Welcome newbies and seasoned travel veterans to Authors Dish. With only three weeks until Romane Writers of America 2019 I’m searching for what authors and industry professionals always include in their suitcases, what they stash in their conference bag to avoid hunger pains and the things they forget once and hopefully never again.
While some of the authors contributing are not attending, we love that they want to contribute and hope their words of wisdom help to ease any anxiety you might have getting all the things in your suitcase.
May these posts inspire you to shop early, make your lists, and triple check so you are prepared for just about anything. If you’re heading to #RWA19 I’d love to say hi. Let me know in the comments below so we can meet up in NYC.
Stay tuned over the next few weeks as we’ll have plenty of tips and tricks in the upcoming weeks so check the blog daily.
Today in the cafe are USA Today Bestselling Author Eliza Knight, Author Golden Czermak and Author Olivia Dade
Rae: What five things do you have to pack when attending a conference?
Eliza Knight: A dress for the RITA award ceremony, amazing shoes, a fun new piece of jewelry, fun swag related to my newest book, a sweater because it’s always freezing in the workshops!
Olivia Dade:
1. My e-reader, first and foremost. Even though I’m exhausted at the end of each day, I can’t sleep unless I wind down from all the peopling and crowds and noise, so I read before bed every night. Once upon a time, this meant hauling a carry-on bag full of paperbacks, so I’m dedicating my lack of shoulder pain to my Kindle. I ♥ you, Kindle! Never, ever leave me! ::clings::
2. Comfortable shoes. Every year, I pretend I’ll wear heels at some point. Every year, I am once again That Author in Slightly Worn Sandals and/or Flat Mary Janes.
3. Clothing arranged by length of hemline. I will shave my legs once for a conference. Once. (Technically, it’s probably more of a shearing, but “shaving” sounds classier.) So, if you’re bored during the conference, feel free to track the ever-lowering hemlines of my clothing as I move from knee-length to midi to maxi to It’s Time for Pants Again, Yay!
4. My planner, which is where I keep all my friends’ contact info and scrawl down notes about various planned meetings. I have heard that my cell would also serve this purpose, but that would involve learning how to use crucial features of my phone, and nah.
5. A pin with my author avatar on it, so people who only know me from social media can spot me in person. A hint: In real life, I’m somewhat more three-dimensional and am in full color!
Golden Czermak:
Rae: What is your snack attack must haves in your day bag?
Eliza: — a power bar or some nuts
Olivia: I don’t really snack, but I need ready access to water at all times.
Golden: protein bars and Bang energy drinks
Rae:What’s the one thing you forget to pack and swear to remember next time?
Eliza: — my pins for my badge
Olivia: I keep meaning to locate and pack a less-socially-awkward version of myself, but so far, she has evaded me. Damn you, elusive Alternative Universe Olivia! Damn you!
Golden: Beard balm
Rae: Thank you so much authors! Readers, what’s the ONE thing you always forget and swear to include next time when you travel? How do you make sure that you remember ;).
I’ll be keeping a running list and will post it a week before #RWA19 so that hopefully no one needs to make a quick run to the lobby market or drug store around the corner. I’ll see you soon for new authors and more ideas!
Eliza Knight: Eliza Knight is an award-winning and USA Today bestselling author of over fifty sizzling historical, time-travel and contemporary romance novels. Under the name E. Knight, she pens rip-your- heart-out historical fiction. While not reading, writing or researching for her latest book, she chases after her three children. In her spare time (if there is such a thing…) she likes daydreaming, wine-tasting, traveling, hiking, staring at the stars, watching movies, shopping and visiting with family and friends. She lives atop a small mountain with her own knight in shining armor, three princesses and two very naughty puppies.
Connect with Eliza at: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads | Instagram
Thirty or so years later, I have a few answers. 1) Because my mom apparently fancied pirates at that time. Now she hoards romances involving cowboys and babies. If a book cover features a shirtless man in a Stetson cradling an infant, her ovaries basically explode and her credit card emerges. 2) His manhood. Also, her womanhood. 3) It’s his “hard length,” sometimes compared in terms of rigidity to iron. 4) Because explaining how an orgasm feels can prove difficult. Or maybe the couples all had sex on New Year’s Eve at Cancun.
During those thirty years, I accomplished a few things. I graduated from Wake Forest University and earned my M.A. in American History from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I worked at a variety of jobs that required me to bury my bawdiness and potty mouth under a demure exterior: costumed interpreter at Colonial Williamsburg, high school teacher, and librarian. But I always, always read romances. Funny, filthy, sweet—it didn’t matter. I loved them all.
Now I’m writing my own romances with the encouragement of my husband and daughter. I have my own stack of books in my closet that I’d rather my daughter not read, at least not for a few years. I can swear whenever I want, except around said daughter. And I get to spend all day writing about love and iron-hard lengths.
So thank you, Mom, for perving so hard on pirates during my childhood. I owe you.
*******
If you want to find me online, here’s where to go!
Website ~ Twitter ~ Facebook ~ Newsletter
Golden Czermak: In the beginning, Golden worked the standard corporate rat race, completed college for a Chemical Engineering Degree, and began a small photography company on the side.
Since then, and the growth of the FuriousFotog brand, Golden became an internationally published modeling/fitness photographer and eventually began working as a book cover model.
Having been in the industry for at least six years, he has interfaced and networked with countless authors and other clients. As part of his work as a photographer, he worked with them to create book cover images – now numbering over 550 at the beginning of 2018.
Learning the ins and out of the book world, along with being an avid reader and storyteller himself, Golden finally decided to write and publish his first book, Homeward Bound, in 2016.
www.onefuriousfotog.com (Photography)
www.goldenczermak.com (Books)
In case you missed our other posts here’s the recap so far:
7-2-19:Authors Dish RWA 7-2-2019 with New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Cathy Maxwell, Author Tarina Deaton, and Author Tonya Burrows7-1-19: Authros Dish RWA 2019 – USA Today Bestselling Author Robin Covington, Author Kelly Maher, and Author Cate Taylor
