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Casablanca Goes To Spain


I'll apologize right off the bat for not having a clue what our theme is this month, but since many of us are at RWA, I figured pictures from the week wouldn't get me tossed off the blog schedule.

I giggled to myself (I do that a lot) at the title of this post, because I just finished Genie Knows Best, which opens in Casablanca, and most of you know that I lived in Spain, a country I just adore. But there are different correlations in this blog post, so bear with me. (Yes, I know, I hear the Peanut Gallery--you bear with me all the time...)

I'm writing this Saturday morning for a Sunday posting because I'll be on the plane Sunday morning (at a ridiculously early time thanks to my roommate/critique partner/fellow CasaBabe, Stephanie Julian wanting to get home to real life early--me? I'd just as soon pass on real life for a little longer and spend time in the Magic Kingdom) and won't have time to post.

Last night (Friday) was our Sourcebooks dinner, and, as always, Dominique treated us to a fabulous event. From the red carpet in front of the limos, and the hoardes (okay, two) of paparazzi (husbands) taking flash photos of our red carpet event, to the stretch limos (that were lit up inside like the Cash Cab), to the champagne (thank you, Dom!), the evening started off fabulously.

The supposed 45-minute drive to Ceviches Tapas Bar flew by (hmmm, might have to have a genie use a stretch limo instead of a magic carpet in one of my stories) with all the laughter and great conversation in the limo (and, of course, the champagne. Did I mention the champagne?)

For anyone unfamiliar with tapas, they're hor d'oeuvre-type finger food that, in Spain, is served on a piece of baguette-style bread, on "top" (tapa = top) of your drink glass. Enough of them, and you have a great meal. We had a great selection (my favorite are the patatas bravas and the tortilla espanola). So dinner was fabulous. And there was champagne. :)

And, of course, more red carpet moments for the ride back, and since I got in the second limo on the way back--who hadn't had their champagne on the way over--I got... more champagne. (Lest you all think I had too MUCH champagne, these were all 1/3 of a glass and I sipped it.)

THEN, back at the hotel, I ran into my lovely friend, Leanna Renee Hieber, a fellow member of the FF&P chapter of RWA, whom I had asked to give my acceptance speech in the amazingly unlikely chance that Wild Blue Under would win the Prism Award for Best Light Paranormal (I was up against Kerrelyn Sparks and Angie Fox). So, since Leanna hadn't texted me, I figured, okay, I didn't win, but I wanted to know who did. I went up to Leanna and asked her, "So, Kerry or Angie?" and she said, "No, you won." "What?" asked I, because the English language had suddenly stopped computing. (Interesting how that happens.) And she says, "No, Judi, YOU won. You tied with Kerrelyn."

Well, there ensued some shriek-y screaming, and I believe running was involved; I know tears definitely were--as I ran back to where the rest of the Casablanca contingent was still chatting about the wonderful dinner, and then there was hugging involved, and I do believe I jumped up and down at one point. And tears. There were definitely tears. And pictures. I know at least 3 people took pictures of the hysterically happy merman-writer as other, non-RWA folks in the lobby looked on, wondering what in the world I was doing.

I would appreciate if those 3 people burned the pictures of me at my less-than-professional moment. ;) (yeah, sure; I see a slew of "I'll burn it if you..." moments in my future. LOL)

It was late when I got in my room, so I don't have the Prism Award yet (I did get to see what it looks like; Leanna won TWO of them--hence the reason she forgot to text me; she was dealing with her own "Oh My God!" moment), so I'm off to see Jeffe Kennedy, the president of FF&P, to collect my award. And I have to do it this morning, or I'm not allowed in the Sourcebooks Author Signing without it! LOL.

Enjoy some of the photos from the Sourcebooks Spotlight, and share your favorite conference memories in the Comments!




Comments

  1. I was in the limo that didn't get any champagne on the way to the dinner. We were told by the driver that we had sodas and bottled water, no mention of champagne at all!

    Congrats on the award! As one who was there and did NOT take pictures, I can safely say that there will be no threats of blackmail from me!

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  2. Welcome home, Judi!

    It sounds like you had a great time. Too bad daily life couldn't be more like that.

    Ash

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  3. Well, Judi, you did a better job on pictures. I got everyone's backsides, instead of front sides. :) Had a blast!

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  4. Big congratulations on your win, Judi! How exciting for you, and what a way to enjoy the conference! Cheers!

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  5. Congrats on your win--your Prism award was such a lovely addition to your signing table on Saturday! And thanks for the awesome recap of our author dinner!!

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  6. Hi Judi! And Congratulations again on your win!! I had a great time meeting you! For a fab picture of you just learning you had won the prism award check out my facebook page!

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  7. Great, great news, Judi! Congrats on a well-deserved award.

    I'm sorry you didn't get to enjoy the win in person, but way to go!

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  8. Many congrats! Those are the moments writers dream of!

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  9. Hello lovely Judi! I'm late catching up with all my conference stuffs as I left that Saturday morning for an overseas trip.

    It was such an honour to deliver your speech, I promise I was a lot sharper about delivering it than I was about texting you... :/ Again, sorry about that, now that you won one you know how absolutely batty you get when you win. :)


    Again, congratulations, awesome work! *hugs*

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