This was a really busy conference for me and it was hard to run into people without making actual plans to meet them. I missed seeing a couple of friends except in passing and I wish we'd set a time and place to meet. It seems, though, that the more conferences I go to, the busier and busier I get. I thought this one would be a less hectic conference than last year, but somehow, my schedule just got filled up.
I heard a few rumors. I don't know how accurate they are, but word is the Bombshell line isn't going to be around much longer. H/S isn't buying any more books for it, at least right now. One of my friends who writes for H/S said that Har American is supposed to expand to six books after the sweet romance line gets cancelled and that they don't want erotic-type sex in this book, but rather warm, loving scenes. Another friend who writes for H/S said she didn't hear any of this, so I have no idea who's right.
I also heard there's some thought that the erotic romance market is being glutted and that it will likely slow down. Again, can't swear to the veracity this is all second, third and even fourth hand information.
I've seen market news on a bunch of loops, so I'm not going to try to remember all that. :-) The one piece, though, that I found most interesting was Dorchester's Shomi books with manga covers. If I had the time and the right idea, I'd be tempted to put a proposal together for that, but I don't. The thought is to appeal to women 18-26 with younger heroines (which I already write) who are taken from their world and brought into the hero's where she might not necessarily know the rules.
I left the hotel way early on Sunday morning because my flight was at 8:30. I ran into a couple of women from my chapter while I was waiting for the shuttle, and when we saw the group waiting with us, we decided to take a taxi to the airport instead. We ended up adding a woman from Kansas City to our group and took off. I think it was the right decision. It was cheaper than the shuttle with four of us and we got their much faster and we weren't crowded.
I wish I could sleep on planes, but I don't and I didn't feel like reading. I'd already finished the inflight magazine on the trip down so I just closed my eyes and relaxed. I couldn't believe it when I landed in Minneapolis and discovered it was hotter and more humid than it was in Atlanta! OMG! We were at 99 degrees on Sunday and hit 101 on Monday. Good thing I didn't have to dress up here. :-)
I think that's about it for conference stuff. I have a couple proposals I need to put together and get to my agent before I get revisions on the two projects I turned in during June and I don't know if I'm going to make it with the second one.
The hero in the second one is a secondary character in the book that's just been released this week--Eternal Nights. Flare is Chief Warrant Officer for an army Special Ops team. While I was thinking about him, another character showed up--the team's sniper. This guy is quiet as hell, but something about him makes me want to fan myself. :-) But Flare is the one I need to work on.
Off to the day job. Sigh.
