Lynn Raye Harris

Today I’m over at Petit Fours and Hot Tamales, talking about my writing and giving away a book!

The lovely folks at CataRomance have reviewed my book! Click here for the entire review. Here’s my favorite part:

Début award winning author Lynn Raye Harris has rocketed onto the romance scene with her sizzling SPANISH MAGNATE, RED-HOT REVENGE. Ms. Harris’s darkly dangerous alpha hero and spitfire heroine come together to ignite the pages of her first book. Awesome plot, beautifully detailed scenes and biting dialogue make for some entertaining reading that you will not want to miss. Keep an eye on Lynn Raye Harris as 2010 promises more great reads from this new star of romance.

It’s been one of those weeks, or couple of weeks, when life has moved at a breakneck pace and I’m still huffing and puffing and trying to catch up. You have heard all about my RWA conference, but shortly after I returned home, we made a quick trip to Louisiana to see my grandmother. She’s in a nursing home, and she’d recently been moved to the hospital with an infection and a distinct lack of will to live. We went down there not knowing what we’d find, but she took a turn for the better. She’s back in the nursing home now and promising to eat and get stronger if we’ll take her to Wal-Mart when we come back. She’s always loved Wal-Mart.

I was glad to see her (if I told you how many years it’s been since I’ve seen her, you’d be shocked) and sad too. She used to be a bold, brash woman who chain-smoked, cussed, and read paperback novels like there was no tomorrow. Going to her house for a couple of weeks in the summer was a supreme treat because she had a room crammed absolutely full of novels. And she didn’t care what I read. I remember reading 9 and 1/2 Weeks once and being shocked at the sensuality of it. There were horror novels, romances, women’s fiction, science fiction, etc. I read lots of stuff, so much that I can’t remember everything. It was like living in a library, especially since the room I stayed in was the library room. I was surrounded by books. (And, unfortunately, the scent of cigarette smoke.)

Grandma doesn’t read anymore, mostly because she’s weak and can’t see well. I gave her a copy of my book (large print) just in case, but I’m not sure she’ll read it. Which is okay. I think just having it there is enough. Though it was good to see her, I came away with a horror of nursing homes and a bit of anger that she did this to herself. See, she wouldn’t stop smoking, no matter how sick she got, no matter how smoking ruined her body. Smoking doesn’t just give you lung cancer. I learned this past weekend that it can debilitate you so bad you have to be hooked up to a catheter and have nurses change you because you can no longer get out of bed.

You may wonder how I can be certain it’s the smoking that did this. Grandma has two sisters, one younger and one older. They are spry, capable women who still have all their motor functions and who live in their own homes. They don’t smoke, and they exercise. Grandma chain-smoked and ate whatever in the hell she wanted. And she never exercised. So yes, it’s a combination of factors, but I can’t help but think how differently it would be if she’d taken better care of herself, if she’d listened to the doctor’s advice and given up the cigarettes. She could still be in her home, reading books, going for walks, enjoying life. Instead, she’s in a prison for old people. A soul-crushing, depressing place that smells like boiled pasta, urine, and mold.

I guess I sound like a public service announcement, but I do hope that you will take care of yourselves. Give up bad habits, start healthy ones, and read romance. Speaking of romance, Spanish Magnate, Red-Hot Revenge is available in stores NOW. I’m so excited about it! Even though I went to Louisiana for a somber mission, I still managed to get into a couple of bookstores and sign my books. It was great to see them so far from my home, and to be welcomed so warmly.

I’m working on my next book (my 4th for Presents), so better get busy. What are you up to today? Writing? Reading? Exercising?

I’m over at Dear Author today with a My First Sale interview. Come see what I had to say about my journey to publication!

We’re up to the final day. I’m exhausted telling you about it, so imagine the exhaustion of being there. I slept in, thankfully, then made it downstairs in time to meet some of my Southern Magic chapter mates for lunch. We went to Murphy’s Pub, where several of us regaled Christy Reece with tales of Twitter and finally convinced her to join. By afternoon, she’d done so and I became one of her first followers.

Here’s Marie Campbell and Christy Reece:

We had a great time at lunch, but then it was back to the hotel. I ran into several friends and spent time catching up, then finally ended up in the bar with Janette Kenny, Sandra Marton, and Michelle Willingham. And that, dear readers, is where I stayed until time to get ready for the RITAs. My feet were tired of walking, and I was having too much fun talking.

The RITA/GH ceremony was a lot of fun, as usual, and two of my chapter mates, Danniele Worsham and Kim Law, were up for the Golden Heart award. Kim won, and we’re very proud of her in Heart of Dixie.

And now the pictures….

First, here’s me with fellow M&B author Kimberly Lang

Now our shoes (we’re kind of known for this in HOD)

And now all the members of our chapter who went to conference

The whole week was great fun. It went by too fast, wore me out, and I can’t wait until next year! At least it’s only a drive to Nashville. This means I can take more shoes since I won’t have an airline-imposed weight restriction. Don’t tell my hubby…..

