Today I have a special treat for you. In front of the RT Book Lover’s Convention, being held
in Kansas City, MO, May 1st – 5th, we have a panel of
authors from various genres. I had the pleasure of
talking with Pat Simmons,
Lisa Watson, Ethan Cross and Mingmei Yip. These authors either have attended,
or will attend the convention next month.
As I research and learn all I can about this convention (RT stands
for Romance Times by the way) I couldn’t help but get excited.
The convention, which celebrates in a different city each year,
will be celebrating its 30th Anniversary this year. Let me share
some things I learned about this conference:
·
There will be over 450 authors representing
all genres
·
Goody bags to die for
·
Vendors galore (including Ingram Content
Group)
·
Publisher and Author gift bag drawings
·
Dozens of Publishers, Agents and Editors
(Including HarperCollins, Kensington, Amazon and Hatchett)
·
Industry related services and bloggers
(Including Publicity Services)
·
Workshops (Business: Paradigm Shift, Craft:
American Idol the Writer’s Edition and Business: What Rights Do You Have? And
How Much Are They Worth)
·
Did I mention goody bags to die for?
·
Agent and Editor appointments and sign-ups
·
Parties Galore (Carina Press Cocktail Party
and the Harlequin Dance Party)
·
Giant Book Fair and Teen Day
·
And so much more!
I wanted to attend this event so bad that I ran to the website to
find the registration information and realize that I already have another
convention planned for this time. Then, I got overly excited when I saw that
this event will be held New Orleans, Louisiana next year. My bubble was
deflated when I realized, that it too, would be during yet another conference I
will be attending. However, I’ve already got my sites on 2015 and I can’t wait.
Below, you will find a brief bio of each author, along with his or
her websites. Please support these authors by BUYING a book, READING the book
and then REVIEWING the book on Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Goodreads.
PAT SIMMONS is
a self-proclaimed genealogy sleuth. She is passionate about digging up the dirt
on her ancestors, then casting them in starring roles in her novels. She has
been a genealogy enthusiast since her great-grandmother died at the young age
of ninety-seven years old. Pat has won numerous awards for her novels, which include
Talk to Me, Grace and Humility and Still Guilty, which was voted the Best
Inspirational Romance for 2010. Pat is best known for her Guilty series: Guilty
of Love, Not Guilty of Love, and Still Guilty. She is continuing the series
through the Jamieson Family Legacy trilogy: Guilty by Association, The Guilt
Trip, Free From Guilt. Pat has recently been nominated for the best Christian
fiction award by the African American Literary Awards for her latest release,
Crowning Glory. Pat and her husband live in Missouri and have two
children.
MINGMEI YIP has been a published writer
since age fifteen when a Hong Kong magazine published an article she wrote on the
arts.
She currently has twelve books to her credit, five in
Chinese and seven in English. Her most
recent works include The Nine Fold
Heaven (Kensington Books, 2013) and a children’s book Grandma Panda’s China
Storybook – Legends, Traditions, and Fun (Tuttle Publishing, 2013).
Other novels by the author are Kensington Skeleton
Women (2012), Song of the Silk Road (2011), Petals from the Sky (2010), and
Peach Blossom Pavilion (1008). Her children’s books are Chinese Children’s
Favorite Stories (Tuttle, 2005). Her Chinese books include The Art of Qin Music,
Guqin Music and Chinese Culture, World of Music, Never Poles Apart (collection of essays), and Good Time on
Earth, a book on Zen Buddhism. All have been well received in Hong Kong and
three have had Taiwan editions.
LISA WATSON
is a native of Washington D.C. which fed
her romantic imagination. Creating interesting, realistic characters that
challenge personal and spiritual growth are her forte. Because of her love of
Nature, picturesque locales that she visits always seem to find a way into her
latest
novels.
Having parlayed her love of
the romance genre into her debut novel, Watch Your Back, Lisa garnered rave
reviews, an Afr’Am Literary Fest award nomination, and topped the Amazon
Bestseller list. Her second novel, Interview
with Love also received great reviews.
The co-publicist for RT
BookReview Magazine’s annual RT Booklovers Conventions, Lisa secures social media
interviews for National and International Bestselling authors.
Lisa resides in North
Carolina where she is subcontractor for the Bureau of ATF. She has been married for 17 years, has a teenager
son and daughter, and a Maltipoo named Brinkley.
ETHAN CROSS is the
International Bestselling and Award-Winning Author of The Shepherd, The Cage, Callsign:
Knight, and his latest, The Prophet—a novel described by bestselling author Jon
Land as "The best book of its kind since Thomas Harris retired Hannibal
Lecter."
While #1 New York Times Bestselling Author Lisa Gardner said,
"The surprises are fast and
furious and will leave you breathless to read
more."
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