Tag: Romance Novel TV

Blast from the Past Part I: Ride ‘Em!

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Hope_bull_4Deadlines kept me planted in my writer’s chair during this year’s Romance Writers of America national conference held in Atlanta. Joining in the fun vicariously via Facebook and Twitter–the Literacy Book Fair, the hotel meetups (translation: lobby bar), and of course the Awards Gala–sparked my memory to fond recollections of previous conferences.

At the 2007 RWA held in Dallas, I was invited to be filmed with Kathryn Caskie and a few others as part of fellow author Sophia Nash’s “Girls Gone Wild” segment for Romance Novel TV. Our ladies’ night began with a limo ride from the hotel to Cowboy Red River Saloon. There, before rolling cameras, we received a quick-and dirty lesson in the Texas two-step courtesy of two Stetson wearing local swains, downed jalapeno margaritas, and braved the mechanical bull ride. (Note: imbibing the margarita before the bull ride was absolutely essential. Also note: save margarita #2 for celebrating your successful or not so successful descent). Think Debra Winger in “Urban Cowboy” only–hint–you can adjust the speed. Not only did I keep my seat for the full time, but I had so much fun that I just may take a repeat ride. Maybe. Possibly. We’ll see…

For now, check out these fun photos and Tips for How to Ride a Mechanical Bull. Most double as excellent advice for staying the course in life, too. I particularly like: Remember to Wear Pants.

Wise words…

And please check back here on my blog for additional Blast from the Past posts as well as giveaways, book updates and my all ’round good news–the only kind I post.

Hope

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The Strangely Beautiful Tale of…Miss Leanna Renee Hieber

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As little girls, lots of us played at dress-up, even imagined ourselves as fairytale princesses a la the Walt Disney storybook tales. I know I did.

Some of us took the fantasy well…a wee bit farther.

(L to R) Leanna Renee with photographer, Biz Urban at the August Lady Jane's.
(L to R) Leanna Renee with photographer, Biz Urban at the August Lady Jane's.

My dear friend, Lady Jane Salon co-founder, and newly minted Dorchester author, Leanna Renee Hieber took the game up a notch, make that several notches. Parading about her parents’ living room in rural Ohio speaking in a British accent and quoting the likes of Edgar Allen Poe, it was clear Leanna Renee was doing more than playing a part.

She was living a dream and quite possibly a past life.

And so was born Percy Parker, the heroine of Leanna Renee’s Victorian set fantasy romance, The Strangely Beautiful Tale of Miss Percy Parker.

Percy is a most unusual romance heroine just as Strangely Beautiful…, the first in a quartet series, is a most unusual romance-think Victorian Ghost Busters. Delicious!

But there’s more. Lady Jane’s Salon has joined forced with our friends at Romance Novel TV to bring you Lady Jane’s Book Club at RNTV. Now those of you who aren’t able to attend the physical salon (as well as those of you who do) can participate monthly. The book club offers videotaped interviews with the featured salon authors as well as the ability to interact with the author and other readers via an online discussion of the book complete with a list of suggested topics.

So much goodness…

Madame X in Soho, New York City's sexiest lounge.
Madame X in Soho, New York City's sexiest lounge, the perfect setting for Lady Jane's. Photo by BizUrban.com.

Leanna Renee will be reading and signing at this Monday’s (September 7th) Lady Jane’s Salon from 7-9 PM and yes, books will be available for purchase onsite at our beloved venue, Madame X. Special guest reader: award winning author, Isabo Kelly. A special Strangely Beautiful cocktail is being… concocted for the event for the recession busting price of $5.

As always, proceeds from the door ($5 or one gently-used romance novel) will go to support Share the Love.

In the meantime, please do visit RNTV for the book club questions and a videotaped interview with Leanna Renee.

Happy Labor Day Weekend,

Hope

PS The third and final installment of Nekkid Truth: La Touche Finale will be posted here this week, so please check back for the final unveiling: before/after publicity photos of Yours Truly by the uber talented Biz Urban.

What a Lady, What a Night!

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“What a lady, what a night…”

So the classic rock song goes and likewise so went last night’s launch of Lady Jane’s Salon, Manhattan’s first (and so far only) reading series devoted to romance fiction. The series, founded by Ron Hogan, Maya Rodale, Leanna Renee Hieber, and Moi benefits Share the Love, which reaches out to groups assisting women-in-transition build independent lives.

Hope chats with a guest during the meet-and-greet.
Hope chats with a guest during the meet-and-greet.

Forty or so attendees packed the elegant Victorian-inspired salon setting of Madame X in Tribeca. Distinguished guests included Carol Stacy, Publisher and Liz French, Managing Editor of Romantic Times BOOKReviews; Maria Lokken and Marisa O’Neill of Romance Novel TV; and Barbara Vey of PW’s uber popular blog, Beyond Her Book. Also on hand to clink glasses was Scandalous Women blogger, Elizabeth Kerri Mahon.

Foreground L-R: Bookseller and reviewer, Stacey Agdern and Barbara Vey, PW's Beyond Her Book.
Foreground L-R: Bookseller and reviewer, Stacey Agdern and Barbara Vey, PW

After a cocktail meet-and-greet, Ron took the stage as emcee to introduce Share the Love and Lady Jane co-founder, Maya Rodale. Maya spoke briefly and eloquently about her one-year-old organization’s mission to distribute gently-used romance novels to groups assisting women-in-transition, such as Women in Need (WIN), a domestic violence shelter located in Manhattan.

