the next time you find yourself holding a fortune cookie. Fast fact: Do NOT give this advice to your teen daughter, especially if you are in a Chinese restaurant, as she will then immediatly tell her best friend, whose entire family is also in the restaurant, and you will be sitting there worrying that the best friend will tell her rather proper mother. Yikes. And yes, I'm speaking from a whole day of experience on that one!
Sunday, we had a great breakfast in the hotel. Right? It was great, because we were all together, no matter how bad the service was, or how much they charged for a bagel. Not a single person was bothered by Kim, who kept her nose in a book most of the meal. Actually, I think most of us were looking at her and either thinking how smart she was to bring a book, or how we hoped that one day, someone would be so engrossed in one of our books.
Alas, as all good things must, our visit came to an end, proving that - yes - there is in fact something wrong with NJ. It's broke. How else can you explain the feeling of sadness I got when we pulled away from the hotel?
My bright shining moment of sun? When I realized that we could all come back again NEXT year!
Thank you to all of my friends that made this conference so perfect. I would not have had the courage to sign up if it weren't for you. I would not have had the courage to attend if you hadn't agreed to be there. And I know that I would not have had so much fun without you by my side. From the drinks at the restaurant, to chocolates, to necklaces, to flamingo purses, to laughs, to shared confidences, to Mudslides, to all of those silly little moments that will live in my memory, you shared something that made a tremendous impact on my life, both as a writer and a person. You turned something that could have been a simple "mommy weekend away" into the beginning of the fulfillment of my dream. I could not be more proud to call another group of women 'friends' than I am of you.
You inspire me...
... in bed!
(Hey, you, over there, that last part was a JOKE! But doesn't it just make you giggle?)
We followed the directions and made it all the way to the road where the hotel was. Unfortunately, Kim had a little problem trying to get into the hotel parking lot. See, nobody mentioned the fact that you have to turn right to make a left. So we learned, early on, that there is, in fact, something wrong with New Jersey. The roads are very bizarre.
We checked in to the hotel and went down to meet our fellow CBs. After knocking on their door, it was opened by none other than Cherry Magic Sheryl (CMS). Well, she just pulled me into this great big Canadian style hug, and I knew right then that everything was going to be just fine. We walked in and met Scope Dope Cherry Bomb (SDCB) and RobinS (RSS). Again, they were very friendly. And this part disturbed me a bit - they sounded just like Shane! Seriously, he picked up speech patterns from a friend from Toronto and ditched his Toledo accent, and these women sounded just like my husband. It was comforting, yet unnerving. I mean, they even say "about" the same way. Just too cute, really!
We made our way to the bar, where we each had exactly one drink. No, I'm not kidding. We had ONE. Then we all switched to water. None of us were anywhere close to drunk OR rowdy, so we were all pretty astounded to see two security guards come over to tell us the bar was closing. Again, I'm not kidding. They sent TWO. For six perfectly sober women. Can you say "overkill"? Then the guy got all weird when he asked if we were there for a conference, and we explained that we were romance writers. He thought we said "romance riders", and it just went downhill from there. We headed back to the Canadian's room, which happened to be stocked with Pink M&Ms, in honor of BREAST CANCER AWARENESS month. If you know me, you know that I shaved my head for my friend Renee, who is battling BC right now. So, their kindness really hit home. And so did those chocolates. Honestly, it was just one example of Canadians showing random acts of kindness that I witnessed over the weekend. These women are just amazing, and I adopted both SDCB and CMS before the night was over.
Friday morning dawned bright and early. The rest of the day was spent getting kicked out of the club room (not a joke, that club room police lady was just RUDE!), shopping, and attending the conference. At the mall, we did manage to convert a new Jenny Crusie fan, when I bought a perfect stranger a copy of one of Jenny's books in order to get her to the Saturday booksigning. Hey, just doing my part for the advancement of The Cherry!
Friday night, we met up with Jen-T and some of her friends for dinner. It was all that I thought it would be. Her friends were all a hoot, and she was the life of the party. We managed to do a group phone call to Bryan, another one of our CB friends. RSS, being the incredibly friendly person that she is, invited another conference attendee along to dinner. I still hope we didn't permanently traumatize that poor woman! Then we headed back to the hotel, and hung out with the Canadians for a bit. CMS and I hit the pool, and then got kicked out. 2-for-2 on getting kicked out of someplace, 2 nights in a row. After heading back to the bar, and again getting asked to leave (do you see a trend here?) we headed off to bed.
Saturday dawned bright and early, and I joined CMS in the pool for a swim at 6am. I tried in vain, but just could not get either Kim, nor McB, to believe that it was invigorating. The day was also full of conference stuff, then the real fun began. We all got together at the book signing, and descended on Jenny and Bob. J&B were so friendly to us, took lots of pictures with us, signed lots of books, laughed at our dumb jokes, and even offered us some wine. They had a few spare bottles, and were willing to donate it to our cause. This is the part where I ran into Bob in the lobby and convinced him to pose for a picture in front of a tree. Of course, I waited until after he handed over the wine. I'm not dumb! So off we headed, back to the Canadians room again. (Are you getting the idea that they are just party animals?) Once again, Robin brought an unsuspecting innocent (Nancy) into our midst, but she didn't seem all that scared. We ordered Chinese food, and started drinking J&Bs wine, and talked shop. There was this one moment when RSS started telling this story. Somehow, I missed the beginning, and asked her what movie she was describing. I had to pick my jaw up off the floor when she explained that it was actually the plot to her next book, and she'd just thought of it that weekend. I know, without a doubt, that she will one day be a HUGE name in the publishing biz. That woman has an amazing gift for storytelling, and she blew us all away. I can't wait to say "I knew her then..." But for right now, I'm glad to say "I know her!"
