As the South swelters under a heat wave, it’s hard to believe school is already on the horizon. Watermelon season is passing, and we won’t have such ready access to fresh corn and melons. Before school starts, though, the Romance Writers of America are descending on Orlando and Walt Disney World. The Romance Bandits have assembled a fabulous basket for the literacy raffle at the booksigning, which is open to the public, so we hope you’ll check it out. All the money from the signing and the raffle will go to local literacy programs.

I just finished a manuscript. Writing “The End” is always a pleasure, and I’ll start revising when I get back from Florida. While it sits, I’m working on other things and reading.

If you’ve been here before, you may have noticed the wonderful site redesign by my webmistress, Liz Bemis. We’re still fine-tuning, so drop me a line if you have a particular suggestion of something you’d like to see. Book excerpts are up, so I hope you’ll check them out.

I’m blogging on Romance Bandits on my usual day, August 26, and the topic this changing life stages. I’m hosting debut author Katherine Ashe on August 5 and Southern paranormal author Barbara Monajem on 27. Stop by and join the fun.

Thanks for stopping by. Have a great month!

On the Road

Filed in: Blog

JUL

2010

7:06 pm

All over this country and in several others, people are packing clothes, preparing families to make do without them for a week or so, and setting out for airports. The Romance Writers of America are converging on Orlando, Florida, for their annual conference. What with workshops and parties and sightseeing, attending the conference requires a variety of clothing. And accessories. I’m not one of those people who finds assembling all this easy. I don’t have the gene. But I do like the way everyone looks so polished and elegant, and I’m usually glad I went to the trouble of coordinating various outfits.

A very different crowd converges on Atlanta about a month later, for the four days of DragonCon. Many of these people will be wearing costumes related to their favorite science fiction, fantasy, comic book or movie worlds. Most of the others will opt for what the dh calls “appropriately decorated t-shirts.” The packing is much easier–spare jeans in case of spills, t-shirts, toiletries, etc. Not very glamorous, but there’s lots of fannish enthusiasm.

Which do you prefer–casual occasions or dressy ones? Do you have any packing secrets?

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