Wednesday, November 28, 2012

WIP it Wednesday! Major Updates!

So. . .the past couple of weeks have flew by, with the Halloween and Thanksgiving pasting and my birthday and Christmas coming. I've tried to keep my nose to the grind stone, writing almost every day and working toward writing my new goal of 5,000 words per day. It seems the higher I aim, the more I accomplish. So I'm hoping this trend will continue. I finally sold Exercising His Options, to Breathless Press for their Ad-Dick-tion, Volume 3 which is exciting. I'll still waiting to hear back from Kris at MLR about Shattered Mirrors. I am hoping to finish off the year strong, with at least five stories being published, or in process. So, here's my WIPs updated and re organized. I want to finish at least two more shorts and work on editing Dark of Day or writing Roads Traveled during December. Those are some of my goals, which I'll be doing a post about soon, as is my annual tradition. Thanks, as always, for your continued encouragement, ass kicking, and advice. I love you, oh ever faithful reader!

1. The Question Game FINISHED and PUBLISHED
2. Two Tiny Secrets EDITING and SOLD
3. Exercising His Options FINISHED and SOLD
4. Shattered Mirrors FINISHED
5. Another Day (17974 words) Working on BLOG
6. Becoming Carnal (6568 words)
7. Colors in the Sky (7053 words)
8. The Deathwalk Chronicles (5563 words) Totaling 34082 words
     a.) Dark Side of Day (14739 words)
     b.) My Father's Son (9554 words)
     c.) Broken, Not Fixed (1770 words)
     d.) Absolute Power (2456 words)
9. Gender Non (2362 words)
10. Ghost Love (960 words)
11. Nicest Kid (1669 Words)
12. No Breeders Allowed (3902 Words)
13. Rainbow Rage (668 Words)
14. The Black (2010 Words)
15.  The Chosen Family Chronicles (6200 words)
       a.) Picket Fences
       b.) Roads Traveled
       c.) Anger Ball -Part One
       d.) I'm Gonna Love You Through It
       e.)  Anger Ball -Part Two
       f.) The F Word (801 Words)
16. The Release (3178 Words)
17. Tulpa (612 Words)
18. The Zombie Curse (586 Words)
19. The Unknown (524 Words)
20. Two Week Notice (2657 Words)

Still Enprisoned
Kurt/ Roads Travelled
Down on my Knees
The Cool Side of the Pillow
Gay for Pay
Sponsored by . . .
A Kindness to Strangers
Across the World
The Bro Code

Wednesday, November 21, 2012

A writing challenge...50k in 5 days!

November is National "Write a Novel" Month. Some authors celebrate by doing what we do the best: writing! The goal is 1,667 words a day totally 50,000 words for the movie. I started off strong, and for the first five days, I did the amount required. Then I fell a little behind, doing around a thousand words a day. But then while I was editing a story for submission, I fell behind even farther in my counts. So here's my counter to that challenge. I have decided to start a new contest amongst my friends. I am so behind in my NaNo count that I'm doing "50k in 5 days". Starting Saturday morning until Wednesday night, I'm gonna aim to write 50k. Anyone else want to accept the challenge? http://www.facebook.com/events/401394156597395/

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

You can go "Home" again . . . An mmMMonday with Cardeno C.


Just for reading this interview, and commenting on it, you are entered to possibly win a FREE book. SO DO IT! And you'll be glad you did!

