The VPA Happy Dance

I've finalled in the Valerie Parv Award. Happy dance time!!

First place wins Valerie as a mentor for a year. Wonderful for me if I win, possibly scary for Valerie if I do, lol.

Regardless of what happens (the placings are announced at RWA's awards dinner at the August conference) I'm thrilled to have made the top 6 of 80 entries, and wish my fellow finalists (Madeline Ash, Bridget Gray, Cornelia Kamp, Bronwyn McEvoy and Cassandra Samuels) all the best.

Pitching At RWAus Conference

In 6 days I fly to Melbourne for RWAus conference where I am pitching. Even though this is my 3rd conference it will be my first official face-to-face pitch. In 2009 it was an e-pitch and last year I elected not to pitch as I had just completed 5DI (RWA's intensive 5 day mentoring program) a few weeks earlier and conference was much too close for me to be ready to pitch.

So far my experiences have been very positive. Following my pitch submission in 2009 I was asked for rewrites before getting the dreaded rejection, and in 2010 I ended up talking with an agent at the cocktail party and being given their card and a request to submit upon completion of my manuscript (so much for not pitching, lol).

But I think the reality of a formal face-to-face pitch is going to be very different. I'm going to the bonus Thursday pitching session - I'm hoping it will help to get me over the line.

Good luck to anyone else pitching next week!!

My Secret Life

I've blogged about this topic before, but it was brought fully to my attention yesterday.

I told a friend I am writing a Harlequin novel, that I would love nothing more than to make a career of it, and that I'm attending the RWA conference next week. Being a fabulous friend who knows me well, she nodded, mulled over the idea for a minute and then began to ask 1001 questions.

At the end she made the comment it's like a secret society, that I have a whole second life no one knows about. You know what, it's true!

She is only the third person out of my family or writing circles who know about what I am doing. Why? Because I don't want to be constantly asked are you published yet? Can I read it? You should write about blah blah. That's so easy, anyone could do it. And so on.

and

I know so many fellow romance authors, chat to them, critique their work, send them mine, write this blog, help with RWA blog, and have done nearly all of it with my anticipated pen name - but have never met or spoken with them. It's all done in the cyber world.

Together it does have the makings of a secret life in a secret society.

And this is why I'm really excited that next week I will be breaking away, slicing open my secret society by attending the RWA conference in Brisbane. Meeting face-to-face the wonderful people I know by name in the RWA.

See you there.

19 Sleeps...

Romance Writers of Australia annual conference is on in just 19 sleeps.

My first, and I'm very excited.

With so much packed into just 3 days and nights, I imagine it is going to be a fun-filled, informative and exhausting experience. But one for which I can't wait. The conference organisers have done a wonderful job. Choosing the sessions I wanted was a difficult process - I need a clone to send to concurrent workshops!

And I'm looking forward to meeting the wonderful people I have met in cyberspace.

To everyone who is attending, I can't wait to see you all. For those who can't attend, I know you'll have a wonderful Clayton's Conference (quick, sign up if you haven't http://groups.yahoo.com/group/claytonsconference_group/ ) and hopefully we'll meet next year.

Conference Pitch... or Not

Finish writing my M&B Sweet and pitch it at the RWAust August conference. Goal #1.

One of my two writing goals for the year. For those of you who have been following my blog you might remember I have 2 major goals for 2009 - plus 8 other goals that are really a mini-action plan to help me achieve my 2 big goals.

But, a spanner in the works. Harlequin aren't actually attending RWAust's annual conference (a scenario that hadn't even occurred to me, duh). This makes it hard to meet my first goal. Or does it?

Well, the fabulous organising committee for the conference is trying to organise to get our mss in front of an editor for assessment. Gulp. With no details what does this mean? And will I need to have my ms ready before August? I have a mental timetable to have my ms polished in time... and of course the timeline fits in with the August conference.

So. This is how I've decided to look at it. If my ms gets assessed by an editor, I've still achieved essentially what pitching would have achieved. With no pitch to stress over in August, I can kick up my heels from the get go and truly enjoy my first conference.

There is always a silver lining.

Awards Dinner

Last, but certainly not least, in my series of blogs about the RWAust Conference and what (not) to wear, is the awards dinner.

I saved this one until last as it is the only event for which I have absolutely no idea what the dress code is!! I would guess probably not formal wear (which is a shame, because that I could do). But just how dressy, or informal, is the night?

Please, if you can cast any light on this matter I would love to hear from you.

Not really knowing where to turn to hunt down an outfit for the dinner, I turned to the experts - the desginers at the Paris Fashion Show Fall-Winter 2009.

So ladies, according to them, I guess this is what we should be wearing:
Alexander Wang



Dolce & Gabbana



Donna Karan




Ralph Lauren





As for what I'm wearing... I've no idea! My wonderful CP has offered to Trinny and Susannah my wardrobe, so I guess I'll work it out the day before. Aack.

