Yay Courtney!!!

Golden Heart Nominee for Breath of Honor Courtney Milan's PROOF BY SEDUCTION, about a rigidly logical marquis who uses the scientific method to save his heir from the clutches of a fraudulent fortune teller, only to fall for her and discover that the one hypothesis not susceptible to proof is love, to Ann Leslie Tuttle at HQN, in a good deal, at auction, in a two-book deal, by Kristin Nelson at Nelson Literary Agency (World).

Once Upon a Bed...

I will be eating dinner tonight with my lovely writing friends Delilah and Moira...on a bed. Delilah is taking us to Supperclub where we will recline roman style and feast our eyes on a cabaret show.

The conference is going very well. I placed second in the Hearts Through History contest and I'm thrilled because my friend and critique partner, Courtney Milan, took first. Yay, Courtney! I've received quite a few requests for Filigree and Shadow from agents and editors and that's really the whole point of the conference so Lenora is a happy girl.

Tonight we're off to karaoke at The Mint (one of my old stomping grounds) with a bunch of ladies including the lovely vixens Lacey, Eden, and Shelli. Bliss!

I'll try to remember to bring my camera this time.

Hugs,

Lenora

I Left My Heart In...

Every time I go back to the city by the bay I contract a severe case of nostalgia. The rows of candy-colored Victorians; the salt-tang in the air; the beckoning racks of polyester prom dresses at Thrift Town; the sea bass, mango, and butter appetizer baked in a large mussel shell at Sushi Zone. But this trip I won't have time for thrifting or sea bass and I won't even get to see my friends who still live there. Every second will be spent at the RWA National Conference. Because my life is so insane right now I haven't spent much time preparing for the conference. Maybe that's a good thing. I also haven't had time to feel nervous.

Courtney was blogging about pitching the other day and I realized that I haven't practiced my pitch for Filigree and Shadow and I started to get a bit panicky. I don't have a problem talking to strangers since I'm accustomed to being on stage and I actually like schmoozing. But none of that will help me if I haven't memorized the salient details of a succinct pitch. So that's my goal for today.

I hope your conference preparations are going more smoothly than mine. I can't wait to meet all my internet writing friends in SF! See you in a few days...

Lenora

Velveeta

My friend and I went to happy hour tonight at a slinky new bar. I knew it was my kind of place the second I saw the crimson velvet chaise lounge inside the front door. After a few glasses of rosé I couldn't resist stretching out upon the velvet and pretending I was the languishing heroine of a Victoria Holt novel.

I ate mac and cheese with the very fancy name of Käsespätzle composed of egg noodles, swiss cheese, and carmelized onions. Mmmm. Speaking of cheese...is my new blog photo cheesy enough for you? It was taken during a publicity shoot in China. Please tell me if it's over the top. I don't want to give anyone indigestion.

In writing news, I have exactly 27 days to finish and polish Filigree and Shadow before the RWA national conference where I will be be pitching it to agents and editors. I thrive on mad scrambles to meet nearly impossible deadlines. So here goes...

Winning Ways

I guess I should come out of hibernation to mention that Filigree and Shadow took first place in the San Diego RWA chapter's Spring Into Romance contest.

I don't expect anyone is actually still reading this blog since I've neglected it for so long. I don't have much of an excuse since school's out for summer. Guess I'm still unwinding from finals week. Also I started an internship at an amazing radio show.

More good news!

Huge congratulations to Shelli Stevens who just inked a two-book deal with Kensington and chose Laura Bradford as her literary agent.

It seems like the good news in the romance world just keeps rolling in!

News

Finally some good news to report. I entered Filigree and Shadow into three contests (my very first RWA contests) and finaled in two: Spring Into Romance, and Hearts Through History.

Yay!!

I've been sucked into a whirlwind of work projects, grad school papers, and romance contest entries. I'm flailing wildly until further notice.

The Spymaster Meets Tony Starlight

I took the fab-abbed hunk to Tony Starlight's Supperclub last night where he enjoyed hobnobbing with Portland's glitterati at Miss DA's birthday party.

Who knew the spymaster was such a party animal?


The other guys were a bit intimidated at first.


Especially when he got friendly with the birthday girl.


But after the Professor expounded upon his scholarly virtues...


...everyone wanted a taste.


I took him for a spin...

...but, alas, he preferred the mannequin.


He had a three-way with Tom Jones.


And posed for a shot with Neil Diamond.


Finally, he found his niche.

Where in the World is The Spymaster's Lady?

The smart bitches alerted me to Claire Gregory's fun contest. Take your spymaster and his titillating treasure trail to an interesting location and provide photographic evidence for the chance to win a signed copy of TSML (Joanna Bourne judges the entries!).

It's really too bad I didn't read about this a day earlier because last night I went to a Vagabond Opera show (they are so amazing--that's them in the pic above) and there was a kissing booth where I could have paid a hottie in a schoolgirl outfit to smooch the spymaster. What an opportunity lost. That will teach me not to skip a day at SBTB.

I'm sure I'll think of something tomorrow. Look for a pic soon.

I Spy a Masterpiece

Buy this book!



I missed my bus stop by about a mile today because I was so engrossed in Annique and Robert's story. I'm sure you've read it already, but if you haven't you should. Thank you, Meljean, for pulling my head out of the sand.

My only warning is that this book could prove hazardous to your ego. Bourne is just too damn talented.

New Friends

The conference was fabulous. If any of you get a chance to take a workshop from Debra Dixon you should. She is one of the best speakers I've ever seen. She was witty, fiercely intelligent, passionate about writing, and able to give concrete advice in a way that made sense and motivated me to run home and fix the mistakes in my WIP. I can't say enough good things about her.

I got to meet three of the amazingly talented and sweet Manuscript Mavens. Their storyboarding workshop was very helpful and well-presented and they looked fetching in their matching pink and white t-shirts.

I also met Delilah Marvelle whose upcoming School of Gallantry series for Kensington sounds scintillating and delicious. Check her out!

The best part about conferences is meeting so many other writers whose tales of perseverance and triumph inspire you to keep going. It's not going to be easy. But I'll never get published if I don't polish this manuscript and send it out. It's as simple as that.

I registered for the San Francisco National RWA conference today. Are you going?

Hanging With the Mavens.

I get to hang with the Manuscript Mavens this weekend at the Rose City Romance Writer's retreat/workshop held at the swanky Hotel Lucia. I can't wait to attend the Maven Storyboarding 602 Workshop to get some expert advice. My first attempt at storyboarding didn't turn out so well since I changed my plot to the point where the board didn't make sense and I had to take all the post-it notes off.

It will be so fun to finally meet some of my Avon FanLit friends in person! But San Francisco will be the real party. I'm counting the days...

On fire!

We interrupt this romance blog to bring you a special report about some very hot guys who are burning up the (stat) sheets right now...

While working on my romance WIP tonight, I tuned in to NBA radio to listen to the Portland Trail Blazers incinerate the Golden State Warriors. I've been a Blazers fan since I moved to Portland in 2001. I'm so proud of them right now. They are the youngest team in the NBA but they are playing with poise and passion, with Brandon Roy (picture above--definite romance hero material, n'est-ce pas?) leading the way. They've won 17 of their last 18 games, all without their number one draft pick (Greg Oden) who is out for the season with an injury.

I don't play any sports (unless you count vintage clothes shopping as one). My BF isn't a sports fan. All my friends think it's really weird when I rattle off Blazers stats. What can I say? I love some good ball handling (hee hee).

How about you? Do you take time out from crafting brilliant dialogue to cheer on a local team?