Okay, so there isn’t actually film. I’m sitting in the lobby of the Dolphin hotel on the Disney World Property. One thing you can say about Disney. They’re subtle.

This has to be one of the most OVER THE TOP lobbies I’ve ever been in. Okay, so I’m not a huge world traveler and I haven’t been in tons of fancy hotel lobbies but this amazes me. I’ll try to get a picture of what blows me away.

This is the ceiling of the lobby. My roommate and I discussed whether this is actually fabric, which is what it looks like, or if it’s concrete made to look like fabric. Given that it’s Disney, it could be either and either one would be amazing and totally over the top.

That’s what I love about Disney. It’s super big and the detail is…wait, did I say amazing?

I’m here because Romance Writers of America is holding their annual conference here. This is the conference that was supposed to be in Nashville and one I saved up for two years to attend because Nashville is a doable drive from my house. However, our hotel was flooded and with in a week, the conference was moved here.

Orlando is less of a fun drive, but actually yesterday wasn’t bad. My friend Lynn is with me, although she isn’t really interested in writing romance. She’s a screenwriter and copy writer and probably won’t renew her RWA membership next year.

Still, though, the drive went by fast enough that it didn’t feel like 11 hours, not counting stops.

We got in around 7 local time, checked in and got up to our room, which has NO view unless you count the air conditioning units! Also, the light above my bed doesn’t seem to work, which I need to talk to guest services about. But, you know what? I’m not here for the room. I’m here to absorb as much writing energy as I can and meet people and network and learn!

I know I’m more excited to be here than Lynn is and I think I’m okay with hanging out alone, but I really wish someone would talk to me!

When I came to this conference in 2006, I felt very much out of the loop. Everyone seemed to know other people and groups congregated together. It seems to be a little that way this year, too. I guess that’s to be expected. Some people come every year and have LOTS of writing friends. All, or most, of my writing friends are just online friends that I’ve never actually met in real life. I’m hoping to do that here, at least a bit.

I’ll try to keep you posted on my doings. Back to work, writing, and trying to look approachable.

Okay, not totally terrible, but I went down to the Dolphin lobby early because I wanted to meet people, find someone to chat with, you know, hang with lovely romance writers.

Well, it turns out that if you have a computer in front of you and your fingers are flying across the keys, people “think” you’re working and they leave you alone. I was sitting on a sofa at the back of a conversational grouping of seats. A woman sat down in a chair next to the sofa, but oa the other end. I smiled but she was on the phone and I just went back to my book. Then, kinda big name author (whose name will be redacted because I’m not stupid and I won’t burn bridges) came by. She and the other woman commented on how impressed they were that I was working, then they proceeded to have what sounded like a fun conversation together. Now and then I would look up – I had told them I was spending more time watching people go by than actually writing – and glance their way, but while one or the other of them would look at me, I wasn’t actually included in the conversation.

Then more big names came by to speak to the big name near me. They all hugged. And squealed. And Ooohed and Aaahed over each other’s clothes.

And they all got introduced to the woman that first sat down.

But not to me, since no one had actually asked me anything.

I began to wonder if this was going to be a boring, lonely conference. My roommate, as I think I mentioned, isn’t a romance reader or writer, but she is a writer and she is interested in meeting and networking, but I wanted to meet and chat with other romance people.

Later, however, I went to the room where the Literacy signing was going to take place to volunteer to help set up.

I walked back and forth and around a literal Disney sized ballroom for two hours, including putting RITA finalist flags at the spaces for about 50 authors (out of 500). The authors were seated alphabetically by last name (Duh) but the list of finalists was alphabetical by FIRST name, so I went from the As to the Ws then back to the Fs and then to the Ms and so forth for probably an hour!

I was tired and about 1.5 hours before the signing, I went back to my room to relax.

Then I went to the signing. I had a list in my head of authors I know personally that I wanted to see and my ego was stroked big time!!

Terri Brisbin sat next to me at a book signing at New Jersey Romance Writers in 2004 and she was SO nice to me, a new, unknown epubbed author (back before Kindle told everyone was ebooks are), and she jumped up when she saw my name tag and was thrilled to see me.

Ditto Alyssa Day from whom I’d taken a Chick Lit writing online class when she was writing as Alesia Holiday and Jax Abbott. She also sent my daughter a copy of her second Jax Abbott book.

Anyway, it ended up being great for my ego.

We were getting ready for Mass and the Boy was dressed to go.

We have a wall in our dining room that is all mirrors. Don’t ask; it came that way.

Anyway, he walked into the dining room and said, “Let’s see. Do I look handsome or really handsome?”

Gotta love that boy.