Reader Author Get Together :: Getting Together

Of course the point of gathering for a reader conference is to mix and mingle...not only tour grocery stores, collect swag and play Pictionary. When I tell people I'm headed to an event with 300 women and a handful of men, most people question the amount of estrogen in such a confined space. Don't that many women get catty?

Romance readers don't seem to have that problem. I think because they are happier than the average person. They love women, and men, and love, and adventure. Tell them a fun story about your life and they'll share one right back.

Plus, most of the readers look forward to the weekend all year. They're determined to have a good time, so don't get in their way. If you want to be moody, they're going to perk you up. Usually with a beverage of some kind.

Wonderful friendships begin at events like this. Many long-time friends and book-club members met this way.


And then there are raffle baskets. Romance readers are serious about their raffle baskets. Authors, readers, sponsors, and publishers took the time to put together and donate baskets for auction. Some had spendy items - iPad, Kindle Fire, Seventh Circle Productions marketing help - while others were packed to the brim with books.

With two tickets for a dollar, everyone must have hoped to try and squeeze a raffle basket onto the overhead bin for the plane ride home. Because the event raised $11,000 in donations for  One Way Farm. Amazing!

Reader Author Get Together : Carina Press Pictionary

I am such a gamer. A board gamer. I dominate the world in Risk, clean up at Scrabble, and haven't been able to beat either of my boys in chess for over a year. You win some, you lose some.

When I heard Carina Press was gathering everyone for Pictionary at the Annual Reader Author Get Together...I was so excited, I showed up early.

I have mad love for the Carina team, plus Carina is known in the romance circles as having the best publisher swag, executive editor Angela James makes sure of it. Editor Rhonda Helms made sure I wound up with a portfolio and a water bottle...but Jayne Rylon got an iPad .

This was not your usual game of Pictionary...this was the romance version. Can you draw Regency? Marriage of Convenience? The Billionaire's Baby? Climax (I got a little naughty with that one).

People really got into it. And my people, I don't just mean me. You can see why I loved hanging out with these ladies. We had such fun.

 I wonder if I can find some gaming going on at RWA Nationals in Anaheim this summer....

Reader Author Get Together : Checking In

After a foodie morning, we headed back to the hotel to get in line for registration at the Annual Reader Author Get Together. Yep, get in line for registration. Thankfully, we heard legends about the long lines over breakfast, and managed to secure spots by the Starbucks.

This registration line is the first place you get to meet people. Like a bookclub that drove in from Long Island, and a mother-daughter pair obsessed with Sherrilyn Kenyon. It was fun to watch people reconnect who hadn't seen one another since the last event.

And sometimes, their hello was just plain hilarious. Like when everyone decided to greet Keri Stevens by flapping their bat wings. I have no idea what it was about, but it cracked me up so I took pictures.

The line was the place to be...one woman brought cookies for everyone to share. Corset cookies of course, themed for the event.

Once we got our name badge, we marched off to get a goodie bag filled with author swag, publisher goodies, and a free book.

Then came the t-shirts! We all got one for the event, plus Hot Damn Designs were selling their own sexy version. Thanks to my Romance Divas for modeling the shirts.

Reader Author Get Together : Jungle Jim's

With a pocket of time before the festivities began at the Annual Reader Author Get Together in Cincinnati, and I was looking for soemthing to do to help experience the city. After all, I made Breeze do that in For Kicks with every city she visited.

So, I asked the locals for some suggestions, thinking I would do a walking tour or other experience. Instead, I got an offer to go to Jungle Jim's. I had no idea what that was so I googled...a grocery store? 

But, I was game. Everyone wanted to go...and now I can see why! The place is hilarious! You are greeted by giant fruit and zoo animals, then inside the door the corn starts singing to you.

If we weren't so stuffed from breakfast, or had a fridge in the room I would have gone crazy with the salads bar or sushi or the cheeses - they had a two story long provolone.

There were lots of hard to find items from other countries. The cheese section was divided by country, as were lots of the aisles. The hot sauce section was three aisles across and had a fire truck on top...plus there was an 'adults-only' hot sauce selection. I was told for some of them you have to sign a liability waiver. What!?

Some things were fun to look at, like all the exotic fruits and vegetables, or peaches that came in baskets.

Other things grossed me right out. They had a pig head just sitting next to pork chops. Three pig heads, actually. I was told there was a cow head as well, but I skedaddled on out of there!

I only had chocolate for my readers at the booksigning, so I picked up a dozen tiny bottles of cherry pucker. I wasn't sure if this was a schnapps crowd or not. Turns out...I could have bought a case or three!

The next time I go to the  Annual Reader Author Get Together,   I'll be sure to venture back to this grocery mecca for booksigning treats. Maybe I'll even use a bigger suitcase and sneak some treats home to the family!

Reader Author Get Together 2012 - Bob Evans

Who or what is Bob Evans? And Jungle Jim's?

I wanted to do something during our downtime on Friday at the Annual Reader Author Get Together, but I wasn't so sure about these Bob & Jim characters the conference volunteers offered to introduce us to.

I really had no idea, so I Googled. Aha, a family restaurant and a giant grocery store. I hadn't found anything else to do in Cincinnati, so I was game. We met the crew down in the lobby, and caravanned over.

The volunteer who picked us up from the airport last night had said we had to try the sausage gravy at Bob Evans. Both Paty Jager & I were skeptical. Not much sausage gravy going on in Oregon. But, Tianna Xander talked us into trying hers. Much better than we anticipated!

Bob Evans is much like Denny's or Marie Callendars, so it was easy to find something for breakfast. Plus, we got to chat up other conference attendees and get some of my first-timer questions out of the way. Including questions about the 6 acre grocery store mecca, Jungle Jim's.

Everyone agreed we had to go see it...and since I'll try almost anything once, I was game.

Who am I kidding...they said I could have my picture taken by a giant corn cob. I was good to go.