Wt - So . . . Wt Prater here for the Just Write and SO Gay blog, and tonight I'm interviewing Cardeno C. Thank you so much for the opportunity.
CC - Hey there! Thank you for taking the time to chat with me.
Wt - So it seems like you're online a lot like me. How much time per week would you say you spend FaceBook?
CC - I check in on FB several times a day and I keep it minimized on my screen when I'm working, but I don't generally spend long periods of time actually on FB.
Wt - So no playing Farmville for you?
CC - No, definitely no Farmville for me.
Wt - It's like crack, i swear. I had a slight addiction problem, a brief stay at FA (Farmville Anon) and now I'm cold turkey. Off it, I mean.
CC - I had no idea. Don't tell me details. I'm all set with my caffeine addiction. I don't need to add to the list.
Wt - Fair enough. So do you market yourself as well on FaceBook? And if so, tell me about your experiences.
CC - I include information about upcoming releases or contests where I'm giving away books on FaceBook. I also include links to blog posts. If I do blog interviews (like this one), I post links on FB. And I've participated in a FB chat through Dreamspinner and I'll be doing another on November 17th. Those are my main FB marketing efforts.
Wt - And have you been able to see results from that?
CC - I really can't say. I don't have a way to track my book sales to know who is buying them or how they've heard of the books. I imagine blog interviews (like this) help. And giveaways, whether through blogs or Dreamspinner's recent Octoberganza, bring new readers. But I think having a presence on FB probably helps too. Whether or not I sell more books as a result, I do think it's a nice way to interact with readers.
Wt - Fair enough. Which social/networking sites are you on?
CC - I'm on FB and I'm also on twitter. Twitter is newer for me and I'm still getting the hang of it.
Wt - Me too. And do you do conventions too?
CC - No, I don't.
Wt - Not a convention kinda person?
CC - I'm really, really not. First, I'm time-limited so getting away for days at a time is almost impossible. Also, I'm bat-shit crazy in the I don't like crowds, don't like public speaking way. Plus, I'm a really simple person. I'm happy at home or with small groups of friends hanging out. I don't do big party scenes or bar scenes well, so ...Yeah, conventions are hard for me. I went to one in March and I'm still recovering.
Wt - LOL. Ok. SO, how did you get into writing?
CC - I had stories in my head so I decided to write them. I didn't know about gay romance novels then (that there were publishers who published them) or even ebooks. So I posted my stories online. Eventually readers told me about Dreamspinner Press and suggested that I submit my stories to them. I took their advice, not expecting to get published. I can't tell you how grateful I am that I get the chance to publish my books and that readers buy them. It's a real dream come true for me.
Wt - So, Dreamspinner is your home press. Have you worked with other presses?
CC - No, I haven't. All of my books have been published through Dreamspinner.
Wt - So capture The Home Series in . . . 25 words or less.
CC - Okay, hard question, but I think I have it: A collection of novels about the family we choose and the home we build together. Each book focuses on a different couple's journey toward love.
Wt - Now, do the same with the Mates Series. LOL.
CC - A collection of shifter/vampire novels about discovering and embracing ourselves and those we love as we are, even if society says that different is wrong.
Wt - Tell me about your process of writing a series? Did you plan the entire series before you started? Have things happened to change the series as you've written them?
CC - Yes to both questions.
For the Mates series, there is a fairly specific plan for the series as a whole because it is a paranormal series.
I need to build a world in which the characters live and explain their community norms, their physiological characteristics, and how they relate to the world around them.
Those details are the basis of the world in which the characters live and they need to be understood throughout the series.
