Stop by http://www.romconinc.com where I’m blogging today. Leave a comment and you’ll be entered to win a copy of my latest release DYING SCREAM as well as a copy of DEAD RINGER and I’M WATCHING YOU.
Romconinc is a new conference scheduled to be held July 9-11, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. I’ve already signed up and can’t wait!
This past weekend I had the chance to visit bookstores in Richmond, Fredericksburg and Northern Virginia and sign stock of my latest romantic suspense DYING SCREAM. It was great fun meeting booksellers who reported that store traffic and sales were brisk. I ended my mini-tour with a signing in Boonsboro, Maryland at Turn the Page Bookstore. Also signing were Nora Roberts, J D Robb, Patricia Gaffney, Ruth Ryan Langan, Mary Blayney, Patricia McDaniel and Jonna Mendez.
I’ve always been a big believer in writers joining writer’s groups. There’s a lot to be said for hanging around folks who do what you do. Not only do other writers (published and pre-published) “get” the writer’s life but they are such a great source of inspiration and knowledge. This past weekend ended up being a double header meeting-wise. I drove to Bethesda, Maryland for the Washington Romance Writers meeting featuring guest speaker Sue Grimshaw of Borders Books. Sue was a delight and offered great marketing tips. After WRW I hurried down the road to attend the November Sisters in Crime meeting. Published chapter members got a chance to talk about and sign copies of their latest release. Since my next book, DYING SCREAM, won’t be out for a couple of more weeks, I signed copies of I’M WATCHING YOU and DEAD RINGER. Next weekend: Virginia Romance Writers.
(L-R) Donna Andrews, MB, Ellen Byerrum and Barb Goffman
When I heard that Judith Krug, the librarian who founded and nurtured Banned Books Week, died this past April it brought home to me the genuine enormity of what she had achieved. I wanted to do something to honor her and her accomplishments. That “something” became a Banned Books Week presentation at the Gayton branch of the Henrico County Public Library, Tuesday, September 29th at 7:30 pm with authors Meg Medina (Milagros: A Girl from Far Away), Natale Stenzel (Between a Rock and a Hard Place) and Kit Wilkinson (Protector’s Honor). We’ll be discussing and reading from our favorite banned books and exploring why intellectual freedom is important to us all.
Just wrapped up the six-week Citizen’s Academy sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Richmond, Virginia Field Office. I’ve got to say the course was the best! FBI agents offered sessions on the Victim Witness Program, Firearms, Counterintelligence, the Critical Incident Response Group, White Collar Crime, ID Theft, Forensics, Islam, Domestic Terrorism and Counterterrorism. If you ever get the chance to take a course like this is your area, I highly recommend it.
I traveled to Hamilton, Ohio (40 miles north of Cincinnati) for the Mad Anthony Writers conference. The event featured a Writers Police Academy on Friday which included trips to the county morgue, tours of the police station and a canine demonstration. Saturday was just as jam packed with tracks for aspiring writers as well as research sessions (e.g. SWAT, High Risk Traffic Stops, and Crime Fighting Technology). If you get the chance to go to this conference next year, GO!!
MB in a Hamilton police car with sirens blaring.