Day two of the convention began with a lovely breakfast. During the buffet, Katherine Falk made a shocking disclosure. After 37 years of the Romantic Times Book Reviews, Katherine Falk was bringing the magazine and conventions to a close. The audience was stunned. Unknowingly, we were all attending the very last RT Convention.

The rest of the morning was spent at seminars on writing. In particular, I went to the presentations on historical romances and paranormals. At more than one workshop during the convention, authors were recommending the Aeon timeline software for maintaining their stories timelines. There is a free trial for Aeon Timeline.  https://www.aeontimeline.com/download/. Also, recommended was the Big Little Book of Filth. At another writing seminar,  a couple of authors admitted they looked at porn on Tumblr for inspiration for sex scenes. I  didn’t know there was porn on Tumblr. So obviously, I was getting my money’s worth of useful writing advice.

Then there was a stop at the goody room, which was full of free books for attendees. It was fun selecting my seven books from the wide selection. Then there was a stop at the Gift Basket Bazaar. Attendees could enter one time for a wide variety of baskets donated by authors and publishers. Then we could buy tickets for the raffle baskets for charity. The charity was the Mammogram Van of Nevada, which provides mammograms to geographically isolated and/or uninsured women. The baskets contained books and gorgeous designer purses. The charity is vital to so many rural women. Kudos to Cherry Adair and Tina DeSalvo who were behind this charitable raffle.

In the afternoon, there was the Romantic Suspense Genre Party. Romantic Suspense is a beloved genre of mine since my earliest days of romance reading of  Mary Stewart, who will always be the benchmark for romantic suspense for me. At the genre party, the stars and the future stars of the genre were present, including Cherry Adair, Karen Rose, Amy Jarecki, and Khloe Wren to name a few. The authors signed books and gave away swag. There was chocolate. Fortunately, there was a tote bag to carry my loot back to the hotel room.

The festivities began in the early evening with the Garters & Gold Dust Party. This party was another opportunity to meet fabulous historical writers. There was champagne to drink. Cover models came dressed in historical costumes. One of the most fabulous outfits featured books and was worn by a gorgeous crossdresser. Again, gift baskets were being raffled. As we entered the party, we were given a raffle ticket. This time the lucky winner was my good friend, Meredith Allen Conners. Her basket was amazing. It contained books, scarfs, ray ban sunglasses, and more.

The day finished with the Peace Love Romance Celebration, a 70s costume gala.  Both Meredith and I dressed up in our mini dresses. Meredith was gorgeous with her natural blonde afro, a vivid print mini dress, and bright yellow boots. The music was amazing. There was a dance floor. There were games. Authors were signing books. There were appetizers. For the thirsty, there was Tang and grape Koolaid. The hours passed quickly. Soon it was 11:30 and time to retire.

 

I need to add that my minidress created the optical illusion that I am four wide in the middle. I am not. Lastly, I should have taken more pictures at the convention.