Kindle giveway, plus gift card.

I'm in a race! Help me win, and you could win, too.

Authors Julie Ortolon, Deborah Cooke, Julianne MacLean, and Lori Devoti have challenged me to be the first among us to add a thousand new members at our fan pages. I'm starting at 391, and I need a thousand more. Just "like" me at Sherri Browning Erwin Readers and we could both win. If I reach my goal first, I get to choose the winner from among my followers.

I shouldn't be telling you, but you could increase your chances of winning by "liking" Julie, Deborah, Julianne, and Lori, too. The author who adds a thousand new members first gets to choose the winner at random from all of her followers. It could be me (tell your friends!) but it could be one of them.

Sherri Browning Erwin Readers

Julie Ortolon, Author

Julie MacLean, Romance Author

Author Deborah Cooke Fan Page

Lori Devoti, Author

More details:

We're racing to see who can add 1000 new "likes" to her Facebook Page. Not the first to reach 1000, but 1000 new likes. The author who wins will draw one name from ALL the people who like her page to pick the winner.

The Prize: A new Kindle Wi-Fi! But wait, there's more...

Bonus Prize: A $50 Amazon Gift Card. The author who wins the race will also draw one name from everyone who subscribes to her newsletter. To subscribe to my newsletter, just put your name and email address in the Newsletter box at the right side top of this page. By signing up, you'll be entered to win both prizes.

Now, let the race begin!

Confessions of a Romance Author: The RWA Diaries, Final Day, Final Thoughs

August 1, 2010

Alcohol units: 5 (gasp, really? Yes. But sample sizes.)

Workshops: 0

Ego: Grounded (conference is over!)

7:00 a.m. Awake and ready to enjoy the day! The plan is to shower, dress, finish packing, check out, and bring our bags down to bell services for the day while we (Julie and I) hit the Magic Kingdom and Epcot.

8:00 a.m. Julie has never been to the Magic Kingdom, and I know she's going to love it. I hope she does. What if she doesn't? The bus is on time and we arrive for opening ceremonies. No doubt-- she loves it! We see Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Donald Duck, Goofy, and other characters at the park opening, and we're ready to hit some rides.

Lines are low and crowds are almost non-existent. What a beautiful morning! I take Julie on a little tour, stopping for rides along the way. The theming and details have won her over, but wait until she gets on a ride. We start with Adventureland and the Jungle Cruise, laugh at the corny jokes, and then on to Pirates of the Caribbean, and a surprise-- "no roller coasters" Julie thinks she can handle Big Thunder Mountain Railroad.

In fact, she loves it and wants to ride again! But so much to do, so little time. We're off to the Haunted Mansion. A walk through Fantasyland. I convince her to try Space Mountain. Fun, but not on her list of things to do again. It's getting late and we opt to head for Epcot for the rest of the day.

11:00 a.m. Julie has never ridden the monorail, so we catch the resort monorail to the Transportation & Ticket Center and then the Epcot monorail. We're in the park by 11:30, in time for lunch. We're hungry! We meander through Future World and catch the boat across the lagoon to Morocco, close to our destination, France! Lunch in France. We add our names to the list of walk-ins at Chefs de France and shop around France until noon. I buy a beret and French milled soaps for my daughter, extra birthday treats, and we're finally ready to wait to be seated.

Julie has the crepe basquaise, a large crepe filled with smoked chicken. peppers, onions, and a cheese, with a nice French white. I opt for the plat de cote de boeuf au cabernet avec pates, beef short ribs braised in cabernet with pasta, pearl onions, and mushrooms and a glass of French red, recommended by the server, from her hometown. Julie's crepe slightly trumps my beef, but both are delicious and service is wonderful. We finish lunch and step outside, where Julie is instantly enchanted by a little street performance, an adorable Frenchman doing handstands on a tower of chairs.

While Julie is caught up in awe, I pop over to the refreshment stand and buy us each a Grey Goose slush, dessert!

We shop in Morocco, in Japan, and head for Italy. In Italy, the charming server talks us into doing the Epcot Wine Walk, 2 2 oz sample glasses in each country, Italy, Germany, and France for $20. Why not? We take our wine and watch another street performance, this one an Italian clown having a ball with his audience (literally, throwing balls to people, too fun!). Then, on to Germany (more wine) and China (tea!), Norway for the Maelstrom (always too short), and Mexico for the boatride (just right). Time is running out. A brisk walk to France for our final wine samples, and back through the International Gateway for the ride back to the Dolphin to claim our bags and get the Mears Shuttle to the airport and home.