Also, for Mates, while I want each book to stand on its own, I also want a story arc to work through the series so a reader who reads the entire thing will experience the world I'm building and how it develops as a result of the characters.
That makes the series exciting to write, but also challenging and time-consuming.
For Home, I have a much more simple task. I'm writing about people who are much like people I know and you know.
A group of friends living their lives.
Each book tells about a different couple and while I don't have the details of each journey planned in advance, I do have some idea of where each couple will go. That's important as they make cameo appearances in each other's books.
Make sense?
Wt- Absolutely, and the sixth book in the Home series comes out soon. Tell me about it.
CC - The One Who Saves Me is the 6th book in the Home series.
Wt - I just said that. lol.
CC - I think of it as a friends to lover story, sort of. More specifically, it's a boys to men, friends to friends with benefits, friends with benefits to platonic roommates, and ultimately lovers/partners. Put that in a tag line.
Wt - Is that a challenge? LOL. I love a good challenge. Do you feel that you've grown as a writer while writing this series?
CC - No doubt about it, I've grown as a writer with each book I write. I enjoy challenging myself with POVs in books, with timelines, with secretly hidden soap boxes (shh, don't tell). I hope I'm getting better as time goes on.
Wt - Any special fan moments? Getting feedback about your work? Good or bad?
CC - People who read my writing are the entire reason I'm published. I owe them 100% of that - from giving me the idea to do it to telling me what publisher to use.
So, yes, I'd say I've had special moments. I've said on FB before that I am not one of those writers who writes only for myself. I started out writing because I wanted to share positive, uplifting stories about gay relationships. No tragic AIDS or bullying deaths,
no horrible tortured lives. Just real people living real lives and being strong enough to find their happiness. But I'll tell you that once people started reading the books, I felt like I was writing to tell the stories and to make the readers happy. People have a lot of options when they buy books, they're spending their hard-earned money. And I want very much for them to feel like when they buy my books, they haven't wasted their money or their time. That makes me anxious with every book I write, but I feel like I should be anxious at some level. I'm creating something for people who have supported me and I never want to take for granted the importance of not letting them down.
Wt - What are your musical and writing muses? AKA Any writers you love to be compared to and what music do you write to?
CC - Every book I write is inspired at some level by a song or songs. That inspiration is hinted at in every title and there are often aspects to the story itself that can be seen in the lyrics. When I start a story, I first think about the characters and their journey. And then I think about what song reminds me of them. I pick a song and use that as my inspiration as I write that book.
Wt - Can you name which song for which book?
CC -  Here goes:
Wake Me Up Inside: “Bring Me to Life” by Evanescence
The One Who Saves Me: "Wonderwall" by Oasis.
Love at First Sight: “Love at First Sight” by Kylie Minogue.
Just What the Truth Is: "Nights in White Satin" by the Moody Blues
Places in Time: “A Place in Time” by Amanda Abizaid
Where He Ends: "Where You End and I Begin" by Radiohead
He Completes Me: "You Complete Me" by Keyshia Cole
Home Again: "Love Song" by the Cure.
Did I get them all? Oh, my new book, Eight Days, is inspired by Dido's “White Flag”
But the title is inspired by the holiday because it is a novella in Dreamspinner's Advent Calendar.
Wt - And writers who inspire you. or you aspire to be compared to?
CC- I think I'm inspired at some level by everything. Books I read, news, songs, friends, family, etc. So I'm not sure how to answer that question. Sorry.
Wt - Alright, last question: Are there any questions you wished I'd ask, or one you never want to be asked again?
CC - LOL. I think you did an outstanding job! No complaints here. Thanks again for taking the time to interview me. Hopefully I haven't put you to sleep.
Wt - Never. Thanks again for doing this.

