I’m writing this from my hotel in beautiful (but hot) New York City, where the annual Romance Writer’s of America conference has officially begun. Its location is one reason I’m attending. I love the energy and pace of the city, the sights and sounds and exhibits, and the people.  I also get to see my editor and agent, and all of the people at Harper who work so hard every year to see my books through to publication. It’s a joy and adventure, and I try not to go too long between visits.

However, more than anything, I’m thrilled to be attending this conference for the very first time. I was a member of RWA for seven long years before I became published, and would devour the articles and information in the RWR (their monthly report) and the affiliated loops and online chapters. It’s a genre that’s easily disparaged as it’s written primarily by and for women, but it also excels at providing readers what they love best: a meaningful emotional connection through the exacting lens of a story. Writers write for a bevy of different reasons, but I can tell you that I write specifically for that connection. I’m interested in what unites us as people, regardless of any individual’s sex, race, sexuality, religion, birthplace or class. In short, I like to focus on our shared humanity, because splitting hairs over any of the above is divisive … not to mention it makes you a shitty lunch partner. (Ie. Nobody likes to dine with an asshole.)

At its best reading is a connection between the author and reader … between people, but in romance we get to see that human connection played out on the page. Those who disparage romances and the (mostly) women who write them have generally either 1) never read a romance or 2) don’t much care for women. But I can tell you as someone who has long devoured the romances of Nora Roberts and Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Jennifer Crusie that the best romances are not about sex. They’re about relationships, and specifically about the ones that matter most. We’re all hardwired to crave intimacy, and romance addresses that overtly.

So if you haven’t tried a pure, unapologetic romance it might be high time. And if you have, please share who you’ve loved in the past. I’m always looking for a good read.

Meanwhile, I’m not sure how much I’ll be able to blog from the conference – it’s much like its hosting city, a fast paced sensory overload, with every minute filled to the brim. I’ll definitely be updating my Facebook wall and Twitter feed multiple times a day, so if you’d like verbal and literal snapshots of the con from my POV, you can follow my adventures there. Here are some of the pictures I’ve taken so far, admittedly not that many, but I promise to try and improve that in the next few days.

First, the view from my room: See – there’s even a sliver of water!

My Harper paranormal group girls – Amanda Alverez, Terri Garey, Colleen Gleason, Pamela Palmer and Karina Cooper. I heart them all!

The floor of the literacy signing – loud, mad, wonderful:

Some awesome readers, whom I had so much fun with. Thank you D, E, and K! That was an awesome laugh:

This is Jeap, my Facebook friend, and now my real friend. We had a wonderful chat, and I just adore him. Isn’t he edgy and hot? Sweet to boot. I love meeting good peeps.

Oddly, no pic yet of my roomie, Jeaniene Frost. Why is that? Is she shy? Is she mean? Is she overly fond of eggs? Time will tell (though I can already answer affirmatively on the last) …

I recently updated my website, and as you can see, I used all of the images from my completed six-book Zodiac series for the banner. Isn’t she amazing? It may be confusing for anyone who hasn’t read the series, and doesn’t know that Joanna Archer is a superhero, and that she must don different identities to remain safe in a world that’s hunting her from all sides. But it should be clear to all that she changes a great deal through the course of the series, and that both physically and emotionally. Admittedly, it’s not a series for the faint at heart, but there are solid rewards for those who persevere to the end.

I’ve lived with the fictitious Joanna Archer inhabiting my gray matter for nearly six years now, and like her, I’ve changed a lot in that time. Those who know me say they can see me peeking between the lines of the text like some sort of overprotective stage mother, and though I am not my character – I don’t have superpowers or evil fathers or any supernatural enemies that I know of – there was no way Jo and I could essentially share the same mind and not have some parallel adventures. So this post is a recap about my journey as the author of this series over the years. It’s a small pictorial highlight reel of what I was going through while Joanna Archer was kicking ass and propelling herself to THE NEON GRAVEYARD’s explosive end.