Reflections:

It was a productive, educational, fabulous conference! What I learned: networking with friends can be more informative and helpful than attending workshop after workshop. Publishers want to see more paranormal, historical, suspense, and small town contemporaries. The world is changing fast and with digital sales making up more of the sales pie, brick and mortar bookstores are feeling the crunch. Now more than ever, the author has to be their own promo machine and get the word out.

The Dolphin was a fabulous conference hotel. Great service, well-organized, able to handle a crowd. I wish we could have more conferences at Disney World. One plus is that I got to hang out with friends in a non-business setting, get to know people better as people, not just as authors, and we all had a lot of fun. Big Cheers to everyone who worked so hard for the RWA to make the conference possible.

Looking forward to next year, New York City!

Fun Stuff- Win Books

Agent Extraordinaire Janet Reid is hosting the Slay Me with Laughter: Brains and Janes contest on her blog, running from now until Sunday night. You can win Robin Becker's Brains, Molly Harper's Nice Girls Don't Have Fangs, and Sherri and Charlotte's Jane Slayre. Check it out!

Confessions of a Romance Author: The RWA Diaries, Day Five

Saturday, July 31, 2010

Alcohol units: 3

Workshops: 1, or 2 (?)

Ego deflators: 0 (It's a low-key day.)

Ego boosts: 1 (Great talk with my agent, always helps me feel pumped up).

8:00 a.m. No rush waking, but I'm feeling energized. Last day of conference, RITA ceremony tonight. I follow Julie's lead and start packing some things as I get ready for the day.

I'm starting to wonder about attending the RITAs. I love the ceremony, and seeing everyone all decked out. But I'm really missing my dear friend Kathleen Givens, my usual conference roommate and companion. She passed away on January 1, and though I've made it through conference in great spirits, I'm starting to wonder if I can make it through a long ceremony of sitting and contemplating the career paths of my friends and fellow authors without getting weepy (okay, without dissolving into messy sobs) over Kathleen. Losing a best friend is like having a part of your heart ripped out and it has made for an emotional roller coaster of a year.

11:00 a.m. First workshop of the day, another PAN session. I think I've only attended PAN sessions after all this time. I meant to make it to a few other workshops, but the schedule hasn't allowed for it, or I haven't had enough interest. The PAN sessions, though, are great, and this one doesn't disappoint. It's on Career Planning with agents Steven Axelrod, Kristin Nelson, and Karen Solem. The talk is more on the state of the market in general and how they are guiding their authors into it, but it's fascinating and I learn a lot. Social media is key in starting a buzz for most authors now. Facebook and Twitter, check.

12:00 p.m. I meet Dee Davis and Terri Brisbin for lunch at Fresh. It's great to catch up with friends! Terri is a dynamo, and an incredible author. And she manages to pass when Dee and I head up to raid the dessert table. If that doesn't make her an extraordinary human being, I don't know what does.

2: 00 p.m I meant to attend a PAN session on the market, and I think I did, but I don't even remember now if I did or not! Gasp! What does that say about me? Perhaps that I had already started to consider heading to the Magic Kingdom for some time on my own tonight instead of attending the RITAs and my head was already on Space Mountain? Who can say? Why can't I remember?

I do know that I stopped by the art gallery and bought myself some beautiful dolphin earrings, one of a kind, that remind me of my friend Kathleen Givens. They make me smile. I'm so glad I picked them up.

3:00 p.m. Meet my agent for a glass of wine. We're both in good spirits, having a productive time at conference. We have a great talk, and that's all I'm going to reveal.

4:30 p.m. My friend Kathleen O'Reilly calls to suggest we have dinner together. She's not sure about dressing up for RITA either. She might skip the dinner part and sneak in late. But for now, the plan is for dinner at Shula's Steak House. Excellent plan!

6:00 p.m. Kathleen and I meet at Shula's and we're escorted to a lovely table for two in the back of the dining room. It's very stately and male-feeling in decor, dimly-lit, and it's a quiet respite after being surrounded by the high-pitched hum of female voices all through conference. I'm instantly relaxed. And hungry! The menu is written on a football. Nice touch!

But the football thing is really just for show, because next thing you know, one of two waiters (yes, we had two servers for the two of us, it's a very fancy restaurant experience) comes out to present the menu live, with a platter of the beautiful cuts of steak all on display.