Cardeno C. is a hopeless romantic who wants to add a little happiness and a few "awwws" into a reader's day. Writing is a nice break from real life as a corporate type and volunteer work with gay rights organizations. Cardeno often feels that characters write their own stories and just hopes to find enough time to get those stories on the page. And Cardeno loves to hear from readers so please drop a line to share your thoughts on a story.

Thursday, November 8, 2012

W I P Wednesday, (A Day late, BUT Not a Dollar Short!)

So . . .it's back. For a while, every Wednesday i was updating this list which is my Works in Progress list. And some people wanted me to go back to it, so here it is. Updated and pretty. And starting next weekend, I'm going to be going through the Special Calls and assigning deadlines for some of these projects. So check out the website, www.wtprater.com and get some inspiration of your own. And if you want to give feedback, cheer me on, or ask questions about any of these, please ask/comment away!

1. Exercising His Options FINISHED
2. The Question Game FINISHED and PUBLISHED
3. Two Tiny Secrets EDITING AND PUBLISHED TBD
4. A Gender Confused (2362 words) emailed updates to FabVab
5. Carnal Choices (4488 words)
6. An Alien Encounter (6234 words)
7. Another Day … (23p, 3991words) Working on BLOG
8. Across the World ---Researching
9. Meredith/ Tupla --- (612w)
10.Rainbow Rage --- (668 words)
11. Goldilocks ---Outlining, nothing new
12. A Kindness to Strangers ---Outlining, nothing new
13. The Nicest Kid --- (1669 Words)
14. The Dark Side of Day --- Over 20k, nothing new
15. My Father’s Son--- (1199 Words)
16 Broken, Not Fixed--- Outlined
17. Absolute Power ---Outlined
18. No Breeders Allowed ---(3902 words)
19. Two Week Notice --- (2657 words)
20. The Black --- (2010 words)
21. The Zombie Curse ---(586 words)
22. Still Enprisoned ---
23. A Ghost of a Chance ---(960 words)
24. The Unknown (524 words)
25. Kurt/ Roads Travelled --- A New Novel (1000 words)
26. The 2050 Series --- (3902 Words)
27. The Release of the Dragons (3178 words)
28. Shattered Mirrors --- (8559 Words)
29. Down on my Knees --- Idea formulating
30. The F Word --- Idea formulating
31. I'm Gonna Love You Through It --- Idea formulating
32. The Cool Side of the Pillow --- Idea formulating
33. Gay for Pay --- Idea formulating
34. Sponsored by . . .--- Idea formulating
35. Roads traveled --- Novel formulating

So right now, the colors are: Finished Worked on This Week Backburner New Project

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

mmmMMMonday (Continued) . . . The Journey into Old Town, the Worse Dancing Ever, and a Final Farewell!




CAUTION!! The following is the TRUE tale of two people's journey to New Mexico. And what happened at the Gay Romance Literature retreat. No names have been changed because they're are no innocent! YOU WERE WARNED! Article by Wt and Julie Prater
(More pictures will be in the future.)

FRIDAY

     “Friday began with the build your own burrito breakfast.  We sat with Lissa, Xara, Zach and Neil. The food was food, neither particularly good nor bad.  At that point we went our separate ways. I went to the Storm Moon Press spotlight and decorated cookies which was fun, while learning about the press.  While there I got to hang out with Lor Rose and K Piet.  Afterward I headed to the Total-E-Bound Publishing spotlight and learning about that press. And, of course, I ended up buying more books with the bonus of getting some heart bling with another book on it. Lexi Ander was also researching all the various presses and we compared notes.”---Wt

     “I went to the Dreamspinner Bingo and sat next to Poppy Denison (Yay Poppy!) who helped me keep track of one of my bingo cards.  We both had issues with shaking hands so it was difficult to keep the game pieces where they were supposed to be.  After that I headed over to the Coffee and Porn (love this blog!) bingo with Zach and Neil.  Of course I made a big mess with my coffee, obviously I hadn’t drank enough at breakfast.”--- Julie

      “Silver publishing’s spotlight was good but the main thing that stuck out in our memory was Ethan Day reading a passage from one of his books.  Although it was hard to pay attention to what he was saying because we couldn’t help but stare at his beautiful hair and think about petting it…” ---Wt and Julie

      “Next was the excursion to Almuerzo Mexicana, whose food was amazing by the way.  I sat and picked the brains of EM Lindley, Erica Pike, and AC Katt.  The main topics of conversation was Icelandic music, inspiration, and very briefly, politics. I took a buncha books from Torquere with the understanding that we would be donating their worth to our favorite LGBT charity. Then we all traveled to Old Town which is where I started hanging out with Caitlin Ricci and Tabatha/Autumn, fellow authors in the Lost and Found Anthology.  We wanted a challenge so there was a write off after some much needed sugary goodness.  Tabatha won of course due to the fact that she had her trusty tablet and the others wrote with paper and pen.  At this point we were joined by the illustrious Xara and journeyed forth to check out the x-rated chocolates at the Candy Lady’s shop.” ---Wt

