I’m back from NYC! The conference was wonderful. A full wrap-up (including details of my scintillating encounter in the NYPL Rare Books room!) will have to wait for another day, because I have so much exciting news to share.

(The beautiful NYC skyline from Bryant Park. We had gorgeous weather! You can click on the photo to see it bigger.)

The quick-and-dirty RWA recap: My panel went great, the signing was wonderful, and the parties were to die for. I had a great time meeting so many readers, bloggers, authors, and publishing folk. The RITA award for Best Regency Historical went to the amazing Lauren Willig–congratulations to her!

One of the huge stories of the week was the fabulousness of my friend and roomie Courtney Milan, who hit both the USA Today and New York Times bestseller lists with her wonderful self-published novella, Unlocked. It was a tremendous thrill to wake up in our hotel room Thursday morning and retrieve the complimentary copy of the paper from the hallway, so we could see it for ourselves in print!

Adding to the excitement, what should be two pages back in the same section of the same edition of said national newspaper–but a little photo of me! I was quoted in this fun little “Opposites Attract” article with a few authors you might have heard of. Like, say, Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Sarah MacLean? Yeah. Pinch me. 🙂 You can read the whole article here, if you so choose. (But there’s no picture of me.)

But wait, there’s more! Just as I was getting ready to come home, I learned that A Night to Surrender had received a starred review from Publisher’s Weekly:

Dare pairs up an educated spinster and a wounded hero in this delightful Regency, the first in the Spindle Cove series… The instant attraction between Susanna and Bram is complicated by Bram’s having just inherited a title, a crumbling castle, and the right to summon a militia. The last will be nearly impossible in the peaceful woman-dominated community of Spindle Cove, where few are thrilled by the military newcomers. Enticing romantic encounters are matched by witty conversations that slowly and seamlessly reveal deep truths about Dare’s endearing one-of-a-kind characters.

They liked it! *huge sigh of relief* This review was a thrill beyond any other, and the perfect end to my conference. I had several early readers tell me in NYC that they’d already read and enjoyed the book. I’m so excited for it to be available for everyone on August 30th. (Psst, have you read the first chapter yet?)

I have so much more to blog about, but I’ll have to spread it out over several posts. More conference recap, an exciting announcement that involves a ballroom, and information about the excellent K.I.S.S. and Teal campaign involving Avon Books and the Ovarian Cancer National Alliance. And of course, my NYPL escapades!

OH. And a Very Exciting Book Video Project.

Until next time…