Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

I didn't make it to RT this year, but I did attend Lori Foster's Reader and Author Get Together in Cincinnati earlier this month. If you've never been, I highly recommend you put it on your calendar for next June. Space is limited, so you have to be ready to sign up as soon as registration opens, but it's worth it for the chance to mingle with authors and readers alike in a relaxed, comfortable, fun atmosphere. This was my fourth year, and I had a fabulous time seeing old friends and meeting new ones. The event raised over $17,000 to benefit One Way Farm this year, which means a lot of dedicated readers were buying an amazing number of raffle tickets. This was my first time putting together a gift basket, and I had a hard time figuring out a way to cram in all of my books plus a few other goodies. I spent ages in Michael's craft store picking out ribbons and bags and a nifty little butterfly pin that I was afraid might get lost, but I thought the finished result w...

By Danielle Dresser  It’s that time of year when romance authors take flight and gather together over the next few months to meet with readers, industry professionals, and other authors… yes, it’s conference season! There are so many different ways for authors to interact and meet readers and others, and Sourcebooks will be at a bunch this season: Public Library Association Conference; Indianapolis, IN Wednesday, March 12-Friday, March 14 (yes, I’m here RIGHT NOW) I’m attending my first PLA conference this year, and couldn’t be more excited. Public Librarians do a great job of getting the word out about all books, but they are also among the most romance-friendly librarians in the business. Along with some fabulous marketing and sales colleagues, we’re going to have a busy booth with signings each day, book giveaways, and a lot of fun. Chicago-North Spring Fling Conference; Hoffman Estates, IL Friday, April 25-Saturday, April 26 This is one of my f...

OMG! Those three letters pretty much say it all. Well, almost. Let's just say when June 1st rolled around, my heart was beating a mile a minute. My palms were sweaty. I gnawed my teeth. I kept googling my name and book title to see if any reviews had posted. Is this normal for someone? My family insists I'm obsessed. They don't realize that this is my baby. I'm supposed to be slightly obsessed. Okay, I admit, I am more than slightly obsessed. But hey, it's my first Sourcebooks Casablanca release. I think I'm entitled to be a little obsessed. Luckily, I was able to put my obsession on hold for the weekend. I made the six hour journey south to Cincinnati to attend Lori Foster's Reader and Author Get Together. This is my first time attending this event and I guarantee it won't be my last. I had a great time. I met tons of awesome readers, authors, agents, editors and bloggers. There were tons of prizes to win, including several Nooks and Kindles. But the re...

Believe it or not, sometimes people do not believe I do what I do for a living. This is a subject I know I’ve brought up before with similar convo outlines: So what do you do? I’m a publicist for an independent book publisher… Actually I focus on romance novels. Like the ones at the grocery store? Or Borders and Barnes & Noble. Really? But what do you actually do? It’s always sort of a struggle when I get to this point in the conversation because it sounds kind of weird to say “I email people all day seeing if they want to review a book I’m the lead publicist for. And I also spend a good portion of my day researching new websites, new pitching ideas. Oh and I also schedule some interviews. And I also email back and forth with many of the authors all day—usually it has nothing to do with their books. Oh, and sometimes, I blog.” I could go on about all the things I do. Don’t even get me started about when people ask about the types of books I publicize. Take a recent convo I had wi...