      “From there we walked up with everyone else at Casa Esencia.  William was yoinked up to help hand some decorations which meant that he got to put his hands all over Damon Suede. Bwahaha.  We walked around this beautiful house and admired everything (picked as a celebration point by the late William Neale) . And then saw some pretty, pretty sugar skulls. I drank some yummy Sangrias. After Xara got tired of Will sitting around moping she talked to the LT3 chicks Megan Derr and Sasha Miller and got us invited along to what was apparently a pitch dinner at High Noon.  We were also joined by K-Lee, Zach and Neil.  It was a lot of fun and the food was amazingly wonderful.   There was a suggestion of a mud wrestling event for next year (I really hope this one happens).  Xara gave some pointers on how to hold a knife in a fight.  The server who was adorably cute was invited to judge the mud wrestling match and he was all for it.  Xara could so have gotten some mad play. That night was the karaoke event, but Will was too out of it to stay up. So we headed back to the room and crashed out. But before we left, I cornered Belinda Mcbride outside  (couldn’t stay in there for long because of the lighting) and discussed Sparkpeople and trying to follow eating plans.  I had a bowl full of cake at that point and Belinda was grabbing some nuts to snack on later.” ---Julie

SATURDAY

      “Saturday morning came so quickly.  And as a change, we were served breakfast at the table, yummy French toast  with Xara, Lissa, MJ O’Shae (who I begged to join us although generally morning is not her friend), Piper, and Sue.  Zach came down briefly and grabbed some food but then disappeared back upstairs and we noticed Neil didn’t make an appearance until the Samhaine Spotlight where he and Zach joined Julie, Lissa, Tabatha and Caitlin. There weren’t a lot of people present but there was an awesome Q&A.  Of course the free book for every question might have had something to do with it. I went briefly to the Amber Quill spotlight and was asked to go get pictures of PD Singer’s Q&A.  Xara had a reading coming up so I went to wish her to the breaking a leg, and then I joined Julie and the gang at the Loose ID spotlight.” ---Wt

     “I went to the Loose Id spotlight, and got there just as Will won a signed bag full of awesome swag, and gave the Gecko decoration to Caitlin because she went wild over it. Then Treva Harte lead the parade outside where many people beat the piƱata (I took the first thwack) but the fucker wouldn’t break so Will decimated it, and gave all the prizes to others present.  The next event was a barbeque outside, where we sat with Jamie Fessenden talked with us mostly about horror..  Venona Keyes had just come from working out and was looking very athletic.  Caitlin and Tabatha talked about vegetarianism and the whole lot of us discussed the Saw movies then Japanese vs. American horror.  Will told the story of us going to see the grudge 2 in the theater and everyone yelling at the screen that Buffy wouldn’t do that!  There was also discussion on the need for real Sweet tea by us southerners, instead of the vastly prevalent unsweet And sad tea.  Will was mostly disappointed by the uneatable meat on bone. ---Julie

     “The Man Love Romance spotlight was heavily attended by authors and readers alike. The audience found out that everything is the fault of ZA Maxfield and Kris Jacen.  So if you need to know who is to blame, there ya go.  There were as many authors there speaking on behalf MLR and much fun was had in asking questions  and seeing how many related back to Kris and/ Zam.  There were two posters with the yummy man love poster boy on it in which all of the MLR authors had signed it . Julie won one and gave it promptly to me and I who squeed with joy (Just a little.)

