RT Report

For those of you who don’t know, RT stands for Romantic Times. Until recently, RT was a print magazine devoted to romance (now it’s web-based). They run one of the biggest and most popular book conventions in the US, drawing thousands of readers, authors, models, vendors – basically, anyone involved in the romance book industry – each year.

This was a trip of firsts for me. My first RT convention. My first post-911 plane flight. My first time in Atlanta. I could keep going, but you get the idea. It was scary and exciting, a dream and a dread for someone like me who is more comfortable behind a laptop screen than in the midst of such organized chaos.

Let me just say this right now: I had a great time. 

Atlanta is a beautiful city – very clean, awesome architecture, and friendly people. Before the convention started, I got to do some sightseeing, including a trip to Centennial Park and the Aquarium. I also partook of some traditional Southern cuisine, like shrimp and grits and pecan pie.

It’s not that we don’t have those things in Pennsylvania (well, except for grits, which are hard to find on a PA menu), but they are different. Like red velvet cake. In PA, red velvet cake is, well, cake. In Atlanta, it’s more like pie.

FYI – my geeky self actually compiled a list of things I learned about the south, things that I hadn’t known before my trip. I’ll be sharing some of them in my upcoming June 1st newsletter.

Once the convention officially started, my days were filled with attending workshops on things like Kindle Worlds, writing tips, audiobooks, cross promotion, and indie publishing. I got to meet and talk with some of my idols, like Susan Stoker, Elle James, Robyn Peterman, and Sherrilyn Kenyon (to name just a few). I could probably fill a page with a list of the incredible, talented people I got to hang out with.

I’m still kind of freaking out about it, actually.

If that wasn’t enough, I chatted with and got some pictures taken with some male cover models, sat next to the amazing Rebecca Zanetti at the book fair, and made lots of new author and reader friends.

I know, you want to see some of those pictures, don’t you? I’ll be including some of those in my June 1st newsletter, too ?

So, yeah. A great time. Six days completely devoted to everything books. For a book nerd like me, it was absolute heaven.

I came home exhausted but happy, with plenty of personally signed books (my guilty pleasure), and a new appreciation for the amazing people who make up the romance world.

This is my world. These are my people. And I am so very, very fortunate to be a part of it.

? Abbie