10 Things I Loved About the Australian Romance Readers Convention Canberra 2015

with Cassandra Samuels

Hi, Cassandra here. I had the great privilege of attending a day at the Australian Romance Readers Convention in Canberra on the 7th of March.

Here are just a few of the things I loved about the weekend..

1. Helene Young's keynote speech. Wonderful and inspiring to all women, Helene proves that there is no limit to what a woman can do. She told us how she became a pilot against the odds, how she bluffed her way to a job in England, and how she came to write some of her fantastic Romantic Suspense novels.



2. The hilariously funny launch of 'Tribal Law' by Shannon Curtis. She wrote the book based on the suggestions of ARRA members and all profits from sales go back to ARRA.








3. I met John Purcell, part of the Booktopia team and author of the Emma Series (under his pen name Natasha Walker). He was was very tall and a lovely person to talk to. Believe it or not, he is the runt of the family. Or so he says.








4. The hot air balloons that rose up over Lake Burley Griffin in the early morning. Amazing site.









5. The goodies table was full of amazing things for readers to take home. Everything from bookmarks and pens to notebooks and chocolates.




6. It was my first ever ARRC author book signing. I met so many wonderful readers and found out that pens are a very popular giveaway item.









7. The Awards night was flappertastic, the theme being the 1920s. There were feathers as far as the eye could see (mostly on the floor). I wasn't a winner this year but I had an absolute ball with my new reader and writer friends.









8. The 'bling off' was great with at least a dozen up for the prize for best dressed. Even Fabio tried to get in on the act. The prize went to a lady who had an authentic 1920s dress that was divine.







9. The volunteer ARRC team did an amazing job of putting the convention together. I can't wait to go to the next one.



10. All the wonderful authors who gave up their time to come to the convention and participate in so many ways, in particular, the author signing. It was great catching up with so many friends.

All the authors who attended this year in all their flapper glory.

Which author would you like to see at a readers' convention?

Love to Love: meeting new readers.

Love to Laugh: at the amount of feathers lost during the Awards night.

Love to Learn: about other genres and how those authors approach writing their books.