Under and Over with Denise Rossetti

I so look forward to the Romance Writers of Australia Conference every year - and every year, it seems to get better. For you guys Over There, think about an organization about the size of a large RWAmerica chapter, and full to overflowing with fantastic, creative, obsessed, loud writers. Oh yeah, did I remember to say LOUD? LOL

The venue was the Crowne Plaza Hotel at Coogee Beach, a southern suburb of Sydney. This is the view from one of the upper rooms. Not, I hasten to add, mine. My room overlooked the tennis court, and though I kept a sharp eye out, there were no hunky tennis players, alas.

The Highlights:

The Book Signing was organized by the Australian Romance Readers Association and they did a fabulous job. It was noisy, frenetic, exhausting -  and a whole heap of fun.

The Cocktail Party theme was Fantasy Island which, um, leaves a certain amount of leeway costume-wise.  There were multiple Lara Crofts, Cleopatras and Princess Leias. Keri Arthur came as a dark angel and looked terrific, but Anne Gracie swept all away (as usual!) to win the prize as Dame Barbara Cartland (left). My personal fantasy was to be able to squeeeze into my purple medieval-type dress,which I did by giving up breathing for the night, so I wore that. Here I am with the Bennett sisters. Aren’t they demure? Get a load of the gowns and bonnets, let alone the spiffy reticule.

Of the workshops, two were standouts for me. Jessica Hart’s A-Z Survival Guide for Romance Writers was funny and touching and wise. This business might be sending me slowly but surely around the twist, but - hey! - I’m not alone. *snort* The other was How to Stage a Fight Scene with combat expert Ray Flores and two incredibly brave assistants. Ray was charming and funny - and absolutely lethal. What he did to a raw lamb roast with the merest flick of a knife gave me the shudders. On the other hand, I learned all sorts of useful techniques, and discovered I’ve been garroting people the wrong way for years. *evil cackle*

I did my workshop on Deep Point of View for an astonishing eighty people.  I survived, and fortunately, so did they. I’m thinking the chockies helped. When it’s my bum on the line, I’m a great believer in bribery and corruption. heh heh

The awards dinner is always such a joy. I love frocking up for a start. (I’ll have you know my evening wardrobe is now almost exclusively red. Wonder why?) Check out the shoe fest (left) with the lovely Lisa Barry - who is now, officially, a Master of Creative Writing (Romance). Go, Lisa!

Below, I’m with Eleni  Konstantine, tireless worker for RWA and total sweetheart. Eleni’s Taverna is the best blog. Also note beloved iPhone. LOL

All the contest winners receive their awards, but the big moment is the announcement of the R*BY Awards. These are a Big Hairy Deal, being our equivalent of the RITAs.It was delightful to see Sharon Archer, Amy Andrews, Tracey O’Hara and Sophia James win their respective sections.

But the best part of the evening - in fact, the most wonderful moment of the whole weekend for me, is when Anne Gracie gets everyone on their feet -

whether they submitted a contest entry or a query, published a book, contracted, finished a book or supported someone who’s writing. By the end, the whole room is standing and cheering. Always makes me want to cry.

On the Monday, I had the day to myself, so I tottered into Sydney city and did a tour of the Opera House. The tour was fascinating and the Harbour was stunning, as usual. Truly one of the great natural wonders of the world.  Next time I’m there, I swear I’m going to climb the Bridge, but I’ve hurt my knee and 400 steps up and back didn’t sound like such a bright idea.  One day…

If you’d like to read more and see more pics, you can try Kate Cuthbert at All About Romance, Paula Roe or Suzanne Brandyn. Plus, there’s the RWA blog. And I’m sure they’ll be more.

If you were there and I missed you somehow, I’m sorry. Don’t forget there’s always next year! Put a link in the comments if you have great pics. I’m not only a lousy photographer, I tend to talk too much and forget. Unbelievable, I know! *snicker*