RWA Week: Lady Jane’s Salon

I was SO excited for this amazing Lady Jane’s event last night. The hubby and I were there for the inaugural LJ salon more than two years ago, and we went every month until I got too pregnant to waddle into the city. This was our first time back since the baby was born, and boy, was it a crazy night!

The typical “salon” has around 30-50 people in attendance. It’s quiet, and intimate, and pretty romantic, which is why the hubby and I always loved to go for a date night. Last night was a little different though…

I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that the head count was close to 200. It was a mad house! There was barely room to move, and I was literally pushing people down to get to the bar. Ha! We arrived right at 7pm to find my critique group ladies (who I haven’t seen in at least a year, some of them 2) huddled on couches in the atrium area of Madam X. Everyone looked wonderful, though that “glow” they had could have been sweat – it was roiling!

We had plenty of time to catch up (read: laugh like hyenas) while we waited for the readings to begin. Up first was Leanna Renee Hieber – she’s one of the founders of LJS, and an extraordinary reader, to boot. Of course, her background is in theater, and fittingly, her first book is being adapted into a Broadway musical.

Next up was Karen Rose, whose reading elicited a lot of “Ewww”s and “Blech”s from the audience. She writes crime novels, and she’s quite good with her descriptions…maybe a little too good!

Last up before intermission was Sarah Maclean. Her Regency voice is fun and frivolous, and she has a wonderful sense of humor. She’s definitely going on my TBR list!

Now it’s confession time…even though I told everyone to eat before they came, they didn’t. So at intermission our little group ducked out to get dinner next door at Jane (and I’m just now getting the irony in that). So yes, we missed the headliner – Eloisa James – but at this point, I’ve heard her speak about 5 times so it wasn’t a big deal to have to miss it. She’s wonderful, by the way, so if you haven’t heard her speak or read, I highly recommend you find an opportunity to do so 😉

So all in all, it was a fun night and I was thrilled to see my wonderful friends and critique partners again. I’m so glad I have another 4 days with them!

Tonight we’ll be hitting up the Goddess Blog party and then we’ll have our annual critique group dinner. I promise to post pictures!

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Christmas Short Story

It’s been written and now it’s just awaiting critiques from my crit partners. Oh, and a title. LOL!

I really enjoyed writing it. It features one of my favorite characters, Katherine Hart, Duchess of Weston, whose story was told in the Valentine’s anthology from Second Wind Publishing earlier this year, Love is on the Wind (still available in ebook or print format!!)

I plan to sell the Christmas story through my website during the holiday season and donate part of the proceeds to charity. Normally, Christmastime is a time for the hubby and I to give. Last year, we found some needy families and bought presents for them so they could have a Merry Christmas. Since I’ll be minutes away from delivering our first baby (she’s due late December), I’ve decided to take another route. Shopping and shipping are chores enough when you’re not 9 months pregnant!

So, stay tuned! I’ll be putting the story up soon for purchase!