My trip to San Antonio, Texas for the RWA (Romance Writers of America) 2014 conference

Me getting ready to go meet Sabrina Jeffries

This year RWA held it's annual convention in San Antonio, Texas so I was thrilled at the chance to attend the literarcy signing and see some of my favorite authors and buy their books and get heir autographs. Little did I realize how much of an adventure this was going to turn out to be. I asked a couple of friends of mine if they would like to go and have some fun. I did warn them that I was about to get crazy by being star struck by all the wonderful authors that were there. I saved from May until the day we left on July 23rd. As the days neared I got more and more excited and couldn't believe I was about to embark on a journey to see all these wonderful people in one room.

Lunch on Day 1. I miss Arby's.

We left Kerrville at 11 a.m. and I am glad we did. We made a quick stop at Arby's after getting taken on a loopty loop ride thanks to GPS. We had lunch and it was delicious and then we finally made our way to the hotel so that we could check in before my first event at 3 with Sabrina Jeffries. But when I got to the hotel we couldn't check in until 3 so we left and headed downtown and found a place to park and walked to the River Walk.

If you have never been to the River Walk in San Antonio it's a beautiful place to visit. So many shops to explore but just walking along the river is nice too. We found out that there is a Hard Rock Cafe in SA but I wasn't that impressed, guess I got spoiled by the one in Florida that I went to so many years ago.  Luckily I remembered to get my dress and shoes out of the car to change into for the Tex-Mex meeting and so we went to Hard Rock and had a drink and then headed over to find Rita's on the River. By lucky chance we found it quite by accident walking along the bottom of the River Walk. 

I went to my meet with Sabrina and had an absolute ball, I even had Sangria for the first time. along with a wonderful tote bag full of goodies and one of Sabrina's books.  I got my picture taken with Sabrina and met some wonderful ladies and was able to get some information on a publishing company and some events that were coming up in November and February.

Sabrina Jeffries and I at the Tex-Mex Fest at Rita's on the River

 After I got to meet Sabrina my friends and I headed back for the long walk in the heat. Reminder to self do not try to walk too much in the hot Texas sun in July you will die. We made it back to the car and headed over to the hotel. Well we got there and my reservation and the room I was sharing with one friend was fine but my other room that I had reserved and paid for in advance was not showing up on the computer so I had to make a phone call to the company I made the reservations through. We finally got it fixed and I got a ten dollar credit out of it but it made me late to the signing.  We got cleaned up and made another trek to the parking garage and grace here parked way far away from where the book signing was so once again we were walking in the blasted heat. Lesson learned made a huge study of where the parking garages are in adjacent to the events.  We made it finally to the signing and I was like a kid in a candy store. When I first walked up to my first author I was shaking like a leaf. I couldn't believe I was really here. I got to meet some of my favorite authors and I was estatic to get some of the books signed and to meet some of my favorite heroes. There were so many to meet and I had a list but time was short and so I didn't get to meet them all, sad to say but I did get to meet two of the authors whose street teams I am on so that was pretty cool.

My haul from RWA 2014

After standing in line to get my books paid for we made the long trek back to the parking garage and headed to the hotel to cool off and crash for the night to get ready for the next day. We slept like the dead and the next morning we packed up the car and got ready to head out for the day's adventure.

Katharine Ashe and I. I got an autograph

Me and Jennifer Bernard

Ava Miles and I. Was so excited to meet her.

