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 Annie West, Author Anna Campbell and Author Geri Krotow.
Rae: What five things do you have to pack when attending a conference?
Annie West:
Comfy shoes!
Spare comfy shoes.
A pashmina or cardigan for when the air conditioning turns cold.
Notepad and pen. For some reason at a conference I prefer taking notes by hand. Plus I need something for scribbling midnight story ideas because conferences always get my creative juices flowing.
A spare bag for bringing home new books.
Anna Campbell: Teabags (I love hot tea and there are never enough supplied in the hotel room, especially in the U.S.), pens, bookmarks featuring my latest release, my favorite lipsticks, my camera
Geri Krotow: The 5 things I absolutely pack for RWA are: (1) comfortable shoes. If my feet aren’t happy, it makes what’s otherwise a wonderful time miserable. (2) Bandaids–in case my comfortable shoes fail me. 🙂 (3) Ginger tea bags–I like ginger or chamomile tea in the room at night. It’s a good way to unwind from the constant motion of an RWA conference (2000 people is a lot!). (4) Headphones of some sort so that I can do a meditation app or listen to great music while working out in the gym. (5) And I try to always remember to pack my smile!
Rae: What is your snack attack must haves in your day bag?
Annie:
For the flight – some sweets to suck on – a great way to avoid sore ears when the plane changes altitude suddenly.
For the conference itself, some chocolate Tim Tams since I’m Australian and I love to share.
Anna: Actually I’m not a big snack person. I tend to save my eating for meals! One of the fun things about conferences is getting to eat somewhere new and with someone else doing the washing up!
Geri: I don’t pack a lot of snacks to carry around, because lucky for me, my roomie Heidi Hormel lives in the snack capital of the world and brings plenty of Utz snacks. But I do like to have raw almonds and lots of water with me.
Rae:What’s the one thing you forget to pack and swear to remember next time?
Annie: Extra Tim Tams – they disappear so quickly!
Anna: My pashmina. I always forget it until I’m in an airconditioned room and find it’s too cold for me and I’d like something over my shoulders. It’s perfect for conferences because it’s light to carry and fits into a handbag, and yet it’s really warm – and still I forget it!
Geri: I often forget the multi-plug extension cord. It’s a must! Another thing–it’s a good idea to have a massage or good yoga session before RWA week, to get my body relaxed so that I don’t tense up from all the hauling of luggage, etc. I’ve learned to pack light but it’s still a lot more lifting and twisting than I’m used to.
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!
Annie West: Annie is devoted to the study of charismatic, sexy heroes who cause trouble in the lives of their heroines. She enjoys writing passionate, intense, contemporary love stories and is a USA Today bestselling author, published in 25 languages. She lives in eastern Australia and loves to travel to exotic locations for research. Her next release is ‘Sheikh’s Royal Baby Revelation’.
Geri Krotow: Geri is the bestselling author of the Silver Valley, PD for Harlequin Romantic Suspense, where she also contributes to the Coltons continuity series. The Bayou Bachelors with Kensington Lyrical Caress. She also penned the Whidbey Island series for Harlequin Superromance. A U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former Naval Intelligence Officer, Geri left her Naval career to pursue a writing career two decades ago. Geri enjoys creating sexy contemporary romances and tingling suspense, preferably with settings that she has personally experienced in her global travels. Geri loves to connect with readers! Please find her on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, and at her website, where you will find a complete book list and can sign up for her newsletter, at www.gerikrotow.com
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