At the risk of embarrassing myself, full disclosure, I got the cowboy steak, a 22 oz ribeye. (Hey, I didn't eat it all!). Kathleen got the slightly more demure NY Strip (I think, memory is getting hazy). Both steaks are cooked perfectly to our specifications and are really impressive hunks of meat (exactly what most romance writer conferences are lacking, with the exception of Romantic Times with their Mr. Romance pageant, of course, har har). We started with wedge salads (yummy, iceberg with just the right amounts of bacon, balsamic, and blue cheese). And added sides of creamed spinach and double-baked potatoes. And of course, lovely glasses of fine wine (a cabernet for Kathleen, pinot noir for me). And after all that red meat to rebuild our strength...

Chocolate souffle! One souffle, plenty big enough for two, one of our two servers informed us. Well, it was big enough for four. He spooned it out on plates with whipped cream and vanilla ice cream, and I wished I had more room after all that steak... though I managed a few bites. Yum. Yum. YUM. What a fantastic meal! What wonderful companionship! Kathleen and I talked and laughed and caught up. A really great night. And a really big bill, Shula's isn't cheap. But hey, we're worth it. (And yes, I think it really is the best steakhouse on Disney property, with Canada's Le Cellier falling far short- still good, but more on the chain steak restaurant by comparison, while Shula's is high end steakhouse- and the Yachtsman Steakhouse maybe coming slightly close).

But my night does not end here, dear reader. Oh no! After I get back up to my room, I decide to change and head to the Magic Kingdom.

At the Magic Kingdom, I fit in a ride on my favorite, Pirates of the Caribbean. Then, Haunted Mansion (another favorite, and spookier when all alone). Then I just meander, take in the park, enjoy the sites, the details of Main Street, the smiles on kids' faces, and oh yay! I'm in time to catch the Main Street Electrical Parade! I haven't seen this one in ages. It has been out of the park, in favor of SpectroMagic (which is also good). But the music of the parade fills me with instant joy. So I've missed the RITA awards? I don't have any regrets. The music of the parade is in my head and heart as I head back to the Dolphin from the Magic Kingdom. What an incredible night! Congratulations to all RITA winners, though I was not there to applaud you.

And tomorrow, conference over, headed home... but not until I show roommate Julie around the Magic Kingdom (she has never been!) and World Showcase. Stay tuned.

Confessions of a Romance Author: The RWA Diaries, Day Four

Friday, July 30, 2010

Alcohol units: 3

Workshops: 2

Ego deflators: 1 (no cocktail party invites)

Ego boosts: 1 (out of books early at Pocket Signing- woot!)

7 a.m. A little trouble waking up this morning. The conference grind (late nights, not to mention all the running around Disney World) is getting to me. I wanted to make it to a 9 a.m. workshop, but I think maybe I can sleep one more hour...

7:30 a.m. Julie (perky, sunny Julie) is up getting showered and ready to go. I put the pillow over my head and groan. Yeah, I'm not making the 8:30 a.m. workshop...

8:00 a.m. I manage to sit up in bed. (Applause? Thank you!). And check some text messages. Julia London wants a conference update, and I oblige. Julie seems to be waiting around expecting I will find my perky and join her. I left my perky on the bus. Sorry, Julie.

8:15 a.m. Julie goes off to a workshop and I manage to drag myself out of bed to the shower. Julie calls not long after to report that the workshop was a bust (great workshop, but more suited for a beginner) and that she will wait for me in the lobby and oh, she forgot her earrings, please bring them. I decide to get the "hitch out of my giddy-up." (some TX expression I picked up from Dee Davis, but I am probably using it wrong) and go.

9:15 a.m. I am ready and meeting Julie in the lobby with her earrings. We head to Robert Gottlieb's PAN session on literary agents. Informative, interesting. Julie has to leave early, so I take notes for her.

11:00 a.m. Spotlight on Pocket. I'm a Simon & Schuster author, technically Gallery not Pocket. But it pays to keep up with the buzz, and who knows. I meet up with Molly Harper again. I take notes. Big news: Pocket is launching Pocket After Dark, an online community for romance readers and writers. How exciting! Will check that out. Also, editor Lauren McKenna mentions my bff Julia London's amazing books, especially her latest, One Season of Sunshine. Yay! (note to self: remember to text Julia later). And my agent comes over as the session wraps up to say hi to Molly and me, but we'll catch up more later.

12:00 p.m. Time for lunch! I'm meeting dear friends Virginia Henley, Jacquie D'Alessandro, and roommate Julie for lunch at the Dolphin's Fresh Mediterranean Market restaurant. Jacquie and Virginia are colorful and gorgeous as usual. Of all days, I picked today to wear black! Oh well. We're all happy with lunch, but Jacquie is especially thrilled that there's a dessert bar included complimentary with lunch. When she returns with her dessert bar selections, she declares "This really IS the happiest place on earth!"

