Squawk Radio

My first RWA conference was in 1997, the year before I sold my first book. I was overwhelmed by the number of attendees, the choice of workshops. And the opportunity to meet some of the writers I adored. I attended a chat session given by Squawk Goddess Lisa Kleypas at that conference and I remember sitting in that room thinking to myself, “I can’t believe I’m sitting in the same room as LISA FREAKIN’ KLEYPAS!!” I also met Nora Roberts for the first time at that conference and nearly fainted. One of my friends took a picture of me with Ms. Roberts and I still have it on my desk. My mother is an AVID romance reader (guess that apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, huh?!) and over the years at RWA’s yearly conference, every time I’ve met one of our favorite authors, I call my mother. The conversation goes like this:
Me—Mommy, you’re never going to guess who I just met!
Mom—Who?
Me—Guess!
Mom—Jerry Seinfeld?
Me—Mom, I’m at the writers’ conference. Why would Jerry Seinfeld be here?
Dad—(because my parents always talk on the speaker phone)—You met Jerry Seinfeld?
Me—No! No Jerry Seinfeld. Guess what author I met?
Mom—I can’t guess. Tell me.
Me—(all atwitter) Julie Garwood!
Mom—(breathless) You did not!
Me—I did, too!
Dad—Who’s Julie Garwood?
Over the years, I’ve made that call to my mother and spouted out other names such as Karen Robards, Lisa Kleypas, Virginia Henley, Teresa Medeiros, Connie Brockway, Amanda Quick, Tami Hoag--just to name a few. In fact, when the conference was in New York in 2003, my parents came to the huge literacy booksigning and Mom was able to meet a bunch of her favorite authors. To say she was thrilled is an understatement. But one of the biggest thrills for me was at the conference in 2004 in Dallas when I had the honor of meeting Judith McNaught. Oh. My. Gawd. I nearly hyperventilated. She was so lovely and so gracious and I really do think I drooled on her shoe (great shoes, btw—Prada, if I’m not mistaken). I bought two hardcovers of the re-release of Whitney, My Love—one for me and one for my mom, and she signed them, writing lovely notes in both. I told her how much I loved her books and how they’d inspired me to write historical romances and how Something Wonderful had kept me up all night reading and on and on, and really she probably thought I was insane but she was so polite and nice and charming. I had the moment immortalized in a picture and here it is--me and Judith McNaught. Anyway, after I spoke to her, I zipped out my cell phone and called my mother.
Me—Mommy, you’re NEVER going to guess who I just met. Who I am, at this moment standing not fifteen feet away from!
Mom—Who?
Me—Guess!
Mom—Antonio Banderas?
Me—Mom, I’m at the writers’ conference. Why would Antonio Banderas be here?
Dad—(because my parents still always talk on the speaker phone)—You met Antonio Banderas?
Me—No! No Antonio Banderas. Guess what author I met?
Mom—I can’t guess. Tell me.
Me—(all atwitter) Judith McNaught!
Mom—(breathless) You did not!
Me—I did, too!
Dad—Who’s Judith McNaught?
So…have you ever seen or met someone totally cool? Someone who made you think, “wow, I can’t believe I’m looking at/talking to this person?” C’mon, spill…Inquiring Minds want to know!