Love and Laughter in the Desert… #RT18 in Pics!
Hi Blog peeps! I know you’re all like where you been? Or maybe not if you’re following me everywhere else like: Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and you know exactly where I’ve been; on deadline, editing, editing and editing some more and now I’m back on deadline again.
See, don’t I lead a fabulous and totally un-blog worthy writer’s life? I’m sparing you all from boredom with my tardiness.
But thanks to being all writerly, I finally have something I can post about on Ye Old Blog to my my like seem glamorous and noteworthy! You know the stuff that social media is made for!
*cue confetti cannon*
Am I trying too hard? Well you’re still here so it’s working.
That said, I have my pics of RT18 which was the Romantic Times Book Lovers convention 2018 held in Reno Nevada last week. Sad surprise, it turned out to be the last official RT Convention and RT magazine is now shutting down as its founder, Katheryn Falk is retiring. I have been honored to have received lovely feedback on my work from RT during my short career and am happy to have attended this year’s convention.
I look forward to attending next year’s new Booklovers Convention in New Orleans. Here is the site if you’d like to sign up for their newsletter.
Now onto the fun! I’ve finally gotten around to going through all my photos from last week and here are some glimpses of all the fun I romantic bookish fun I had. Can you spot some of your favorite romance authors?
Sidebar: I’m over at Fiction From The Heart right now with a 10.00 gift card giveaway. Click the link to join us and get your entry in!
See you all soon. Check back next week when I’ll have some exciting GIVEAWAY NEWS!
Oh and don’t forget to sign up for my newsletter to stay in the know!
All the best,
KMJ
Always Bet On You
So 2017 was filled with some ups and plenty of downers too. As a writer it was also filled, for me, with quite a few moments of doubt. So imagine my shock when I get a tweet the other morning from none other than the amazing, incomparable, QUEEN of all the words, Ms. Beverly Jenkins congratulating me on making NPR’s Great Reads 2017 list with my book THE BETTING VOW.
I tell you all I could say was Huh? And What? And WOW!
What an amazing moment and so very needed to end out 2017 and get me rolling into the 1-8.
Here’s to us tacking it together! CHEERS!
Best,
KMJ
When you wish… RWA17 National Conference Photo Recap!
At RWA 17 When you wish…
I had the joy of spending the majority of last week in sunny, sometimes stormy, always humid, Orlando, Florida at the 2017 Romance Writers Of America National Conference. What a time it was! So much so, that I’m still exhausted an at a loss for words.
The conference was at the Disney Swan and Dolphin Hotels with workshop schedules jam packed with so many informative subjects it made making your hourly choices quite difficult. Thank goodness for recorded sessions. And the fact that the conference was held on Disney grounds also made, at least for me, a bit difficult to stay focused on the business at hand since the call of the amusement parks were quite loud and the 10-year-old in me was just itching to go out and play. I found myself watching they clock at times like I was back in elementary school watching for the recess bell.
That said, it was a great conference all in all. I got lots of writerly knowledge, while catching up with some of my very best friends, (thank you to all who supported diversity by wearing your #WeNeedDiverseRomanceTee shirts) and to top it all off I got to go out and play like a kid again.
Not to mention I was in the room when Ms. Beverly Jenkins received her Nora Roberts Lifetime Achievement Award!
Now please check out my recap collages and see if you can spot some of your romance faves who were in Orlando at the conference too!
Some of the fab folks in this set: Katana Collins, Falhuni Kothari, Robin Lovett, Kate McMurry and come on me with over 17K steps. that is insane!
With our lovely Disney tour group! Thanks so much Deb! Marie Long, Dana Kaye, Joy of Joyfully Reviewed!
Shawntelle Madison, Creah Demps, Laurel Cremant , Sage Spelling & Aliza Mann, Pintip Dunn, Priscilla, Oliveras, Alyssa Cole, Adrienne Mishel, Farrah Rochon
Kate McMurry, Falguni Kothari, Sonali Dev, Alyssa day, Carolyn Jewel, Adrienne Mishel, Callie Hutton, Beth Yarnall, Faith Salle, Damon Suede, Alyssa Cole, Falguni Kothari, Synithia Williams, Kristan Higgins, Farrah Rochon & Lifetime Achievement Award Winner Beverly Jenkins!
Cheryl Etchison, Megan Frampton, The incomparable Ms. Brenda Jackson, Yarrah St. John & Synithia Williams, Beth Yarnall, Sofia Tate, Shelly Bell, Holley Trent, Tracey Livesay
Pricilla Oliveras, Sabrina Jefferies, Megan Frampton,
The fab women of The Ripped bodice Bea and Leah Koch.
Sally Kilpatrick, Heather McGovern, Sally Mackenzie, Dee Davis, Adrienne Mishelle and some of the rip roaring members of the RWA board, Nancy Holland, Fran of Frannie’s Romance, Joyfully Reviewed
Me, Jamie Wesley and Flaguni Kothari kicking up at Animal Kingdom. Adrienne Mishel,
Farrah Rochon, Mari Mancusi, Karen Lynn
Wishing you all… dreams coming true and may we all live like Farrah Rochon on a ride at Disney!
Best,
KMJ
And P.S.
In anticipation of Book 3: THE BETTING VOW coming out at the end of the month.
Both Book 1: INSERT GROOM HERE:
And Book 2: TO ME I WED
Are on Sale for a limited time! Now’s the time to check them out if you haven’t already!
