Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America

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'Love Between the Covers' starring romance readers

On Saturday, January 23, the Greater Seattle Romance Writers of America hosted a screening of Love Between the Covers, a “feature-length documentary film about the little-known, surprisingly powerful community of women who read and write romance novels.” A panel including Cherry Adair, Christina Dodd, Julia Quinn and Jayne Anne Krentz led a discussion following the viewing.

Produced by Laurie Kahn, screenings of Love Between the Covers have become an effective means of educating those not familiar with romantic fiction about the genre, authors and publishers, and readers. The film is also a celebration and validation of what romance authors and readers already know: There is nothing trivial, trite or shameful about this multi-billion dollar industry–which is actually more of a community.

Thanks to social media, as well as the variety of reader/author events such as RomCon, The Novel Experience Event, RT Booklovers Convention & Bookfair and Barbara Vey’s Reader Appreciation Weekend, opportunity abounds for readers and writers to connect. It is not uncommon for these casual encounters to evolve into mentorships for readers who want to write, close personal friendships and/or strong professional collaborations.

While I savor every sale, every review, and every award, it is the personal connection with readers that affirms my decision to write romantic suspense. I love hearing that some readers look forward to each new release because it’s a favorite indulgence or that escaping into my stories helped someone cope during a personal crisis. Or that reading Grayce Walters was like returning to their favorite city, Seattle. Or that they learned something new about political intrigue during the Napoleonic war in my Code Breakers series. It’s so much fun to start recognizing names on Facebook and discover a shared passion like high heels, theater or dogs.

Love Between the Covers showcases the unique relationships (readers and readers, authors and authors, authors and readers) that do not exist in other fiction genres. This film reminded me how lucky I am, and how much I value, the friends I’ve made in this community!

I’d love to hear about your special connections with other authors and readers. Feel free to comment on this post or send me a message on Facebook.

Catch me at the Emerald City Writers' Conference

This weekend I’ll be attending the Emerald City Writers’ Conference. I’m looking forward to the event for several special reasons.

First and foremost, I will be presenting a workshop on How to Successfully Produce an Audio Book with Pearl Hewitt. For those who don’t know, Pearl is the talented narrator who’s brought two of my Code Breaker series book to life. She’s currently working on a third, A CHRISTMAS CODE, which will be available in early November. This will be my first opportunity to meet Pearl in-person, and I’m looking forward to it!

Second, I’ll be participating in the Passport to Romance Reader Appreciation Event on Saturday, October 17. Readers are invited to this free event, which provides an opportunity to celebrate romantic fiction, meet their favorite authors and discover new authors.

Last but not least, writers’ conferences offer authors a chance to network with industry professionals, connect with their peers, learn what’s new and exciting in publishing and hone their craft through workshops and master classes.

After spending so many days alone in my writing cave, I’m excited to spend the weekend with my favorite people – writers and readers! For more information, visit the Greater Seattle RWA website.