This is THE SCENT OF SHADOWS. The cat is aptly named Tank. He was my baby before I had a baby, and what I remember most about this time is repeatedly pushing him aside, and off my lap while I drank copious amounts of iced coffee in the Vegas heat, and tried to finish my first book. He was fabulous company, and the cat in the books, Luna, was certainly inspired by his presence.

You’ll forgive the lack of photo evidence regarding THE TASTE OF NIGHT, but that book found somebody else inhabiting my lap, and I don’t remember much of it. Scent hadn’t even come out yet, and I was learning to juggle new mommyhood and full-time writing. I remember this time as being one of the most anxious-ridden, creative, fulfilling, and exhausting times of my life. And, of course, I would do it all over again in a nanosecond.

This is THE TOUCH OF TWILIGHT. By this point, my kidlet was mobile and I was getting up at 4:30 a.m. – before the house began to stir – in order to get my writing in. While getting up early is a habit I carry with me today (as is having three different drinks at hand at all times) the most important thing I learned from that time was how very much both of these careers – mommy and writing – meant to me. I wasn’t going to drop any balls.

Of course, I did drop balls … and a big glass one at that. This is after CITY OF SOULS, the book that marked a distinct S-curve in my protagonist, Joanna Archer’s, evolution, and my personal life as well. This was the hardest book to write, so I wasn’t surprised when it got the most reader reaction. The reason I have a photo of me with my girlfriends – celebrating them, actually – is because this is the moment when I knew that I was going to be okay. Friends carry you through when it feels like the world is falling apart.

As for Joanna, next up was CHEAT THE GRAVE. Jackie summed it up nicely here when the book came out: “If City of Souls was a punch in the face, Cheat the Grave is the cool compress on your swollen cheek.”

That was apropos for both my readers and me – which is why I’m including a photo of me with some of my forum readers, self-appointed VPeeps. Not everything about Joanna’s past is answered in this book, but there’s some definite closure, forgiveness, and some much needed self-acceptance too. CHEAT THE GRAVE is distinctly Joanna Archer’s journey, but writing it helped heal me … and my long-term readers were a part of that. I love mah Peeps.

And now? THE NEON GRAVEYARD. Here’s a photo of the tweetup I did in Las Vegas to launch the book.

Still more amazing readers. Now I’d wanted to use this title ever since we moved away from the sensory ones, and can’t think of a more perfect one with which to end this series. In this book, paranormal Las Vegas is at risk of becoming a wasteland. Joanna has either lost or disassembled everything she began with in THE SCENT OF SHADOWS – her family, her identity and sense of self, her reasons for moving around in the world.

Yet I’ve discovered that the silver lining to almost any loss is the resultant space in which to create something entirely new. After penning Joanna’s final ‘The End’, I lifted my head from the page and took a moment to mentally canvas the last five years. Then I thanked this strong, stubborn, malleable character for being a part of my journey … and turned to another blank page. I too have new reasons for moving through the world, and with Joanna’s story told, I’ve also the space to create something new.*

I’d love to hear about your journey these last five years. What have your experiences been in that time? And where do you hope the next five will take you? And thanks to those of you who came along on this amazing journey with Joanna and me.

*This is a whole new post, of course, but for those who don’t already know, next up is THE TAKEN, the first in my new Celestial Blues trilogy. That begins June 2012.

I’ve been quiet, haven’t I? That’s a product of many factors – new deadline, Father’s Day and summer camps, prep for RWA, and other important social summer events. I’m not a good, or even willing, multitasker, and prefer to take things one at a time as they come. Unfortunately, as you probably know, things don’t tend to come one at a time, but all at once. All you can do is chunk it down, do your level best, and chip away until you have some breathing room. I should be up for air around August.

However, today I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that I have a guest post up at Larissa’s Bookish Life. She’s teamed up with Paranormal Haven for a great summer giveaway/event, and my post just went live. I’m talking about Vegas, and giving a little “walking tour” of the sites in my Signs of the Zodiac” series.

