Author Nation in Las Vegas

 In the beginning of November I took a great road trip to Las Vegas to Author Nation. I knew there was a conference in Las Vegas, but in the past it was called 20 Books Vegas. In 2023 co-founds Michael Anderle and Craig Martelle announced that there would still be a facebook group, 20 Books To 50K, but the conference was changing.

  Author Nation is led by Joe Solari and he and his team did a fantastic job organizing this event. The Horseshoe in Las Vegas held the event and it was very convenient to stay there and just walk down to the different conference rooms.

  

  There were so many great speakers at the conference. It was hard to pick which class to go to. Thankfully, if you purchased a ticket to the conference you get access to the recordings in January so you can watch what you missed.

Willow Winters was a speaker and it was enjoyable and informative to listen to her during her interviews. Her story to becoming a full time author was interesting and she gave us a little information on her battle with AI using her work without her permission.

 I have read a few of her books and they are great.

J.D. Barker was also a speaker at the conference and he is a very interesting man. I was lucky enough to see him speak in the past at the Chanticleer conference in Bellingham, Washington.

His story is interesting and amazing. From ghostwriting bestselling books, to selling everything he owned and moving to focus on creating a career as an author. He told us how he is both traditionally published and self published. 

  I have read his book Fourth Monkey and liked it. Not my usual genre but I plan on reading the rest of the series.

   

   The main event was an interview with James Patterson! 

  Sadly, he fell ill with Covid and couldn't attend the conference. Thankfully, he was feeling well enough to join us through Zoom. 

  J.D. Barker interviewed him and James Patterson is one of a kind. He was funny and honest about his career. It was very enjoyable interview and I was glad he was able to join us via Zoom.

  I confess I havn't read any of his books, but I did get his latest book at the conference and plan on reading it soon.

When Author Nation was over, the next day was Reader Nation. Many authors set up booths and sold there books and gave fans a photo opportunity. This even took place in the Paris Ballroom at the Paris Hotel. It was easily accessed through the Horseshoe Casino. So many great book but so little room in my suitcase to take them home!  I did go home with nine new books and got to visit with some author friends.

  

  I was lucky enough to catch up with and finally meet Jordyn Kross and got a signed book from her.

   Is Author Nation something I would do again?  Absolutely! 

  Though I will probably stay at the Paris. The Horseshoe was very fragrant between cigarette smoke and something that smelled like Axe Body Spray to cover it up. So people with sensitive sinuses will struggle. Paris didn't overpower me with smells as I explored the casino and restaurants. 

  I didn't budget for how expensive food and coffee would be. Lesson learned.

  I did manage to take in two Las Vegas shows while there. Tournament of Kings was great and so entertaining. Cirque du Soleil Ka was AMAZING!  Loved it.

So if you ever get a chance to go to Author Nation I recommend it. 

Happy November!

 It's National Novel Writing Month!

Every year I attempt to get a novel finished for NaNoWriMo and every year I fail.  So far this time it's off to a great start. I'm working on Rimrock Book 3 and it's coming along nicely. I can't imagine how many rewrites I'll be doing after it's finished but I'm making great progress.

If you've read Promise of Spring, (Rimrock Book 2) I introduce Clu and Aleena in that book. I always planned a story for them but was struggling. Now it has taken off and taken them in a direction I wasn't expecting.  Their adventure begins in Rimrock and a family tragedy sends them to Saint Louis. Clu's father death was no accident and his brother's life is in danger. Orphan Aleena will do whatever she has to do to help save the family she wants to be a part of.

In this book readers that read Promise of Tomorrow, (Rimrock Book 1) will find out what happened to Anya after she was kidnapped along with Shyfawn. Anya will have her own story as well. I have several Rimrock Spinoffs planned. Ha! I'd get more done if my brain focused on one thing at a time.

I hope anyone else participating in NaNoWriMo is getting lots done!

Happy Thanksgiving to Everyone!

Wild Deadwood Reads

Deadwood, South Dakota never disappoints.

Over the years I've been to many events there, or just driven there for dinner. It's always a good time. 

Wild Deadwood Reads has to be my favorite event. Even if this year was the first time I attended.  I have been wanting to go for the past few years but always have to work that weekend. This year I took vacation time and was happy to spend a few days among some great authors.

