Home From Conference:)

Oh, did I not mention I was off to Louisville this past weekend?

Friday, Nancy and Brooke picked me up and we headed east.  Changed drivers in Corydon, since B didn't feel comfortable driving in heavier traffic.  Thanks to Carol P's texts earlier, we had no problem finding the motel, checking in, and locating our room.  Then it was off to dinner.

Chaos
We were told to seat ourselves, which we did, and I kept an eye out for Carol.  Finally, a server told us to go ahead and help ourselves to the buffet.  C arrived, and by that time, a server came around and took our drink orders.  The pizza side only had 3 pieces of pizza, so I opted for a salad until more pizza arrived.  Moments later, I fixed myself another salad, since the 4 pizzas brought out were swarmed upon, and not my chosen flavor.  When I was told a cheese was on the way, I stood by the buffet and waited, and only took 3 slices.  By now, our drinks finally arrived, with the exception of C's.

I'd seen a guy come out and the other server point to us and two other tables...."Those are yours."  He then did an about face and disappeared. 

C finally got her beer about the same time as her bill, and the guy who'd been told to be our server arrived to bus our tables.  C and N paid for their food and left.  B and I hung around for karaoke.

I sang at least nine songs, plus we managed to get B up on stage for two.

You Never Know Who You'll Meet:)
A woman came in and asked if she could sit with B and I.  We said sure, and it turned out to be Rochelle Weber, the founder of MFRW!  We were thrilled when we made that connection!  Plus, Frank got to hear me sing 'Let Me Be There' and 'I Will Be'.

Sat:
Went down to breakfast and while the food was excellent (scrambled eggs, country potatoes, sausage links, pancakes, danish, and fruit), the service was again slow.  I opted to wait for C while B and N went over and set up; I joined them a while later.  Was happy to see friends I'd not seen in a while, and set up my display, then started on my panels.

Kindle, KDP, and KU:
Really felt as if I needed to be on the other side of the table, lol!  Didn't have a lot to contribute, until an audience member asked a formatting question, and about royalties.

Navigating The Blogosphere:
Felt as if I was in center court of a tennis match.  Could not get a word in edgewise, so gave up after a while.  Did manage to sneak in a word or two at the end.

Revving Up The Romance:
Had better success with this one, but at times it seemed to be a one-or-two woman 'show'.  Still, had great audience questions!

Signing:
Crickets.  Absolutely no one came over.

Electrifying Your Erotica:
This one was painful.  Daniel the moderator's questions were answered with many pauses; it was if we were all going brain-dead or on sensory overload.  There was NO participation from audience, and with ten minutes left, we were asked to come up with a one line erotic scene.  I hadn't brought a pen, and absolutely struggled with it, coming up with a lame one at the end, and remembering my favorite ones from Teacher's Pet, which saved me.

Developing A Series:
Only three of us showed up, plus no moderator.  I explained the crucial need for a series 'bible', plus we all spoke about how we wrote them out of order, and timelines.  Small amount of audience participation.

End of the Day!
I couldn't get back into the vendor hall, and was slightly pissed, because my wallet, Kindle, and charger were under the table.  I'd also used my rolly cart to transport my series CDs and books, so had to store them in the car.  N paid for my dinner at Fazolli's, then we found a Walgreens for some Advil.  I put on my Danaerys costume, but by 9:15, was beginning to decompress, so went to bed at 9:30.

Sun:
Had another delicious breakfast (courtesy of B this time), then headed upstairs to finish packing and to check out.  Rain had moved in (remnants of Hurricane Nate), so B and N let me and my books out under the portico while they parked the car.  I wanted to attend the Religion In Writing panel, and it wasn't what I'd thought, but still had a good time.

Building Your Blog:
This panel was a little more balanced, and thankfully we did have wonderful questions from the audience.  The one thing I took away from this was I. Need. To. Start. Using. Tags.

Still don't know what an RSS feed is, or how to set one up.  I'll have to PM DJ later.

Finally, I attended the YouTubers panel, since a) I have a channel and b) Will wants to start one.  This one was very informative.

Good News!!!!!
Frank informed me Teacher's Pet (Kenzie Michaels) will be available by the end of the week!  Paperback will be $12-13, which surprised me; I was expecting $10.  Also found out how to order copies, so will have to have the spouse cough up some cash, since I still owe $60 for the Christmas show, and didn't make any $$ this weekend.

Nancy, however, sold 2 books, which I was THRILLED, and Brooke one.  But then again, I never really manned my booth; I was out talking to people most of the two days.

What's On Tap For Next Year:
Might try the one hour thing again, since I'll be an official Stardust author, and if B and N want to get a table again, I'll not do so many panels, so I can be behind the table.  Which means seriously cutting back on craft fairs, except for local ones.  Or maybe not; it's a double-edge sword:  Make money or keep having to order inventory?  Check back with me on this later.

In the meantime, I've had two lazy 'recuperation' days, and should be back to 'normal' activities tomorrow.