Comments on: RWA 2012 Wrap Up

By: J.R. Newell

J.R. Newell — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 19:58:32 +0000

Thank you Blythe for such a great summary of a great conference. This was the first time I had been back to the RWA conference since 2005 and I was very impressed by how EXCITED everyone was to be there and to be part of something so special. I believe that there has never been a better time to be a romance author and/or reader. I am curious if anyone has attended both the RWA conference and the Romantic Times convention? I would love to hear a comparison (I can only afford to go to one next year).

By: Lilly

Lilly — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 13:26:34 +0000

Last four romances I read:
Marriage of Mercy, Harlequin, $6.25: cover picture and back cover blurb have nothing to do with the story inside.
On the Island, Penguin, $15.00: Typos
50 Shades, Vintage, $15.95: Misspellings, typos
Bed of Roses, Berkley, $7.99: Typos, grammatical errors

I don’t think publishers are trying to be relevant anymore.

By: Blythe

Blythe — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 02:34:57 +0000

Thanks for the compliments, everyone. @Mary beth: The elimination of the category happened during the national meeting (and I’m not a member, so I wasn’t there). But my understanding is that they were defining romance more narrowly because they thought it fit the vision better of the organization better. But really, there aren’t all that many categories in the RITAs. I think they probably could have just left well enough alone.

By: LeeB.

LeeB. — Tue, 31 Jul 2012 01:03:10 +0000

Renee: Thank you, Blythe for the update.I, too, have only read a few of the award winners and was not familiar with many of the authors such as Barbara O’Neal, Fiona Lowe, Darynda Jones and Serena Miller.Are they new to the romance world?

Renee: Barbara O'Neal has also published books under the names of Barbara Samuel and Ruth Wind. Darynda Jones has had two books reviewed on this website. And in the latest annual poll, she received an Honorable Mention for Best Debut AUthor.

By: Elaine C.

Elaine C. — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 23:36:12 +0000

I’m a historical romance reader and I was so pleased that Tessa Dare won Best Regency Historical and Joanna Bourne won Best Historical Romance. Both books were excellent and a joy to read.
“You go, girls”!

By: Miranda Neville

Miranda Neville — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 17:11:04 +0000

Excellent wrap up, Blythe. You are quite right about the optimistic tenor of the conference. I was too busy enjoying myself to define it. Great chatting with you and Lynn.

By: Renee

Renee — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 16:01:29 +0000

Thank you, Blythe for the update. I, too, have only read a few of the award winners and was not familiar with many of the authors such as Barbara O’Neal, Fiona Lowe, Darynda Jones and Serena Miller. Are they new to the romance world?

By: Mary Beth

Mary Beth — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 14:32:47 +0000

I loved, loved, loved How to Bake a Perfect Life. In fact, I was so delighted by Barbara O’Neal that I went and bought all of her back list, which wasn’t exactly cheap in e-book format!

I felt like I was reading a romance, so I am a puzzled by the elimination of this category. How exactly does it not address the RWA’s mission statement?

Well, I am delighted to hear that this splendid book and author won a RITA and furthermore, it was great to read that Ms. O’Neal was inducted into the Hall of Fame.

Thank you so much for your entertaining summaries of your ‘daily doings’ at RWA. I especially enjoyed your obvious enjoyment of Disneyland, a place that I have never been and never really desired to go, until I read your daily wrap ups!

Mary Beth

By: Maggie AAR

Maggie AAR — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 14:31:24 +0000

Enclave by Anne Aguirre is only $2.99 on Kindle so I bought it. My poor TBR mountain – never have I had so many books to read (and so little time to read them).

Maggie

By: LeeF

LeeF — Mon, 30 Jul 2012 14:26:30 +0000

Each year when I read about the RWA conference, it sounds like a fun interesting trip. Maybe next year……

maggie b. thanks for the list of winners. Like you, I have only read two so will have more on my growing TBR stack.