ARR2019 fun - my tribe! ❤❤❤
In case you're wondering what ARR2019 means, the translation is A Romantic Rendezvous 2019 with the Australian Romance Readers Association Inc. (ARRA). Over four absolutely blissful days in Melbourne, Sydney, Brisbane and Perth, ARRA gathered large roomfuls of absolutely fantastic (incredibly brave) authors, sat them at tables the authors decorated to the nines, complete with books, chocolates, samplers, pens and other sumptuous items, and - opened the doors to the public!
Folks, this is my tribe. My people. My friends. And, I don't want to go too Lord of the Rings creepy about it, but the books are all my Precioussss…
The first thing I was handed at the Sydney registration was a bag of books, chocolates and little gifts, because I registered as a VIP visitor. Omigosh.
The second thing I was handed was another freebie - and what a funky cover - The Love Experiment by Ainslie Paton:
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| Photo credit: amazon.com |
I mean to say, by this stage I was overwhelmed. A bag of swoony stuff and I'd hardly gotten inside the door. Woot!
The next fun bit happened over the next three hours. I hugged and kissed and chatted my way around the room. YES I DID. In the middle I had lunch with some other lovely reader friends including our dear reader friend Helen S, and the chat went on there, too. Lots of 'Have you read...?', 'Have you read?', 'Have you read?'... Heavens to betsy, my TBR tripled in a nanosecond. And I already had that luscious bag of new books at my feet.
There were so many authors at ARR2019 I can't name them all, but I got absolutely swept off my feet by their love and wonderful-ness. And I got still more books! I might have also gotten more chocolates but there's no evidence remaining *cough*. But, the bliss. Fellow bloggers Alyssa Montgomery (at a splendid table), Enisa Haines, Cassandra Samuels and Marilyn Forsyth were there, plus lots of familiar friends. All for the same purpose: to enjoy the vibe and romance at its best!
I was very excited to meet Celeste Bradley, who had flown in from the US for the event. I trembled as she signed a copy of Wedded Bliss for me. We shared a little story about the US Deep South, so she wrote in her book: For Miranda, Keep travelling! It makes your life longer. ❤ Celeste Bradley. Ooh.
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| Photo credit: amazon.com |
I was also excited to meet new-to-me author Michelle Montebello. Her new book The Quarantine Station is set in Manly, close to where I grew up. The book is now on my TBR and I can't wait! I visited and in fact stayed at the Quarantine Station not that long ago and did a tour (it's now a hotel). Michelle's inscription to me reads: To Miranda. Break all the rules. Fall in love. ❤ Michelle. x Yes please, thankyou very much!
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| photo credit: amazon.com |
The marvellous thing about romance authors is their warmth and love. I'm not kidding. Everyone had a smile on their face, everyone was ready for a chat, everyone was just super amazing - and this included other readers I became instant BFFs with, just standing there chatting about our mutual love of this or that book/author/genre. Everyone shared the love around. The vibe was happy, relaxed and fantastic.
THANKYOU ARRA! I had the best day!
Love to you all from a very happy Miranda xx
Love to love:
Going to an ARRA event. It's all romance books, fans, authors, good stuff. And chocolate. Have you been to something like this?
Love to laugh:
At heart I'm still a swoony romance reader fan. Meeting authors gives me such a buzz! How about you?
Love to learn:
Are you like me - trembling at the knees when you get to meet someone you've read and loved?
Morning folks! A beautiful autumn day in Sydney! Looking forward to hearing from you.
ReplyDeleteIt was a great day, wasn't it, Miranda! I loved catching up and chatting with so many author friends. ARRA does such a wonderful job of bringing authors and readers together with events like this. I have Michelle Montebello's The Quarantine Station on my TBR pile and am really looking forward to the read.
ReplyDeleteYes, just so fabbo! We'll have to swap notes when we read The Quarantine Station...can't wait! ARRA is magic for these events. I shudder to think of the hard work behind it all, but we are the winners for it. Thanks again ARRA.
DeleteAw thank you ladies! I can’t wait for you to read it. You will have to let me know what you think 😀
DeleteHad a fabulous time in Brisbane, Sydney and Melbourne. Didn’t make it to Perth this time but will be there next year for a book signing.
ReplyDeleteGreat to see all you ladies as well as all the other romance readers.
One lady in Brisbane had driven 7 hours for the event (from Mt Morgan) and in Sydney I met the delightful Les from Tamworth.
It’s a wonderful testimony to ARRA as an organisation that people travel from so far to attend the event. Well done all the ARRA organisers and volunteers.
Romance readers and writers are my “tribe” too. Such fabulous people!
Will miss you guys tonight and next month at the meeting. Have fun!!
That is so great, Alyssa! To think people take the time and trouble to travel so far to meet other readers and authors. I think that's absolutely wonderful!What a tribute to the power of romance fiction.
DeleteHi Miranda. I too went to the Sydney signing and had so much fun. You are so right about the authors I hugged many and met a few new ones too. Celeste was just lovely and signed one old book and one new one for me.
ReplyDeleteOmigosh, isn't that just brilliant, Cassandra? I was totally starstruck by her - and other authors I'd met before. I can't help it, I'm such an adoring fan. But from your author side of the fence, it must be so wonderful to meet readers and enjoy their feedback.
DeleteHi Miranda
ReplyDeleteI second what you said, it was a fabulous day and I bow down to ARRA for all of the effort they put in to bring us altogether, it was lovely having lunch with you and always happy giving recommendations, I loved The Quarantine Station and hope that you will as much as I did, and I also very much enjoyed the Love Coupon another great book.
Have Fun
Helen
DeleteMiranda8 April 2019 at 12:41
Hi Helen, thanks so much for stopping by! So glad I was able to have lunch with you and the others, it made my day so enjoyable. :) Thanks for your suggestion about The Love Coupon, when I've read The Love Experiment I'll give it a whirl! Gosh, so many books, so little time. But happy time, happy days.
I hope you get a chance to read The Love Experiment. Not sure about it's ability to leave you breathless but I did try. If you like a hero who likes cats, you might like the story.
ReplyDeleteThanks for stopping by Ainslie! The Love Experiment is next on my TBR. Thanks so much for giving it out as a freebie at the event, WOW, so generous. And YES I love cats in romance books. At the Breathless in the Bush meeting last night we discussed how dogs in romance is very 'on trend' and cats are really only there for evil purposes. I BEG TO DIFFER! I think they are the best pet ever, and any hero who likes cats is the Best Hero IMHO. Ooh. Totally looking forward to it now!
DeleteWait till you meet Martha - she's the best kind of cat. Merrow!
DeleteThank you Miranda! It was an absolute pleasure meeting you at ARR2019! What a wonderful day it was. Everyone’s love of books brought us to the one place and you can’t get better than that!
ReplyDeleteI’m so glad you are excited to read The Quarantine Station. I hope it transports you to another time and place!
Can’t wait to catch up with you again ��
Michelle xxx
Hi Michelle! Wow, thanks so much for stopping by! I think quite a few people were wooed by your Quarantine Station, and the early reviews coming in seem to rave about it. So excited to have it on my TBR - obviously written from the heart. All the best!
DeleteThank you Miranda. It was a beautiful story to write, one that I enjoyed, particularly the research around it. Hope you enjoy and thank you so much for the mention.
ReplyDeleteI hope we meet again soon x
Lovely, thanks again Michelle! :)
DeleteHi Miranda, I plan to join ARRA and look forward to attending events like the one you have described.
ReplyDeleteWonderful, Sharon, you won't be disappointed! That's exciting.
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