Thanks so much for your support!
Viva Las Vegas! My Time At #RT16
Back from Las Vegas and the RT Book Lovers Convention and though I’m exhausted as all get out and think it will be quite a while before I volunteeringly get on a Starbucks line to order coffee, I’m already looking forward to next year’s convention in Atlanta. I had such a good time seeing old friends and making new ones as I launched
BOUNCE BACK out into the world.
That said, here is my recap in a totally non-writerly way… pics.
Can you spot anyone you know?
All the best,
KMJ
Diversify… Now!
Happy Valentine’s Weekend!
I hope you are having a wonderful one filled with plenty of sweets and your favorite sweetheart 🙂
You all know that I’m a big advocate for diversity in romance and to speak to that I’m proud to have been invited to participate in a Romance Writer Chat #RWChat on twitter this Sunday 2/15 with the fantastic Alisha Rai to talk about diversity in the romance industry. If you are around at 7PM EST please hop on Twitter and join in as we’d love to have you. You know my motto: #WeNeedDiverseRomance Hope to see you there!
All the best,
KMJ
Scribbling for a Cause
Happy Monday! I hope you all had a wonderful weekend. The temperature is still set to Brrr here in the Northeast. Though I know we’re still firmly in Winter I’m starting to have long Summer daydreams where all the scenes in my head feature warm breezes, open toed shoes and guys who don’t care all that much for shirts. Time to get to writing.
And speaking of writing today I’m beyond the moon to announce the sale of Scribbling Women and the Real Life Heroes Who Love Them. I am so thrilled and honored to be one of the writers asked to be in this anthology where for the first time I’m not writing fiction, but giving a glimpse into my own real life romance (one word: Spooning) and I’m doing it for a wonderful cause. Here is a bit about Scribbling Women:
In Scribbling Women and the Real-Life Romance Heroes Who Love Them, twenty-eight popular romance fiction writers reveal their real-life stories of how they met, wed and love—and are loved and supported by—their spouses and life partners. At times whimsical and laugh-out-loud funny, at others poignant and bittersweet, all unfailingly inspiring, each essay celebrates that most powerful and sacred of human bonds: love.
Happily Ever After isn’t only the stuff of romance novels and fairy tales. It is every woman’s birthright.
All net sales of the anthology support Win (www.winnyc.org)
You can pick up your copy of Scribbling Women at these major E-tailers: Kindle, Nook & Smashwords
I hope you enjoy!
All the best,
KMJ
Bundle up… and read
Bundle up peeps it’s a cold one…
But of course keep it Klassy. Tell me how are you keeping warm on this cold, cold day or are you one of the lucky ones is shorts and flip-flops and some tropical local? Come on make me jealous. It’s ok. I’ll still love ya.
And Happy 123rd Birthday to literary pioneer Zora Neale Hurston. I’m thinking bundling up with a classic like Their Eyes Were Watching God would be great way to spend this cold day.
All the best,
KMJ
image from Vintage Everyday
Where’s Waldo? … #RWA13 in pics
So I’m back from #RWA13, Romance Writer’s of America’s National Conference, which was held this year in beautiful Atlanta, Georgia. Not that I got to see much of Atlanta with all the workshops, and happenings at the hotel. It was quite the high time. Talk about busy and with so many attendees (the number was around 2000) I barely scratched the surface of all the creative greatness in that hotel. What a blast. I tell you was just honored to be in the house.
So here it is my #RWA13 in collage form. Can you spot some of your favorite authors? There are plenty of mine and these are only the few I got pictures of. Wowza!
All the best,
Kwana
Pin Me Down… ATL bound!
This week I’m heading to Atlanta and the Romance Writers of America National conference. I can’t wait. As a romance writer I’ll get to attend workshops on both craft and career and as fan all get to see, meet and interact with some of my favorite authors and some new and old friends. It should be a fantastic time.
If you are in the Atlanta area on Wednesday please come on out to the Literacy Autographing which is open to the public. Details here. You’ll get to purchase books from many of your favorite authors and have the signed. I can’t wait. I’ll be getting quite a few books signed by my faves and it’s all for a great cause. And if you happen to see me, though I won’t be signing, don’t hesitate to ask me to get pinned.
You see, I have these fab pins made up for the conference. Wouldn’t you love to be pinned by Mark Thorn, my hero from Seduction’s Canvas? I know quite a few people who would. I’ll be back with you all soon and checking in on twitter as the week goes on. Have a great one!
Now if I could just stop packing shoes….
All the best,
KMJ
Just One More Thing…
Happy Monday! Wishing you all a fantastic week as I go into my final push on finishing up book 2 in my Creative Hearts Series. I know that by my Friday deadline I’ll probably be resembling the walking dead myself. It seems the book is never done until it is out of your hands done, so it’s down to the wire for me. Are you like that with projects that you have to get out? Constantly, moving them around, fidgeting and re-arranging until the very last minute? Be it a huge project or an intimate dinner party? Please chime in and share you last minute thoughts.
And speaking of last minute… In these last few of Black History Month have you checked out the Black History issue of Shades of Romance Magazine? I’m in there on page 32 plus a whole host of much more fab authors sharing their thoughts on Writing The Book and Black History. A wonderful read. Check it out here.
Have a great one!
All the best,
KMJ
