The Joy of Romance Reader events

 by Alyssa J. Montgomery

From the 1st to 5th June this year, I was in Houston, Texas, at the Book Lovers Convention and it was a fun, up-beat event, but there was some sadness and a lot of nostalgia too, because this was the last Book Lovers Convention.

Taking a step back in time...The amazing, and trail-blazing Kathryn Falk founded Romantic Times and the RT conventions. She created a unique environment where writers, agents, publishing houses, cover models, reviewers, librarians and readers were all able to come together. Behind the scenes, Jo Carol Jones was the wonder woman who organised the events for- I think - about 20 years. So, when Kathryn announced that the RT convention in Reno was to be the last event, all those in attendance were thrilled to learn that Jo Carol was going to pick up the baton and continue the annual event as the Book Lovers Convention (BLC!). The slogan "I can't wait for BLC"  was particularly apt.

We talk about having a 'tribe' that isn't familial and my tribe is my romance writers/authors and reading friends. I've always enjoyed the RWA and ARRA events and gatherings, but I was on happiness overload when I attended my first RT event in 2014 in New Orleans (From memory there were approximately 3000 people there and the event was one of the most well-attended RT convention of all time).. 

From that first New Orleans gathering, I reunited with the RT then BLC "family" in Dallas, Las Vegas, Reno, New Orleans and Houston. And, as silly as it might sound, the incredible group of volunteers who stuck with Jo Carol, other authors, and especially the romance readers embraced me as part of the "family". It became the norm for me to walk through the foyer of the hotel to calls of "Alyssa! Hey girl, how are you doing?" (The fact that I'm an Aussie and many "I just love your accent" comments were made, probably made me a bit of a novelty!). 

The joys of these particular reader events were:

- meeting and connecting with like-minded people (both romance readers and writers)

-discovering new authors (and models!!)

  With some models, Jade Lee/Kathy Lyons and at a Book Bash signing event. (Images Copyright: Alyssa J                        Montgomery)

                                                                     

                   

                                              

-learning more about the industry from other writers and from industry professionals

-all manner of fun in the form of dinner and dance parties, author and publishing house events, games to play and craft activities in which  to participate. (Better still, dressing up is encouraged at these gatherings)

(Fancy Dress Events! With my friends Susan and Libby

So, what's next?

Well, since Kathryn Falk first showed us the way with the RT Events, there have been several other large reader/writing/industry professional conventions that continue to 'spring up'. I've just been to the BABE23 event in Sydney (amazing event run by Tate James and Jaymin Eve), but they say this was the last BABE event in Sydney as well.

Next year I'm going to be at the READERS TAKE DENVER event in April. Tickets and accommodation are almost sold out, so if you'd like to attend, you'd better get your skates on!! 

Have you any international book conventions you're keen to attend? If so, please let us known about them.

Love to Laugh in sheer happiness at being in attendance at one of this incredibly up-beat reader conventions.

Love to Love reuniting with friends I've met through the Romance reading events and making new friends..

Love to Learn about what all my friends have been up to - what they are reading/publishing.

Best wishes to all,

Alyssa

-

 What Makes ‘Good’ Book?

By Marilyn Forsyth

I’ll start by stating the obvious: the concept of a ‘good’ book is totally subjective.

But...

There are certain qualities all readers expect from a book they’d recommend.

From what I’ve read, what many readers identify as the most important quality of a good book is a CAPTIVATING STORYLINE. They want to be sucked into the story and transported to another world for the (often) all-too-brief hours of the read.

Next in importance is COMPELLING CHARACTERS. Readers want believable characters they can identify with and come to care about. They want to laugh with them, cry with them, and think about them long after the book is finished. 

Who can forget Katniss Everdeen??

For many readers it’s the author’s LANGUAGE STYLE that makes a book memorable. Every author’s voice is unique to them, their personality emerging in the tone of the book, in their word choice, in the way they structure sentences and use punctuation. I think dialogue comes in here, too (I love good banter).