I had a great talk with Laura Scott and Lori Handeland. I by chance sat next to them at the bar while having dinner. Naturally, I had a ton of author questions for them. (They humored me well) They gave great advice and were some awesome gals.

I met a lot of new people and finally got to meet several that I've been hoping to meet one day. I was horrified when I was driving home and realized I never made it back around to several tables to get signed books to match my kindle books. (I had to run to the car for more money and got sidetracked when I came back in)

But I still came home with a bunch of books. I was glad this event brought so many great authors to one location near me. A few of the cover models attended as well.

I was so thrilled to finally meat Shanna Hatfield and Pam Crooks!!!   I wish we could have had more time to talk. I probably could have chatted with them for hours.

Meeting Gunner Quinlin and Jenna St. Clare was an unexpected treat. A great couple that does audiobook narration. I'm definitely interested in having them narrate some books I have planned in the future under a pen name.

Wild Deadwood Reads is something I plan on attending again. Maybe next time I'll have a table there as an attending author.

new novella

 Got a little side tracked again. Instead of working on the next Rimrock book, I'm playing with a Wild Love novella.

As usual, I liked a sub-character in Outlaw's Redemption. A sub-character that was never meant to have his own story. But my brain started wondering about him and soon a story developed.

Hank Donavan's story takes place after Guarded Hearts.

A life of solitude in the mountains above Rimrock suited Hank Donavan.

Until Lilly Kingston arrived at his cabin claiming to be his mail order bride.

Chanticleer Conference Win!!!

  After three years I was finally able to attend the Chanticleer International Book Awards!! As always, the conference didn't disappoint. There were so many great classes and so much to learn. Kiffer Brown and her team did an amazing job putting the conference together and making everything go smoothly.

  This year was a lot of firsts for me. It was my first time sitting on a panel to talk about genre boundaries. My first time standing on a stage and talking into a microphone. I got to announce the winners of the Shorts: Collections and Novellas. It was all worth fighting my natural panic of being the main focus and talking in front of people. Hopefully I can do it again some time.

   When awards time came, it was great to hear the name of friends announced as First in Category for their genre. The atmosphere was so uplifting and the cheers all over the room was thrilling.

   Guarded Hearts got First in Category for the Laramie and I was on cloud 9. I was so happy for my fellow Laramie winners; all are great people. Many of my fellow Laramie winners couldn't attend. I was excited to send messages about their win to them.

It was a big surprise when Guarded Hearts was announced for the Laramie Grand Prize. I wasn't expecting it, so I had no speech prepared and have no idea what I said. But it was an amazing experience and I'm still in shock over it.

  I'm excited to go back again next year. I won't have a book done in time for the Laramie Contest, but I still plan on going to Bellingham for the conference. There is always more to learn and more great authors to meet. I was thrilled to see old friends this year and make new ones. Hope to see them all next year as well. 

Guarded Hearts

Book Talk

   I had a great time at the Hulett, Wyoming Library doing a book talk. I was thrilled that so many people came and enjoyed it. I talked about how I got started writing and the self-publishing process. 

   The questions afterword were great and I have a few ideas for adding a couple extra things in the back of the books. I loved the request for a family tree diagram in the book. You know your readers are serious when they make notes in the book about your characters. I loved it! 

  I confess it was my very first public speaking engagement and I was terrified! Never in my life have I stood before people to talk. I was pleased that I didn't panic and made it through just fine. It's something that I would like to do again sometime. Being an introvert, I shocked myself when I agreed to do it! I had a blast, but now I'll have to hide at home for three days to recover. Ha!

  It was a wonderful learning experience for me, and I hope that my audience left knowing more about self-publishing. Hopefully some of them will look into it and publish their own work.

Countdown to Bellingham.

I'm counting the days until the Chanticleer International Book Awards.

Both Guarded Herts and Outlaw's Redemption made the Finals!

 

   The conference in Bellingham, Washington is such a great experience. I haven't been able to go for the past three years and I'm so excited to go this year. There are so many great authors there and it will be great to see them again. I'm anxious to meet (in person) several new author friends I've made over the past couple years. 

   The last weekend of April can't get here soon enough!

   It will be the first trip I've taken in three years and am looking forward to the road trip to Washington. I have a list of things to stop and see along the way and get some book research done as well. Lots of new book ideas floating around in my noggin.  I'm still working on book 3 of the Rimrock Series, but progress has been slow. I'm hoping to get Wild Love book 4 finished this year as well.