Be sure to come back on Monday when I’ll be telling my First Sale story over at Dear Author!!

We’re up to Friday now. My brain was beginning to be fried, and I was certainly exhausted, but there were more fun things to do. First, I had a presentation to give with Crystal Jordan, Maria Geraci, Melissa Francis, and Kate Pearce. Our workshop was called “I Sold to New York…Now What?” and we talked about what a new author can expect in that first year after selling. It was well-attended, and people asked lots of great questions. My initial nerves went away when I realized how interested people were, and how cool my fellow presenters were (I had only just met them!). I realized that I actually like giving workshops; now I need a great idea for next year.

After the workshop, I attended a Mills & Boon Meet and Greet. It was great fun to talk to the authors and editors, but nothing was more fun than meeting Jeannie Lin who sold on Wednesday and won the Golden Heart on Saturday. She was understandably quite happy when I met her; I can only imagine what she felt like Saturday night. After the meet and greet, we went to the Awards Luncheon where Eloisa James inspired and made people cry all at once. She is a fabulous speaker, and I was certainly moved.

Later that afternoon, I attended the Harlequin Spotlight where the editors from all the lines talked about what they were looking for. The best surprise of the day: my cover emblazoned across the screen for all to see — and the cheer that went up in the audience when Executive Editor Tessa Shapcott said how they’d bought me from their contest. Not sure if it was a friend who started it, but I’m grateful for the enthusiasm. I felt very humbled by it.

At 6:30, I met Tessa and fellow author Kate Hewitt for dinner. We had a lovely meal at a place called Pesto. I’m afraid I gushed over the food — we can’t get real Italian food in my part of Alabama. This was the real deal, just like I’ve eaten in Italy, and I was in culinary heaven. Then we went to the Harlequin party at the Ritz-Carlton. I wish I could show you pictures, but I forgot my camera. *sigh*

The party was loud, fun, and fabulous. Most requested song? “It’s Raining Men.” Biggest group dance? “Thriller.” The bar was open, the desserts were flowing, and the DJ was the same guy from San Francisco (and he will be in Nashville too!). It was totally, totally fab. I talked and danced so much, and didn’t get to bed until about 1AM. The next morning, my thighs and calves were sore. (Note to self: get into dance shape by next year.)

Tomorrow, the RITAs.

Um, Thursday. Yes, that’s right. I’m tired just trying to remember! Okay, so Day 3 (officially Day 1 of conference) dawned bright and early when someone had a hair-brained idea to have breakfast at 7:30am. Bear in mind this is really an hour earlier for me. And I had to get up even earlier than that to be there.

So, breakfast with the HMB newbie loop! What fun! Fiona Harper and Donna Alward are officially on the list of people who make me giggle. Especially Donna. Good gracious. But do you think I managed to take even one picture of any of the lovely women present? No, it was too early.

After breakfast is a bit of a blur. There was Janet Evanovich and a great Q&A about her writing life, and then at noon it was time to meet the other Presents authors and editors in the lobby for drinks before adjourning to the Lebanese Taverna for lunch at 1:00. Here’s a pic of me and Janette Kenny, who just debuted with the fabulous Pirate Tycoon, Forbidden Baby:

And Kate Walker and Jennie Lucas, looking all cool and elegant:

Lunch was fabulous; we talked quite a lot, ate Lebanese food, and discussed our favorite books: Harlequin Presents.

Probably the biggest highlight of my day, aside from spending time with such wonderful people, was my tour of the Washington Post. This was a special tour for HMB authors and editors. We walked around the very quiet newsroom, saw Bob Woodward’s office, met a Pulitzer-winning journalist, and peeked into the offices of the late Katharine Graham and her son, Don Graham.

Best of all, we sat in on Story Hour, which is when the various editors of each section get together and discuss the stories for the next day, what will appear on the front page and why, etc. In fact, they made a change while we listened in and a story about President Obama speaking to the NAACP moved to the front page while a story about the Maryland GOP’s financial woes moved to the Metro section. The reasoning was fabulous and it was a fascinating discussion to be allowed to listen in on. I’ll never look at the WP the same way now that I’ve sat in that room and watched the paper come together on screen.

The day finally ended with The Golden Network Dessert reception where I was booted to alumni status for having sold a book in 2008. (We won’t discuss my brief appearance at the Harlequin Pajama Party or the trek across the lobby in leopard print pajamas that preceded it. The shame, the shame.)

Now do you see why there’s so little sleep happening at conference? It’s non-stop activity. But I wouldn’t trade it!

Tomorrow, the Harlequin Party…..