Day two involved us going to the Alamo. I got smart this time and tried to find a way to use the bus system and save us some walking time. On the brochure we got for the trolley I found out that you can buy a day pass for $4.00 and it's good until 5 p.m. so we decided to do that and tried our best to find the office for it. That was an adventure in itself too. We went to Denny's for breakfast and I typed in the address for the bus office and it took us the long way around. I was like where the heck is it taking us, we were starting to get worried when we thought we were in the bad area of SA but we were okay and found the parking lot. I was walking up to the box to find out how to pay when this nice lady came out and helped us, she was the security person for the parking lot and let us know that we didn't have to pay the parking lot fee if we were using the bus so that saved us some money after spending $24 the night before for the parking garage. We got our passes and asked what bus we needed to get downtown and the nice lady told us. What they neglected to tell us what that where we got dropped off at was not the same place where we would be picked up. We found this out later. Anyway, we got on the bus and made it to the Alamo (Remember the Alamo) and it was great. It was not what I expected but it was still fun to be able to stand on a historic place and no that men lost their lives there trying to defend our country and the great state of Texas. We went through to the shrine and over to the gardens and into the long barracks and then of course to the gift shop.  After we did all of this we decided to go to Hagen Das and had some ice cream and decided our plan of action. We were going to go to the wax museum but we were getting tired and it was hot so we decided to save that for the next trip back, so alas I didn't get to see my husband (very sad and it was Johnny Depp for those of you who don't know of my huge crush on the man).

Remember the Alamo

We walked back to where we were dropped  off to catch the bus back but we were waiting for a while and I was getting nervous so I stopped a guy who had the VIA logo on his shirt and asked him if we were in the right spot. He didn't seem like he wanted to help but he sent us in the right direction to catch the bus. Little did I know that was going to involve another long walk. We started walking and would stop at the signs to see if our number bus was on the list and nope so we kept going. We got to the spot we thought we were supposed to be but no bus came with our number on it so I asked one
of the bus drivers when he stopped to get passengers and asked him and he told me to go the other direction to catch the bus so we walked and walked and luckily my friend realized where were to catch the bus and we almost missed it but we made it no thanks to my slow butt.  We got on the bus and breathed a sigh of relief and made it back to the car. When we were heading back I looked at my phone and realized it was dying so I said I needed to charge when we got to the car and when I got there my charger wasn't there. I went oh no I left it in the hotel room, Karma is laughing its ass at me by now, and so I had to jump through hoops to get through to the hotel and they said they would check and call me back but never got a phone call back so I was like oh great have to go to Wal-mart now to buy a new charger. Both of my friends were like, "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO". They both work for Wal-mart and didn't want to go so I decided to try and find my company, which is HEB, and so I typed it in to the GPS. I typed in HEB and where does it take me???????????? to headquarters. Not where I wanted to go. So I type in Bakery and found another HEB with a gas station so killed two birds with one stone and got everything I needed and headed back out. Tried to find the darn Arby's again on the way out but my GPS wouldn't play nice so we said forget stopped at another restaurant and headed home. Needless to say we were all tired but we had fun and plan to do it again in November when it's not so darn hot and we can take 3 days off instead of just 2 so we can recuperate from all the walking.

Everyone has their little secrets but for some they can be deadly. Amber is sent to stay with her sister, Rebecca for the summer because she had gotten hurt at a party due to being too drunk. Her parents feel that she is getting out of control and so they think maybe a summer with her sister and a forced meeting will help. 

Amber fights the summer prison at every turn but when she goes to her first meeting she sees her old friend Bailey, from New York, so they talk and make it a little better for each other. Then she meets a young man named Ethan, who is part of the Big Brother/Big Sister's program and her sister's boyfriend, Jason is his big brother so she gets to know him. But he is carrying a big secret and she is not sure what to do when she finds out the truth. 

She thought that while she was in Virginia she would find out what really happened to her best friend, Madison. Madison's parents had just chalked it up to her running away but she knew there was more to that. There were too many clues to suggest otherwise. In her investigations she learns secrets that might eventually hurt her but she continues on hoping to find the truth of what happened to Madison.

Wonderfully written and the story keeps a person hooked from beginning to end trying to find out the secrets and hoping that the truth of Madison's disappearance is cleared. I had to keep reading until the end to find out if I was right and I was shocked with what happens in the book. I can't wait for the next installment and see what occurs.