The Chinese food finally arrived, and Nancy wandered off to find her friend Julianna. They are both published, but were still so friendly, even while we were trying to explain the phenomenon that is the blog. Neither one of them ever said that we were all nuts, even though the evidence was right there in front of them. Bob only knows what was said after they left. ;>)
Also, I was reminded by CMS of a game I played in my teen years. See, when you have a fortune cookie, you have to read it, then say "in bed" at the end. It makes it all the more interesting. Don't believe me? Well, it can turn a very boring "Your friends will never disappoint you" into the much more interesting "Your friends will never disappoint you in bed". See, it is so much more fun. Try it yourself the next time you find yourself holding a fortune cookie. Fast fact: Do NOT give this advice to your teen daughter, especially if you are in a Chinese restaurant, as she will then immediatly tell her best friend, whose entire family is also in the restaurant, and you will be sitting there worrying that the best friend will tell her rather proper mother. Yikes. And yes, I'm speaking from a whole day of experience on that one!
Sunday, we had a great breakfast in the hotel. Right? It was great, because we were all together, no matter how bad the service was, or how much they charged for a bagel. Not a single person was bothered by Kim, who kept her nose in a book most of the meal. Actually, I think most of us were looking at her and either thinking how smart she was to bring a book, or how we hoped that one day, someone would be so engrossed in one of our books.
Alas, as all good things must, our visit came to an end, proving that - yes - there is in fact something wrong with NJ. It's broke. How else can you explain the feeling of sadness I got when we pulled away from the hotel?
My bright shining moment of sun? When I realized that we could all come back again NEXT year!
Thank you to all of my friends that made this conference so perfect. I would not have had the courage to sign up if it weren't for you. I would not have had the courage to attend if you hadn't agreed to be there. And I know that I would not have had so much fun without you by my side. From the drinks at the restaurant, to chocolates, to necklaces, to flamingo purses, to laughs, to shared confidences, to Mudslides, to all of those silly little moments that will live in my memory, you shared something that made a tremendous impact on my life, both as a writer and a person. You turned something that could have been a simple "mommy weekend away" into the beginning of the fulfillment of my dream. I could not be more proud to call another group of women 'friends' than I am of you.
You inspire me...
... in bed!
(Hey, you, over there, that last part was a JOKE! But doesn't it just make you giggle?)
7 comments:
It was Nancy that Robin invited to join us for Chinese food in bed. Did you mention that Nancy and Julianne are also Candian? And how did I become responsible for reminding you about laughing in bed? Besides the fact that you fed my bed margarita mix and it was my bed everyone piled onto? I've never had so much fun, been so grateful and lived so completely in the moment as I did with the CBs. When are we getting together next? I've got the shortbread and the tequila!
Nancy. You are correct, as usual, and I have corrected it.
Why would I mention that we were almost outnumbered by crazy Canucks? That just seems dangerous!
Your bed was thirsty, as were SDCBs pants. Quit complaining, it smelled really good.
And of course we piled onto your bed. Where else were we supposed to go? To our own? As if!
And woman, if you've got the shortbread, then I am sooo there. My second greatest regret is that I didn't smuggle a tin full of that out of your room.
My first greatest regret is that I didn't meet all of you sooner in my life. Then again, to everything thing there is a season, right?
Dee, I love you. You are a beautiful person. Thank you for helping to make my experiences this weekend even greater. I look forward to our next meeting. Don't forget the Mudslides. I loved them. I will bring something. Maybe more Canadian hot chocolate. Boy am I tired.
'Night.
Penny
I used to do the whole in bed thing, too. I'll never forget being 14 reading my fortune cookie out loud and adding on in bed, only to have my dad go into a fit wanting to talk to the manager because he thought the fortune cookie really said that. Good times, good times.
Glad you had a wonderful time, you so deserved it!
Dee I'm still giggling over the whole "there's something wrong with New Jersey" thing.
Yes everyone, we really did get asked to leave. And I don't think anyone else in the bar was. Really don't understand that. We were mildly hyper since we'd all just met, but not at all rowdy. And all I could think when you tried to explain to that guy about the 'romance writer' thing was "does he not know what's going on in his own hotel?"
And OF COURSE we were cool with Kim pulling out a book. This is one group that understands the importance of book time. Nobody batted an eyelash.
Yes Dee the joke makes me giggle and giggle...As does the one about NJ being broke. Haven't told DH that one yet.
You didn't mention that you are incredibly awesome too and added immensely to the weekend. I'm not waiting until next October to see you again. Lunch or dinner at your convenience. (Where's spellcheck)
You tell the story of the conference and capture the mood so well. Can't wait until I can read your books.
Thank you for the compliment. It's impossible to tell you how wonderful it makes me feel. As soon as I get my submissions off I will write the d*** book. McB did remember to tell me that on the trip.
I wondered where my vibrating bed went!
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