Duh, just when I said I didn’t have any pictures of the ladies from breakfast, three of them are in this photo with me. Donna Alward is beside me (I’m in the yellow Hawaiian dress), Fiona Harper is all the way at the other end, and Barbara Wallace is all the way at the back, half hidden by Shirley Jump and editor Kim Young. For a much better explanation of who is in this photo, see Donna’s post at The Pink Heart Society.

Day Two (Wednesday for me) began quite early when I and my roomies had to leave our overflow hotel and return to the conference hotel by 8AM. We made it, stashed our luggage in friends’ rooms, and I took off for breakfast with the Harlequin Presents authors. It was my first time meeting several of them. I knew Jennie Lucas and Kate Walker, but met Janette Kenny, Sandra Marton, and Sharon Kendrick for the first time. I also met editors Tessa Shapcott and Sheila Hodgson. We had a great time talking and eating, and I immediately felt comfortable and welcome (and yes, even a bit starstruck — Sandra Marton and Sharon Kendrick! I knew Kate Walker already, so wasn’t as apprehensive, but wow, talk about Presents royalty, yes?).

After breakfast, the ladies adjourned to tour DC, but I had a workshop to prepare for. Kimberly Lang, Linda Howard, Linda Winstead Jones and I gave a talk at the Chapter Leadership Seminar about rescuing your RWA chapter and making it fabulous. Let’s just say that shoes were a part of our program. No, shoes have nothing to do with rescuing your chapter, but they do have everything to do with our obsession at the Heart of Dixie RWA. We do everything in fabulous shoes when at all possible.

The big event of the day, however, was the Literacy Autographing that began at 5:30. After a very quick trip to see some of my Pixie Chick sisters in Harry’s Pub, I headed for the exhibit hall with my box of 15 books, bookmarks, autograph stickers, and some Hershey’s kisses. I’ve been to the autographing before, but never as a published author. Because my book isn’t available in stores yet, I had to take my own copies (hence the 15). I found my table, got set up, and prepared for a lot of sitting and smiling and maybe selling 2 or 3 books.

Beside me was the fabulous C.S. Harris, who was nominated for a RITA. I tried not to be fan girl, but she was wonderful and I couldn’t help but gush about her historical romances written as Candice Proctor. She was very gracious about it. One of the big pluses about the signing was seeing old friends. Here is a photo of me with Alison Cunliffe, who I’ve known for about 15 years now and once toured through Germany and Austria with.

The signing lasted for 2 hours. It was noisy and busy, and yet there were many times when I simply sat and talked to the writers on either side of me. Yet somehow I managed to sell all 15 books. I was quite surprised about this, especially since only about 5 of them were to friends. There were also two ladies who simply wanted my picture. I’m not sure why, but I smiled and gladly let them take it. By the end of the signing, I was ready for the next phase — party with the Presents authors. I didn’t get any photos of that, but we ended up in the lobby bar for burgers and drinks. It was quite fun.

I can’t remember when I crashed into bed, but I’m guessing it was around midnight. Here’s me at the signing. Tomorrow, my Day Three report.

Wow, DC was extraordinarily fun! I did so many things, y’all. Talked to lots of people. I had a blast! I used to live in DC, so touring wasn’t high on my list of things to do. But one of my roommates, the lovely Pamela Hearon, managed to finagle a tour of the Capitol for us. I’ve been in the Capitol many times, but it’s so beautiful I was ready to go back. And I’m glad I did!

The day started in the Rayburn Office Building where we trekked to Pam’s Congressman’s office and dutifully turned over all our liquids, signed a guest book, met the Congressman, and took a photo with him. Yours truly even managed to give the man a bookmark. Hey, he asked why we were in town. I do have to say that he was wonderfully gracious considering all the ladies in the photo, with the exception of one, were from Alabama and couldn’t ever vote for him if so inclined. Nice man, truly.

After our tour, several of the ladies split off for sightseeing while Pam, Kimberly Lang, and I went to lunch at a place called Bullfeather’s just down the street from the House office buildings. (Lunch was on the Marriott, btw. We were asked to stay in another hotel for one night and given quite a nice incentive to do so: a free room, cab fare, and $100 cash.) Later that evening, we all met up again and went to the Occidental to celebrate Kira Sinclair’s birthday. A quick walk to the White House, and then we were headed back to our hotels for the night.

That’s the end of Day One in DC. Tomorrow, I’ll tell you about my presentation at the Chapter Leadership Seminar and my experience at my very first Literacy Autographing!

One more thing: today, I’m also blogging over at Kate Walker’s blog. She’s giving away a tote of signed books! Come say hi!

I’ll be away all week at the RWA National Conference in DC. I won’t be blogging, but I will be Twittering! If you aren’t following me yet, what are you waiting for? Who knows what I’ll post on Twitter, but I’ll endeavor to do so frequently.

Oh, and one more piece of good news: my 3rd book has been accepted! THE PRINCE’S ROYAL CONCUBINE will be a March 2010 release in the UK. The US date is still to be determined.