2:00 p.m. I'd wanted to hit a 2:oo workshop, but I have a signing at 3 and take some time to go back to my room to relax, freshen up, and call home instead. My husband is picking up his new car today and his excitement is contagious. My new car, he reports, will be delivered on Tuesday after I get back from conference. Yay! New cars all around (if only, having an Oprah moment).

3:00 p.m. Show up to sign books at the Pocket Authors Signing. The publisher gives books away, which means lines are long and crowds get crazy, but it's so fun! Fortunately, my worst fears (that people will not even want my book for free, ha!) are not realized. In fact, I'm out of books in less than twenty minutes. I'm the first author to run out! (I had two boxes, forty books. I'm not going to think about how many other authors had and that they probably had more... I will just take my George Costanza "I'm outta here!" grand exit).

3:30 p.m. After the signing, I'm free for the day. All of my other friends are headed to cocktail parties and grand events, but I am free. I stick around to watch people get dressed and see who I can catch in the lobby. I love to see the fancy outfits. But also, it's a good time to catch up with rest, relaxation, or maybe I will head to the Magic Kingdom. Decisions, decisions.

I spend some time in the room alone, then some time catching up with Julie. I watch Julie change and leave, and then just relax some more and change and head to the MK.

I haven't been to the Magic Kingdom yet, and though I have been having a great time at Walt Disney World and at conference, it never feels like I'm really there until I see my favorite resorts (the monorail resorts), the Seven Seas Lagoon, and Cinderella Castle. As the bus pulls up to the MK surroundings, and I see the Contemporary Resort, I am recharged. At last, I'm really here!

I never get tired of the Magic Kingdom. I have a fantasy that I could live at Disney World and vacation for a few weeks at a time in the real world. I manage to fit in a ride on the newly improved Space Mountain (fun!) and Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin. I must be fueled by competitive drive, because it's just not the same alone. I score a measly 9600 (embarrassing!). My friends call. They're leaving the Harlequin Party and heading over to see me at the MK!

But when my friends (Dee Davis and Julie Kenner) get to the MK, we decide we're all hungry, craving sushi, and opt for a change of plans. We head for the Polynesian. My first monorail ride of the trip! I get a good glimpse of my favorite resort, the Grand Floridian, where I spent my honeymoon nearly twenty years earlier. My excitement builds when we're stopped briefly at the Contemporary, at the Transportation and Ticket Center, and finally, at the Polynesian! We check at Kona Cafe, but the wait is long. There are seats available at the Kona Cafe Sushi Bar, and that's what we're after anyway. While waiting for our sushi (volcano roll for me), we decide to skip the Magic Kingdom and do a monorail pub crawl, a drink at every resort. At the Polynesian, I get a Lapu Lapu (drink in a pineapple, winner!). We sip slowly, get our sushi, and laugh and talk. The volcano roll, delicious, with a creamy spicy sauce. We tell the server, no dessert, thanks. We have other pubs to visit!

Next stop, the boat launch to the Grand Floridian. This involves no wait, as the boat is at the dock, and a slight detour to the Magic Kingdom first before we can head back to the Grand Floridian. But it's beautiful on the lagoon at night, lights twinkling, and a wonderful ride.

When we arrive, I show off the Grand Floridian as if I am showing off my home, and it feels like it. And my friends are impressed. They seem to love it as much as I do. I wish I could show them to a room, and open all the shops, but I'm afraid Disney does not consider the Grand Floridian to be my home quite as much as I do. (Writer in residence, Disney? Call me!). We head to Mizner's Lounge, where we all order the Magic Glow Cocktail (I don't remember the official name, but the drinks are pretty!). We toast each other, yay us! And we keep our souvenir glowing "ice" cubes. You never know when they'll come in handy. Then back to the monorail, headed for the Contemporary Resort.

At the Contemporary, we know we want to go to the California Grill, but the attendant is not at the desk. We walk around a bit, then go up anyway. The woman at the desk tells us that we can go on to a table in the bar. We're all pleased with the view. But the server eventually comes over and tells us last call already happened. We're too late. But if we hurry, we can probably still get service at The Wave. Off we go!

After some poking around in the Contemporary Resort, we find The Wave. The bartender is friendly and welcoming. We order drinks (mine, the Ecotini, comes with a bracelet, cool!). We feel so pleased to have had such a great time together and decide to do a pub crawl at the next RWA. Watch out New York City! Cheers!