#RT14 Recap & Giveaway!

First, I want to apologize for taking a while to get this post up. Two Words: Summer Reading.

Do I really need to say more?

I had a wonderful time at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in New Orleans this year. This was my first convention and it definitely won't be my last. (not every year though - every couple probably)

The convention itself was total chaos. I met lots of wonderful fellow booklovers and we bonded over the lack of structure and plenty of line waiting. We ended up going with the FAN-tastic day pass, which included the GIANT book fair, a few socials, and the night party (but not the Harlequin Party - i.e. the late party).

First off....the GIANT book fair!

Eeeek - Lisa Kleypas. She was one whole reason I went to RT14

YA author Stephanie Perkins - author of Anna and the French Kiss and Lola and the Boy Next Door

New Adult author Cora Carmack

Charlaine Harris

Gordon and Ilona Andrews

Maya Banks!!

What I learned from the Giant Book Fair - suitcases are not good for GIANT book fairs. I thought taking my books in a suitcase would be great since I was bringing in 24 or so from home to get signed. Good idea in theory, but not very practical. I met a fellow booklover in line who had attended previously and she said that she would never bring a rolling suitcase again. She said having to open it up to get the next book and put books back was a bitch....and she was right. I also felt terrible if I ran over toes...which I did....so I ended up carrying the suitcase in front of me like a shield. Even though I would not recommend the suitcase, doing just totes would also be terrible (unless you have ten or less books).

Still lots of fun and chaos!

Next on....the socials!

We were planning on going to Penguin's Lemonade Social with Ilona Andrews, Sylvia Day, Jaci Burton, and Maya Banks, but we skipped it. Why? Total chaos. I ended up in a never ending line just to purchase my books (I didn't move for 45 minutes in that line!). By the time I got out, the social was about to start and the line was EPIC. If you learn anything from this post about RT, know this...get in line first. We lined up for the Giant Book Fair at 7:30am - it didn't start til 11:00am (and we weren't first in line...they got there at 5:30am)

We decided food was more important and made the strategic decision to get in line for the Party instead of going to the socials. The party started at 6:15 and we lined up around 2:20....again, we weren't first in line!

I actually decided to slip into the next social with Lisa Kleypas, Eloisa James, and Juliana Gray: Get Your Tiara On! Everyone got to make their own tiara and get to meet these great historical authors. 

Me with Eloisa James, Juliana Gray and Lisa Kleypas at their Tiara Party. 

Book Cover Cookies! 

Me with my owl tiara.

Afterwards, I returned to my friend and the line. About an hour before the Party they called out that they needed volunteers to help set up for the party. We rushed in to find a room filled with pallets of BOOKS! They had tons of tables with ARCs on them and were even having sessions with the biggest authors. The authors were going to be signing FREE copies of the books...while supplies last. By volunteering, we were able to get a lay of the land and strategize more to see who had what. Another thing about RT, you must have a game plan. 

I had to catalog my books before I could shelve them (like a good librarian!). Poor Blue didn't know where to walk. 

Look at all the swag! So many books *heaven*

Overall, I had a blast. New Orleans, you are wonderful and slightly smelly, but I still wouldn't have missed it. Yes, it was chaotic at RT, but it was wonderful meeting all the new people and the authors. I can't wait to go again...in maybe 3 years or so. 

Now,  I have been talking about all this swag....you didn't think I forgot you? I got my readers a special prize! An ARC of Tiffany Reisz's new book, The Saint, which isn't sent to be released until July. I've been talking about Tiffany and her The Original Sinners series a lot lately. The Saint is the prequel to this series and is set when Nora is between 15 to 22 years old. 

Check it out....

In the beginning, there was him. 

Gutsy, green-eyed Eleanor never met a rule she didn't want to break. She's sick of her mother's zealotry and the confines of Catholic school, and declares she'll never go to church again. But her first glimpse of beautiful, magnetic Father Søren Stearns and his lust-worthy Italian motorcycle is an epiphany. Suddenly, daily Mass seems like a reward, and her punishment is the ache she feels when they're apart. He is intelligent and insightful and he seems to know her intimately at her very core. Eleanor is consumed—and even she knows that can't be right. 

But when one desperate mistake nearly costs Eleanor everything, it is Søren who steps in to save her. She vows to repay him with complete obedience…and a whole world opens before her as he reveals to her his deepest secrets. 

Danger can be managed—pain, welcomed. Everything is about to begin.

Yeah, you need this book! Enter the rafflecopter  below and I will pick one lucky winner on June 13th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Did you go to RT this year? Have you ever been to a national convention?
If you could see one author at a convention, who would it be?