Guest author Andrea Pickens chats with the crowd.
Guest author Andrea Pickens chats with the crowd.

Award-winning author, Andrea Pickens got the party started by reading from The Scarlet Spy, the latest in her Regency-set historical series about a plucky group of young women trained as espionage agents. After a short break, during which Andrea and I signed our books, I read from Every Breath You Take…,my latest Harlequin contemporary release.

Books galores. The proceeds from all sales benefited Share The Love.
Books galores. The proceeds from all sales benefited Share The Love.

Last but not least, we made money for the cause as well as collected a cache of fabulous romance novels to be distributed to women working to achieve their own Happily Ever After beginnings. If that’s not sharing the love, I don’t know what is.

Next month’s Lady Jane’s Salon will take place on Monday, March 2nd, 7-9 PM at Madame X with romance authors Lauren Willig and Jenna Petersen as our guest readers. If you’re in Manhattan or passing through, I hope you’ll consider putting Lady Jane’s on your calendar.

Hope

Proudly Presenting…Lady Jane

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Once upon a time three romance authors and one blogger went out in Manhattan after attending one of the city’s many literary reading series. Amidst the pungent aroma of cigars and single-malt scotch the conversation turned to the sad fact that there exists no reading forum for romance fiction in Manhattan, the seat of the publishing kingdom. And that struck us–oops, them–as really rather sad.

Then one of the romance writers, we’ll call her Princess Maya, got this gleam in her eye. All, well, gleamy-eyed, she looked ’round the Round Table (okay, it was a booth, but…), drew a deep breath, and announced, “Jeepers, let’s start a romance reading series of our very own!”

Okay, she didn’t actually say “jeepers.” I’m totally making that part up but the rest, for sure, is right on the money. And within that 30 seconds or so of yes, sheer brilliance, Lady Jane was born.

Co-sponsored by Share the Love and Beatrice.com and co-founded by Maya Rodale, Ron Hogan, Leanna Renee Hieber, and yes, Moi, Lady Jane’s Salon is Manhattan’s first (and so far only) reading series devoted to romance fiction. The Salon will meet on the first Monday of every month starting February 2nd, 7-9 PM at the uber swank Madame X lounge in Tribeca.

The program format will be two author readers per evening with a short break between and a Q&A gab fest finale. Andrea Pickens and Yours Truly will be getting the party started in February; future authors TBA.

Admission is one gently-used romance novel or $5, your pick. All proceeds will benefit Share The Love, a non-profit organization that distributes gently-used romance novels to groups assisting women-in-transition. That we get to read our books and share the possibility of Happily Ever After beginnings with women working to build hopeful, independent lives is more than the best of both worlds. It’s the stuff of which real life fairytales are made.

For directions and other delicious details, please check out my Media and Events page. And for more juicy behind-the-scenes scoopage, please plan to stop by our live chat this Sunday, January 25th at Romance Novel TV.

Wishing you sweet dreams and candy-heart kisses…

Hope

Back from RWA in Dallas…

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Hi All,

I’m finally rested up from the Romance Writers of America Conference held in Dallas and ready to dish. The conference kicked off on Wednesday evening with the Readers for Life Literacy autographing. Think 450 romance authors packed into the Hyatt’s grand salon signing their books and chatting up readers. That was enough to steam up even the most Arctic air conditioned of rooms.

Instead of my normal slinking to the hotel bar post-signing for vino and fried munchies, I joined fellow authors Kathryn Caskie and Sophia Nash on a out-of-hotel foray to Cowboy Red River, a “real live Texas cowboy bar” complete with mechanical bull. Romance Novel TV came along for the proverbial ride, film crew in tow. Courage bouyed by a very large and very strong Texas style Margarita, Yours Truly climbed aboard the about-to-be bucking beast. Maybe it was the tequila, maybe it was the white Stetson borrowed from a cute cowboy called Ray, or maybe it was just my stubborn Irish pride, who knows, but bumps and bruises aside, I managed to hold my seat for the full eight seconds. For those of you tempted to remark that eight seconds isn’t all that, I say this–Try It. 😉

That was, of course, only the first of my four days in Dallas. Other highlights include dancing to “Love Shack” at the Harlequin Party on Friday night with about-to-be Rita winner, Julia Quinn, dishing with RNTV emcee Sophia Nash on “the red carpet” at the Saturday night Golden Heart and Rita Awards ceremony and gala, and sipping champagne with Kathryn Caskie, Nocturne author, Pam Poulsen, and romantic suspense writer, Terri Ridgell in the Hyatt lobby lounge while the rest of the hotel guests evacuated in response to a (false) fire alarm–think the orchestra playing on the deck in “Titanic.”

Okay, enuf about me. Anyone else go?

I’m sure I’m leaving out lots of fun times and events, but summarizing four action-packed and star-author studded days into a single post would make for one book length blog. That said, I hope you’ll check back for pictures from the conference to be posted. In the meantime…

Happy Trails,

🙂 Hope