     “The big signing event was so much fun, but there was SO much chaos.  The authors got to choose their own spots so it was an great adventure to find the ones you were looking for,  There was also much money spent on other authors we had discovered during the weekend.  But overall I think of it as a success.  Even knowing we spent well over 300 on books and it was even to the point of down to money to spend on food on the way home and books….and books won.  With all the crazy wonderfulness of GRL, there were actually several authors we hadn’t gotten a chance to chat with until the signing…Kerry Freeman, a fellow South East author,  Rowan Speedwell’s Finding Zach was a must read per JP Barnaby so we had to stop and talk to her and get her book.  Trina Lane was also another author that I hadn’t had a chance to talk to until then.  I finally got a copy of “The Party Boys Guide to Dating Geeks” and “One Small Thing” which I read with a fervor. Taylor V Donovan gave me a copy of her book, as did Karenna Folcroft.  Julie finally scored some dragon squish balls of Amber Kell which she horded when she got home and decided not to share.” ---Wt

        "I went bowling. Caitlin and Tabatha and I had walked over since there was no official word about busses and we were already running a little late.  My team captain was Keirnan Kelly and  beside us was B A Tortuga.  The members who were supposed to be on our team didn’t show but it was all good because others showed up to take their place.  Keirnan gave away some free books and a funny little dancing dashboard toy that I still have yet to bring out into the sun (solar powered).  I bowled about a 90 something as per my usual so I was not the main winner (curses) but Caitlin and Tabatha won for the pure and simple fact that they had the lowest scores of all.  Hooray for them! --- Julie

     "I went and took a nap, and I went to dinner with Keirnan Kelly and her husband, and Kelly Shorten and Kerri Mand, founders of Musa Publishing. We congratulated Kelly on her birthday. Then we talked of many things, including what a editor wants. We talked about how Musa Publishing started and their connection with Aspen Mountain Press.  I pitched my novel idea to them which they seemed really excited about.  And then we just chatted and hung out  joking and laughing until we realized we were going to be late for Cosmos Cabaret.  As we were leaving Tiwa for what felt like the thousandth time, I finally spied Mike Murphy who I promptly stalked a little and fan boyed a lot and wouldn’t leave him be until he signed my book..” ---Wt

     "I went to the Spa Jar Total-E-Bound shindig.  The food was great and the location was very cool.  There was some Native American dancing and the explanations were very informative.  I didn’t get any pictures of it because by that time my phone was dead.  Zach and Neil bowed out and gave me their drink and prize tickets.  I had several margaritas by this point but welcomed the option for additions.  When it came time to draw for prizes one of the numbers I had was announced (woohoo, more free books) and I ended up splitting the books with the boys."--- Julie

     “While hanging out at the Cabaret,  I entered a dance competition knowing I’m a terrible dancer. After destroying several dances that included the twist, the Macarena, and the time warp, I won only because I could shake my booty. I somehow managed to win against the 4 women who are all better dancers than I.
And then, ended up going up to room  and having a horrible coughing fit, which force me to kick “sick, drunk” Julie out of tub and I took a shower in an attempt to feel better which worked.” ---Wt

SUNDAY

       "Sunday I packed for an hour trying to condense our swag (got it down to 5 bags), clothing (so sad that I tried to get it all in one bag because I completely forgot that we had two bags to begin with…oy vey),  and the two huge bags of books were left much as they had been because they were so distracting with their pretty bookishness.  The closing ceremonies were sad as they were the beginning of the end of this magical weekend.  There was much enthusiasm for the few of us who completed the scavenger hunt to see what goodies were in store.  I was thankfully the first number called so I got first dibs and hungrily yoinked up the flash drive with e-books from each of the participants,, Will ended up getting some dolls based on Lisa’s characters.  At this point Allison enthusiastically urged us to get on the road because she missed Tennessee and its nice and humid air.  We made it home in 21 hours. And the sleep was amazing let me say.  I would do it again (And will) although next year will only be a four hour drive for us. “---Julie



Monday, November 5, 2012

mmmMMMonday . . . New Mexico, GRL, and A Picture of Penis!



