Romance Writers Atlanta- Part 2

  Now, for the continuation of our Hallmar... Oops. This is not a Hallmark movie. Okay, back to reality. If you are just stopping by I highly suggest you read my previous rant, that way you will be familiar with what I'm talking about today. This is the second of two about my trip to Atlanta. The trip of all trips. The trip I still find myself shaking my head over. So, without further ado, here is the second half of what I call the Time Of My Life.

  After leaving the meet and greet with the authors of The Goddess Blogs I went and got in line for the literacy signing. If I had to guess there was easily 500 people in line in front of me. While waiting though I met Golden Heart nominee (Paranormal genre) Tara Sheets. She was a beautiful and wonderful person who I thoroughly enjoyed talking with. Then the time came. The doors swung open and the fans flocked into the ballroom that held 450 authors. I walked in and tried to figure out my plan of action. Table after table held authors of various romance genres. Most went alphabetically, with some of the more famous authors having special spots at the far end of the ballroom.

  The first author I kind of fell into was Carla Neggers. I met Mrs. Neggers two years ago at a book signing she had in Savannah. When I walked up to her she recognized me instantly. After trying unsuccessfully to remember my name, then admitting she’s horrible with names, she told me she remembered meeting me in Savannah. Unbelievable. We talked for quite a while about writing, the publishing industry, and Ireland. She has a great personality, and is another one of those people that I could have talked to for a long, long time. During that conversation another woman walked up and started chatting with us. Carla introduced me by saying, "Kelly, this is my friend, Stella Cameron." Wow. As far as I'm concerned Stella Cameron is another power house author. What a privilege.

The lovely Jill Shalvis!

  Next I went to my fave, Barbara O’Neal. I’ve won many autographed books from TGB, but I have never won one of Barbara’s. It also gave me a couple more minutes to talk to her. If you ever get the chance I would highly recommend reading one, or ten, of her books. She is the most descriptive author I’ve read. Her voice is phenomenal. I’m humbled that I got to spend time with this lovely, brilliant, kind woman. Thank you, Miss Barbara for making me come out of this shell a little bit.

  I then sought out another one of my favorites, Jill Shalvis. Other than TGB I do visit Jill’s blog almost daily. I loved her from the get-go. She’s another phenomenal writer. She’s funny, and her voice is outstanding. She told me to wear the tiara, it went well with my shirt and eyes. Unfortunately the photo is a little blurred, but I don’t care. I was in another world. This is just the evidence.

She's tall, but she had heels on too!

  I met and got autographed books from Robyn Carr, Susan Mallery, and Candice Terry. Last but not least I found myself in line for the talented Kristan Higgins. She was funny. And tall. Right as this picture was snapped she was trying to lower herself to my level.

  The one and only Nora Roberts was there as well, but her line was very, very long. I think just standing ten feet away from her was good enough. Any more and they may have had to pick me up off the floor!

  The day started off with me visiting the beautiful Georgia Aquarium. It ended with me sitting on cloud nine. What an experience it was to meet some of my heroes. It was a day I’ll never forget. It was one of the best days of my life.

  Have you ever heard of any of these authors? Have you ever gone to a big book signing?  What was one of the best days of your life? 

Weekly Planting Information (W.P.I.)- The most important thing I have to say about gardening is this:

Having good soil is the key to successful vegetable gardening.

If you take the time to nurture your soil, you will be rewarded with healthy crops and a beautiful garden environment. Crop rotation is great for the soil. Using organic fertilizer, organic weed controls, compost, and mulch will all add to your soil as well.