Bronwyn Stuart - Romance Author
  • Home
  • Contemporary and Historical Romance
  • About Me
  • The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
  • Erotic Romance

Conference catch up and update

8/28/2010

5 Comments

 
Hi and welcome!! Thanks for taking the time to read my dribble. It really means a lot to me that my friends care enough to see what I'm up to.

So conference was amazing!! Sun, Sizzle and Surf was the theme and it was a hoot. First there was the Friday workshop with Deb Dixon. Last year I gave you the exact time of my first lightbulb moment. This year it came in the first ten minutes and the rest that followed were just as great! I'm surprised between us all, we didn't blow up the hotel! So many heads bobbed with nods and the expressions in a lot of lady's eyes (and one man's) were along the lines of 'oh my god, you're so right'.

I'm going to apologise for the very brief rundown. If you want to know more about anything, leave a question in the comments section and I'll get back to you. I'm feeling sick enough to swear I can hear the ocean in my ears but I want to get this all down.

Friday night brought about the cocktail party which in itself was amazing. So many people went to so much trouble and dressed them selves up in some weird and whacky costumes. I went as Lara Croft and got some really great comments on my outfit. My biggest achievement for the Friday was not really what I learned or did in the session. It came in who I talked too. Let's start with Harper Collins Editor, Anna Valdinger. Of course I was going to orchestrate an accidental bump in where I would quite literally bump into her and then spend some time saying sorry to which we would then have somewhere to start a conversation. Well, seems I'm not that shy or violent as to actually smash into a stranger so I just went up to her, commented on her friend's shoes (I can't remember her name but she was a Harper marketer) and then we were off and racing! Here's a lesson to learn for those who aren't very confident, outgoing or it's your first time chatting with a person who could change your life. DON"T PITCH YOUR BOOK! I didn't and I'm so glad. We talked about the direction of the market, Avon's line up, what she was looking for, shoes and the weather, but not once did I say 'I'm writing this book'. She knows I'm a writer. Hell, she knows I was itching to blast her with my awesome elevator pitch but I bet she was really glad I didn't. When another lady came up and cut right into the conversation with some totally uniformed opinions and her pitch, you could feel Anna wanting to roll her eyes. Mean for me to put it like that but whoever you are, you killed the great convo I was having with her! (Excuse me, I'm a little bitchy this morning)
Later that night at the cocktail party, I had the pleasure of talking once again about shoes with the Sydney Harlequin team which then opened the door to have a chat with Dianne Moggy. She is the nicest chick!! I think I spent about 45 minutes talking about everything from the weather to what we all wear to bed in our various countries of origin. It was hilarious! We (my two roomies and I) sprinkled in some questions to which she was really happy to answer. Once again, no pitching. I knew I was meeting with her on the Saturday for a one on one pitch anyway so I didn't have to upset her and ruin her night. And it paid off! At breakfast on Saturday, we had a smile and wave. Later I ended up at her table for a session. When it came time to pitch to her, we already had a rapport going which didn't make me any less nervous but I felt more like I sat in front of my friend rather than the International Office Liaison (or something like that, she is very high up in HQN). She told me who to send my book too and then chatted to me about not trying to take every piece of the sub-genre action and just choose one area and focus on that. Thanks Dianne!!

Enough kissing ass now. I also pitched to Ally Watts with Penguin and she told me to send something to her but also send my historical to her offsider, Belinda Byrne. yay!! Three requests from two pitches! My work there was done. Yes the conference is all about what you learn but it's also about the people you meet and the opportunities you can only get at a conference. There is no way, without an agent, that I would be submitting to Penguin or the New York office of HQN without that face time.

On the Sunday there was a charity fundraiser to raise money for Ovarian cancer. I spent heaps of money and got lot's of raffle tickets and ended up winning a mentor for Harlequin's upcoming New Voices contest. Nikki Logan was kind enough to donate her time and expertise and is now helping me out with my entry. It's all very exciting but unfortunately, on the flip side, I'm spending so much time on submissions and contest entries and re working the opera singer that I'm not getting much writing time in. Oh well. That will come soon enough when the conference sickness goes away (yep, most people get sick right after) and the kids are more settled and I'm more settled. Until then, I have my notes so I don't forget too much and I have more amazing opportunities to forward my career than I did this time last month. All in all, a very good result!