So if you want to “see” some of the places Joanna Archer and the other agents call home, you can check it out here – and leave a message in the comments to win a signed copy of THE NEON GRAVEYARD, and a freebie poker chip (and those are running out fast).

I hope everyone had a great Father’s Day. Here’s to the start of a great week!

Well, it’s back to work – and Vegas – after a lovely weekend off. One day for readers, the next for family … can’t as for more than that, huh?

If you’d like to see what I was up to on Saturday, there is video here of me “emceeing” or interviewing all the authors who took part in the 8^th annual Boas & Tiaras Tea in Allen, TX. I had so much fun talking to authors I know and love – like Jaye Wells and Rachel Caine – to meeting new friends-to-me like Dianna Love, Lori Wilde and Vicki Lewis Thompson and Nalini Singh. The whole thing was like a mini-reader’s conference, and if you’ve never been to a writer’s/reader’s con, and would like to see what goes on at one, here’s a taped panel featuring a chat with seven awesome authors. They talk about what they do and why, and I just love to see both the reasons and people behind the book.

But most of all, I loved meeting the readers. I sat at a table with readers who’d traveled from Kansas and San Antonio and College Station to attend the event, and it was incredible to hear what the Zodiac series, newly complete, has meant to them. Talking to them gave me closure, and now Joanna Archer’s journey – from my mind to theirs – feels complete.

I was a bit harried from my emcee duties and didn’t take any pictures, but here are a few I’ve cribbed from the web.

The lineup, right before introductions.

I tried to tell a joke … which is laughable in itself.

Oh Jackie, Jackie, Jackie. Well, we’ll forever have this moment, won’t we?

My Facebook friends, Katie and Mandi – I already had faces for the names, but it was such a pleasure to see them animated.

All in all, it was a wonderful event, and wonderfully run as well. Do look into it next year if you’re in the area, or why wait? Readers&Ritas, in November, is held at the same location. I know I’ll be there as well!

The rest of the weekend was a bit quieter, and spent with family – swimming, grilling, and cheering on the Dallas Mavericks – but now I’m back to work, and intend to keep my head down until the end of the month when I attend RWA’s national conference in New York.

Edited to add: I’ve been contacted by a reader, Laurie, who has a ticket to today’s Boas&Tiaras event, but can’t attend. She’s given it to me in hopes that I can find someone who might be willing to use it, so if anyone out there has a tiara ready, contact me via Twitter: www.twitter.com/VickiPettersson and it’s yours. First person to speak up, wins. (Cause I’m oh-so-crafty like that. Thank you, Laurie!)

Today’s the day! The Boas & Tiaras Tea and booksigning is being held at the Hilton Garden Inn in Allen, TX from 1 pm to 5 pm, and I am already wearing my tiara. No, really.

There are a ton of things I’m looking forward to about this event, but none more than getting some real face time with readers, and not just at the booksigning. This is an intimate event, with seven readers and one author at each table for tea time. (I know a couple of my Facebook readers are coming and I can’t wait to meet them in person.)

Each attendee will get a fantastic swag bag to take home, a chance to bid on raffle baskets (the proceeds of which go to Plano Family Literacy), tea, and a chance to get their keeper books signed. Barnes&Noble will be on site all day.

If you’re wondering what Boas & Tiaras is all about, or want to attend by remote, you can check out the livestream of the event. The live viewing includes an 11 am CT live panel moderated by Candace Havens where you can “meet” Rachel Gibson, Julia Quinn, Nalini Singh, Dianna Love, Lori Wilde, Rachel Caine and Vicki Lewis Thompson. Then I’ll be broadcasting satellite interviews at 1 pm CT with each author after that.

Tell me this doesn’t sound like too much fun?

Oh, and if you’re watching the livestream, know that you can purchase books that way for us to sign for you… and shipping is FREE!

Okay, I’m off to don my boa and have some tea. There are 364 other days for all of us authors to stay at home and scribble in our sweats … but today we’re going glam.