Conference Workshops + The Pitch

Workshops
Now I imagine that to portray a professional image at the conference workshops the dress code would be office wear.

But what defines office wear these days?
Checking out the websites of a number of different retailers I found that in many cases their office wear lines included denim jeans. Are these now considered aprropriate for the office? Are jeans dressier then they used to be? Or have office standards dropped?

Ok, to be honest, I don't really care why, just please tell me they'll be ok to wear. Yep, you guessed it - I have jeans!

The outfits depicted here are the ones in the latest catalogues from Myer, David Jones, Katies and Suzanne Grae.

The Pitch
Hmmm. The Pitch. Just the words alone are enough to make me tremble in my boots. Let alone worrying about what to wear!

The image I want to project: professional, competent, organised, relaxed - as I will probably be none of these things (think nervous, sweating, fumbling and bumbling) I need my clothing to try and portray the image for me.

My gosh. What hope do I have at successfully pitching?

Again I have consulted the online catalogues of many of my local fashion stores and gained an insight into what's hot and what's not. You'll never guess where I fit in!

Below are just a sample of some of the models I viewed dressed in what any up and coming author whould be wearing to The Pitch.











What are you wearing?

Brisbane's Weather + E-List Dinner

Brisbane Weather

August in Brisbane. More to the point, Ekka week in Brisbane. To all Brisbanites that week usually signifies the turning point of the winter months. It is supposed to start warming up then. To give you a bit of an idea what to expect following are some averages for August.

max = 21.7'C
min = 10'C
rain days >1mm = 4.6
clear days = 17
@ 9am = 15'C
@ 3pm = 20.6'C

VERY windy westerlies (August is known for being dry and windy)

Just remember, weather is relative. For me, living in Brisbane, this is still cold. But if you are making the trek up from down south, you might think it barmy.

Keep in mind how you perceive this weather when making any decisions about what (not) to wear.

E-List Dinner

The E-list dinner is for all RWA members on ROMAUS. From what I understand it's a casual night before the conference officially begins Friday morning. Now, dressing for a casual dinner may sound easy: jeans, shirt and jacket. My standard clothing for anything.

Before I rubbed my hands with glee and thought, woohoo, this one's easy, I decided to take a quick look at Westfield's Fashions for Winter guide 2009. Boy, just shows nothing is that easy anymore. So, I guess it will be fair to warn you, I'll be the one dressed comfortably and warmly, just not fashionably.

According to Westfield: long cardigans, jungle prints and fake fur, bohemian folksy, tartans, shoulder pads (eek), trousers and denim - this is the look for winter this year.













The four outfits pictured here are the wardrobe examples featured in Westfield's Winter 2009 Fashion Guide.

Arabian Nights Cocktail Party

The Arabian Nights-themed cocktail party sounds like it will be a whole lot of fun. There are so many options when it comes to Arabian Nights. There's a big range of costumes - something to suit everyone. But I wonder how much will be read into the costume you choose? What does your costume say about you?

The Oil Sheik
Powerful, confident, intelligent
Costume - nice and toasty warm, can let it all hang out, not flattering, masculine, mascara moustache makes make-up easy






The Belly Dancer/I Dream of Jeannie
Extroverted, fun, sensual
Costume - freezing cold, have to suck that tummy in, traditionally supposed to be flatter female form, feminine, can bling it up











Sinbad's Arabian Nights
Charismatic, brave, adventurer
Costume - warm, designed to hold your tummy in, masculine, bad hair day can be hidden with the hat




Palm Tree
Any of: Disorganised, antisocial, introverted/extroverted, fun, different
Costume - toasty warm (I mean you could be wearing anything under that), hides a multitude of sins, unique

Me, I'm going for a feminine look, but not one that exposes any bits of me that really shouldn't be seen, something between a very traditional arabian dress and the belly dancer.

So what are you wearing to the cocktail party?

What (not) to wear?

NO
YES


Now, I know the RWAust conference isn't until August, but the year is flying by, and I need to be prepared. So the all important question is: What (not) to wear?

I mean, there are so many decisions to be made, so many changes of clothes. If I've worked it out correctly here is the list, each requiring a different outfit:

E-list dinner
Conference day
Conference day
Conference + pitch day
Fancy dress cocktail party
Awards dinner

Please tell me there are others of you out there panicking at the thought of looking polished and professional THAT many times. Excluding the cocktail party of course. No-one looks polished and professional dressed in costume. At least, I hope not.


So, follow my blog this week as I discuss what (not) to wear. Please feel free to comment, advise, ridicule or praise as I toss around ideas. And I hope that come August, we will all look fantastic.