Now on a serious note, did you know Ovarian Cancer kills women? It is a silent killer and by the time a woman has symptoms, it's often too late. We, as woman, really get a bit of a raw deal sometimes, especially me! I suffer from a condition known as Endometriosis. I won't go in to the gory details for those who don't want to know but I have added a tab and will work on getting a page up and running to talk about my experiences as I stare down the barrel of a full hysterectomy at only 28. This won't be about pity, sympathy or any of that crap. I don't need it. What I do need is to sound off sometimes and let other women out there know they aren't crazy and they don't have to put up with heavy periods and debilitating pain. It's about awareness and getting help so if you're interested and want to see where my journey as a woman goes or you want to know more about endo, you can come by and check it out. If you don't want to know that much information about me or you're a guy, then don't even go there, it's going to get personal and a bit gross!

Have a great weekend and I'll see you next time! 
   
5 Comments
Bec
8/28/2010 12:11:58 pm

Interesting rundown Bron.
Glad you had a great time!! Sounds like it was certainly successful!!

Reply
Eleni Konstantine link
8/28/2010 03:19:58 pm

Hey Bronwyn,

Thanks for your overview and let me say again you did look amazing as Lara Croft. And fantastic work with networking. And of course - woohoo on your pitches.

Hope you feel better soon!!

E x

Reply
Emmeline Lock link
8/28/2010 11:24:48 pm

Hiya Bron,
Great post. Sounds amazing!
Congrats on those requests, too. And best of luck. :)
E x

Reply
Alexis Fleming link
8/28/2010 11:34:46 pm

Great post, Bron, and you make a fantastic roommate. I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Reply
Fireplace Screensaver link
12/9/2013 01:53:36 am

I'm just browsing around your site for the first time, interesting read

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    RSS Feed

    Disclaimer

    I'm a published author but I'm still mostly stumbling about in the dark looking for the right paths so this blog is about that, though sometimes something will give the me the shits and I'll have a bit of a rant. I'll try not to be offensive but occasionally my mouth opens without asking my brain's permission so I'll apologise in advance.

    Archives

    September 2018
    November 2017
    October 2016
    September 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    November 2014
    September 2014
    July 2014
    May 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    June 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    September 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012
    May 2012
    March 2012
    January 2012
    December 2011
    November 2011
    October 2011
    September 2011
    July 2011
    June 2011
    May 2011
    April 2011
    March 2011
    February 2011
    January 2011
    December 2010
    November 2010
    October 2010
    September 2010
    August 2010
    July 2010
    June 2010
    May 2010
    April 2010
    March 2010
    February 2010
    January 2010
    December 2009
    November 2009
    October 2009
    September 2009
    August 2009
    July 2009
    June 2009
    May 2009
    April 2009

    Categories

    All
    Adelaide Roadshow
    Anglea James
    Anna Campbell
    Australian Women Writers 2012
    Award Of Excellence
    Blaze
    Call Story
    Carina
    Carina Press
    Chicago North
    Conference
    Contest
    Deep Pov
    Don\'t Know\'s
    Dot Com
    Emerald
    Envy
    Fallen
    Favourites
    Final
    Fire And Ice
    Freedom
    Gmc
    Jealousy
    Kinetic
    Lauren Kate
    Linda Howard
    Little Gems
    Margie Lawson
    Me
    Momentum
    National Reading Challenge 2012
    New Year's Eve
    Opinions
    Pitching
    Practice
    Query
    Rejection
    Resolutions
    Reviews
    Romancing The Novel
    Rwa
    Sarah Mayberry
    Scandal's Mistress
    Sizzle
    Stereotypes
    Sun
    Surf
    Thanks!
    The Cull
    Tolerance
    Update
    What Works Versus What Doesn\'t
    Win
    Work Space
    Yvonne Lindsay

Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Home
  • Contemporary and Historical Romance
  • About Me
  • The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
  • Erotic Romance