As some of you may know, I attended the Romance
Writers of Australia annual
conference recently and had an absolute blast. It was wonderful to mingle with
my colleagues and friends, learning tons along the way!
The core conference is held over a weekend in August, with a
Professional Development day the previous Thursday and a special all-day Workshop
on the Friday. This year, the conference was held at Sydney Olympic Park, about
a thirty minute drive from Sydney's city centre, and this little black duck
attended the Professional Development day and the core conference.
Thursday - Professional Development
Day
I had a great
time learning all about self-publishing and marketing trends. Jim Azevedo
from Smashwords and best-selling author Marie Force discussed what worked in their experience, while in
another room, authors were learning potential pitfalls during media interviews.
After lunch, more workshops with media lawyers, accountants,
neuro-psychologists to keep your mind creatively strong and personal trainers
to keep your body strong.
Then it was on to the Literary High Tea! Co-sponsored by
Decadent Publishing, this high tea was to support Literacy in Australia. It was
a wonderful event with lots of yummy food and the hilarious and awesome Cherry Adair spoke at length about her passion for books and
literacy...and florid historical romances with anatomically impossible love
scenes :D
Friday - Free Day and Leather &
Lace Cocktail Party
I went into Sydney and puttered around, making sure to purchase
caramelised pickled onions. Hey peeps, they're only available in Sydney and are
DELICIOUS. Don't judge me!
I came back with plenty of time to get ready for the Leather
& Lace Cocktail Party. I, being the staid child I am, chose to wore a lacy
dress with a leather jacket, but some people went all out! There were
Maleficients and Chers, Village Peoples and Steampunkers, and much fun was had
by all.
Saturday & Sunday - Core
Conference
Then the conference began in earnest! Lots of people, lots of
information, lots of fun. And, to top it off, my critique partner, Lucy Clark, won a R*by! The equivalent of the RWAmerica Rita, I was
so thrilled to accept it on her behalf. I then Amelie'd the crap out of that
baby. You can see the results on Twitter with the hashtag #lucysrubytravels
That's about it, peeps! The conference was tons of fun, and it's
in Melbourne next year. I do love a bit of Melbourne...
Cassandra
XX
Cassandra Dean is a best-selling,
multi-published author of historical and fantasy romance. Her latest novel, SILK & SCORN, is part of her popular Silk Series,
featuring Victorian Era lawyers and their happily ever after. Her next novel,
SLUMBER, will be available soon from Decadent Publishing’s Beyond Fairytales,
and features Cassandra’s take on Sleeping Beauty.
Cassandra is proud to
call South Australia her home, where she regularly cheers on her AFL football
team and creates her next tale.
Visit Cassandra’s website
at http://cassandradean.com
Join Cassandra’s mailing
list at http://eepurl.com/kzesP
Follow Cassandra on
Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/AuthorCassandraDean and on Twitter@authorCassDean
Contact Cassandra at
cassandra@cassandradean.com
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