A SATISFYING ENDING is the gauge of a good book for many readers. Getting to the end and closing the book with a sigh of happiness or a fist pump of celebration is, for them, the final decider.

Other things mentioned as features of a good book are pragmatic things like auto-buy authors, thorough research, and decent-sized print (although this isn’t an issue with e-books). Some readers judge from a scan of the first page (or the first few lines) whether the book will grab them and not let go. Others nominate themes like old houses, family secrets, etc. as good books because they're into that genre.

For me, I judge how good a book is by how much it makes me ‘feel’ as I’m reading. If I can feel each character’s excitement or delight, sadness or anger or regret, that’s exactly what I want. And if it keeps me up reading into the early hours (even knowing I’ll pay for it the next day), that’s a bonus.

I can’t finish this post without mention of things that spoil a potentially good book. These are my no-nos:

 Lack of thorough copy-editing (grammar/spelling/punctuation mistakes take me out of the story)

Inconsistency in character behaviour (takes away from believability of the character)

Plot holes (should never happen)

The book not meeting genre/cover/blurb expectations

 

How about you? I’d love to know what you think makes a book ‘good’ (or bad)? Let me know in the comments.

Love to Love: holidays! We recently returned from Khao Lak in Thailand. Such a relaxing time in a gorgeous place.

Love to Laugh: at crazy memes. (I’m an Ed Sheeran tragic but this made me laugh out loud.)

Love to Learn: I’m doing an on-line Watercolour class at the moment. (I'd share but I'm not happy with my efforts yet. 😉)

The myth and folklore that is the Easter bunny and his eggs

 By Cassandra Samuels

It is Easter Monday, so I wanted to talk about that other part of Easter.

Everyone loves Easter, if not for the religious aspect, then for the love of chocolate. How did a rabbit become tangled in all this? And how is it connected to eggs? That is what I am going to try and explain today. \

Courtesy of Creative Commons

 We all know they don’t lay eggs so how are chocolate eggs connected? To explain we must go all the way back to the Pagans. They celebrated the festival of Eostre or Ostara (a great northern goddess of Spring) whose symbol is the hare. 

courtesy of Creative Commons

Easter, as you know is not a fixed date every year, but is commanded by the phases of the moon, again a nod to the pagans. The hare also represents spring and fertility. We all know the saying about rabbits, so what about the eggs because we all know rabbits do not lay them. 

 

Photo by Bermix Studio on Unsplash

Since ancient times German folklore has connected rabbits and eggs where the Easter Rabbit puts colourful eggsin nests and baskets of good little children. They then took this custom with them as they migrated around the world.  

The Greeks have a more orthodox reason for dying eggs red at Easter. The egg is dyed red to represent Christ’s blood, its shell the tomb of Jesus and the cracking of the shell the resurrection from the dead and escaping his tomb. 

Photo by ALEXANDRA TORRO on Unsplash

But what about the chocolate? I hear you ask. In the early 19th century France and Germany started introducing chocolate eggs as eating chocolate. Before that chocolate was consumed as a drink but once they perfected the process of separating Cocoa from the seed, they were able to start using chocolate as it is mostly consumed today. Apparently, Fry and sons around 1860 invented the first chocolate bar from paste, sugar, cocoa butter, and chocolate liquor and moulded into a bar. Fry’s first chocolate easter egg was around 1873. 

Courtesy of Preston's Museum

The first Cadbury Easter egg was made in 1875 and now there are more types of Easter chocolate than you could possibly consume. 

So, there you have it. Easter is a combination of folklore, festivals, and religion. Over time they have become combined in a celebration that can be shared by all.  

I hope your Easter break was a wonderful one. How is your Easter spent? Have you ever read a Romance novel set over Easter? 

Love to love watching the children participating in the Easter egg hunt. 

Love to learn all about how the first chocolate eggs were made and how they related to the Easter Bunny. 

Love to laugh at my silly new puppy Buddy as he plays with his toys.