Before take- off!
CAUTION!! The following is the TRUE tale of two people's journey to New Mexico.  And what happened at the Gay Romance Literature retreat.  No names have been changed because they're are no innocent! YOU WERE WARNED! Article by Wt and Julie Prater

TUESDAY AND WEDNESDAY                                                   
      "So before we began what was to be a 25 hour journey to GRL, there was of course a lot of very last minute packing.  In a few hours we were due in Memphis to pick up the third for our cross country journey, Miss Allison Cassatta. (Miss Cassatta could not be reached to confirm or deny this story).  And just fyi, although we were traveling to New Mexico this tale does not include any aliens or space ships although if we had been abducted it would have been a faster journey.  As it was we encountered two major traffic jams (just before we got to Memphis and just after we left) that cost us 3 hours of driving time. We stopped at Denny’s (a Prater tradition since that is where we met) in two different states, Oklahoma and Arkansas.  There were few memories that we had that were more traumatizing than Julie Waking to see a giant cross and the giant guy on the horse that tried to wrangle her from which she had to be saved by Will." ---Julie

Captured!
Saved!

                                                                            
      "Upon arrival to the Hard Rock Casino and Hotel we were impressed  by it’s grandeur.  For a fairly inexpensive hotel it was very posh. And overall incredibly friendly and helpful.  The first person I saw was Eden Winters searching frantically for her packages at the conciege station. While Julie unloaded the car and had our bags delivered up to the room and Allison too pooped to talk nearly crawled to her room, I stalked the lobby looking for other people from last year's GRL.  As I saw Kate McMurray standing in line and started meeting up with people from the previous year, I heard movement behind me. Xara X Xanakas had already put down her cup and was ready for the oncoming battle. Head up, arms open, she assumed attack pose." ---Wt

     "Well, the first thing I heard was an unnatural noise, something like a squee of joy, and then at the speed of light, he was running across the lobby at her. They embrace seemed to last forever, i couldn't tell if he was attacked her or giving her Heimlich backwards. And da same thing with Poppy Dennison. I was scared, so scared." --- General Onlooker

     "I was just excited to see them all. I realize the same thing kept happening over and over again with shorter hugs as I encountered people from the previous year especially my writing Family: Poppy Dennison, Michelle L Montgomery, Cherie Noel, Xara, L.C. Chase, M J O'Shea, Eden and so many others.  And it does need to be mentioned that Missy Welsh you were missed!" ---Wt

     "He was flying around, meeting up with various people he had been chatting with online such as Sara York (who gave lots of free books) Ellis Carrington, and Edmond Manning.  We were so hungry that when he stopped for a moment, I plead for food. He asked about places and we ended up as Tiwa eating with Xara, Zach Sweets and his partner Neil, K-lee Klein, Adara, Shae Conner, Piper Vaughn and Sue.  The food at Tiwa was awesome, particularly the egg rolls and coconut sauce.

     During dinner William proposed to K-lee because she needed a "conventional" husband. And since we believe in poly relationships, she became the third wive, behind Julie and Xara. (Because, of course, Will had married Xara at the last convention so that was still in effect.)  He even got them a ring (pop) each in their next adventure.

     J. P. Barnaby showed up during dinner to say hi and ask for a small favor: Could anyone drive her to Wal-Mart?  Will, in his usual nature, volunteered me. So the five of us (Will, J.P., Shae, Adara and I) went on a little excursion to wal-mart for candy and picture frames."---Julie

    "We got back to the hotel, and Julie and I took much needed showers and then went to early registration! Getting checked in was done with a quickness, which amazed everyone. Many kudos to the volunteers and organizers for speeding up last years process. The only thing I missed was my t-shirt!


All the swag.
      At some point a black hole occurred and a few hours disappeared because the next thing we remember we were at Fusion505 with a large group of GRLers and eating not so great food. However it did give us the opportunity to hang out with KC Burn and her husband Alex and talk to Elisa who hosts the Rainbow Awards. And of course get to know Adara a little better, which is only right, with her being a fellow Nashvillian.  After a long day that had actually started Tuesday morning we finally headed to the room and crashed after hanging out with William Cooper and Anel Viz, our roommates, ever so briefly." ---Wt

THURSDAY

     "Thursday morning came too soon, as I headed down to the main room to get the prime swag ahead of Julie. Within the first half hour or so of being there, I lost my phone in my abundant swag wrangling fervor. Luckily Julie was there to save the day and hawked the registration table until it was turned in. Some of the memorable swag was: Christopher Koehler’s giant blue bags, B A Tortuga had some awesome squishy bulls, Kiernan Kelly had some kickass nude playing cards, Vicktor Alexander's notebooks were awesome and of course, Joyee Flynn's pecker checkers. "--Wt

Bottom Corner, Wt!
 "All the publishers had awesome giveaway items, cups and calendars, and such. There were some yummy book sales. So of course Will started yoinking them up asap. I noticed from across the room that Kiernan Kelly grabbed Will and took him over to the Torquere table and showed him a piece of swag.  Much squeeing and bouncing occurred at this point. It turns out that his name was on one of the cards announcing his first published short story, Two Tiny Secrets. The swag room was so awesome (six bags of swag!) that I was late for the newbie meet and great and was just in time to be advised that it was rude to hop in and out of the various sessions.  At which point is when Will wondered off." ---Julie

Blinged out!

"I escaped when I got a text from Lissa Kasey asking where I was. So I joined her and Xara for another meal at Tiwa, and then we all went to the Musa spotlight to learn more about that publishing company. I got to talk and hang out with Elizabeth Silver, Kelly and Carrie Mand.  Meanwhile, Julie went and pimped the hell out of her badge." ---Wt

     "Next was the Red Hot Pictionary. So various audience member were picked, and we had to draw a picture of the word they received based on an exerpt from the book Unconventional Love. When it was Devon Rhodes’ turn to pick someone, Will got chosen. What followed was nothing short of a laugh riot.

The Unconventional Writer's and Julie!
     As the panelists, the authors of the book sat there (Carol Lynne, Jambrea Jo Jones, T.A. Chase, Amber Kell,  and Stephanie Hecht, and Devon Rhodes),Will attempted to draw his word. The first part of the drawing appeared to be a candy corn and next to it a rocket, I thought it was a dildo vs. a butt plug but nope, foreskin. After the audience laughed for about five minutes, Will then read the exerpt, which was even funnier. There is video out there of Will reading the exerpt if you would like to search for it, it isn't hard to find." ---Julie

     "Then we went to the Resplendence Q and A. And hung out with Xara, Lissa, Zach and his honey. Afterwords, we all wanted non-hotel food. So we ended up traversing out to Cervesas for lunch. There were 7 of us (K-lee had joined us at that point). The restaurant was very good, but the thing that amazed us were the decorations. (Pictures coming soon). Then we rushed back to the hotel and were only a few minutes late for the opening ceremonies which MLR hosted. I sat with AJ Kelton, and Brandi (Will's roomates from the previous year) while Will floated like a butterfly around the room talking to everyone and anyone." ---Julie

     "To finish up that night, we celebrated at the Gentlemans Juke Joint, where we sat with Keirnan Kelly and her husband and watched the mediocre strippers that didn't really strip (or dance with the guys much). Cat Grant stopped by and hung out with us a bit, and I won some books by Barry Brennessel (OMG! So cute!) Apparently, we left before the best dancing started. According to Adara and her video phone, Damon Suede and Jared took the stage and burned it down, SO DAMN HOT!" ---Wt





 COMING TOMORROW . . . .
PART TWO: THE JOURNEY INTO THE CITY, THE WORSE DANCING EVER, 
AND THE FINAL FAREWELL!



More to come! The journey into the city!