About the Author

A graduate of C.W. Post, Melissa Wolff is the author of Sharpie Messages: The Writing on the Wall, Fated, and On the Shattered Path. She has been reading romance books since she was ten and has been writing them since she was fifteen. She is currently working on the sequel to Three Little Lies. She lives on Long Island with her family and plans to travel to Europe one day. For now, Melissa is content with taking people from her actual life and weaving them into her own stories.

Lady Rises, Book 2 of the Black Rose Trilogy Review

Renee Bernard has done it again and cannot wait for Book 3 to finally arrive. I loved the second installment and was on pins and needles as to whether or not Phillip would see Raven again. He has but she has changed her name to Lady Serena Wellcot and the last place he expected to find her was at his cousin's house. Boy do the sparks fly again between these two but Raven, now Lady Serena, keeps her calm and keeps the upper hand. She has now become a avenger for ladies in need.

One of my favorite quotes from the book is, "I am the woman who decided that if the world were made of games that I would be mistress of the a greater game." Serena, Lady Wellcot.


Phillip has a good part in the book too where it says, "Phillip had survived as one last flimsy stand against Trent, as if to say, 'I live therefore I am not defeated.'". Words to live by. The story is fast paced as usual and man I never knew what was going to happen next. Can't wait to see Trent come back into the picture and get what is due to him. At first I didn't like Phillip for what he had done to Raven but I think he is coming to realize what he did was wrong and wants to make it right. As for Raven, Serena, we shall see if she can truly forgive him.

Lady Rises is out today...go run and get your copy.

"Marvelously daring, welcome to a sensual world that will test not only your mind but your heart." - Delilah Marvelle, Award Winning Author

               "Delicious! A fabulous story that draws you in from the very first word and stays with you long after the finish. -"Máire Claremont, Award Winning Author

LADY RISES serves up the next relentless installment in the Black Rose Trilogy and leaves no doubt that Hell hath no fury like a woman wronged but when that woman is Raven Wells—the Devil himself would rather keep out of her way.

From the ashes of LADY FALLS, Raven Wells is transformed into Lady Serena Wellcott.  Now with wealth and power all her own, she is the founder of the Black Rose—a secret society dedicated to securing justice for women who have been abused or wronged in the private corridors of Victorian society.  She has dedicated her life to revenge, honing her skills at the bequest of others but biding her time until she has the two men she loathes most in this world in her sights.

Sir Phillip Warrick has scars of his own from their fateful encounter years before and his heart has never healed from the loss of his beautiful Raven and the irrevocable mistake of brutally ending their affair.  But when he found no trace of her, he let himself believe that she was dead.  Except Phillip isn’t that lucky.  When he is introduced to Lady Serena Wellcott at his cousin’s country home, his world begins to implode.  Because once again he has a tigress by the tail, except this time, it’s a dangerous mix of passion and poison when it becomes clear that what the lady wants most is his head on a platter.  If only he didn’t still love her with every fiber of his being…

In a dance of desire, Serena has her own struggles reconciling the man she once loved with the irresistible rake she has vowed to hate.  Vengeance is its own mistress and it’s a race to the finish as the Black Rose takes on a quest to carve out justice and find mercy even where it’s been forgotten.  Love may rule but Lady Serena Wellcott doesn’t believe in playing fairly and she also doesn’t believe in surrender.

**

From acclaimed USA Today bestselling author, Renee Bernard, comes a new trilogy of gothic power and twisted sensuality.  Here’s a slice of historical romance not generally found in the mainstream—so pull up a chair, settle in for a good read and hang on!

 Renee Bernard is an award winning and USA Today bestselling author of historical romance and recently, contemporary romantic comedy.  She won RT’s Reviewer’s Choice award for “Best Debut Historical” in 2006 and never slowed down (she missed the memo).  By the end of 2014, she will have fifteen books out there in the world.  She has published with Simon & Schuster and Berkley as well as branching out into independent publishing, audio books and comic books.  For over four years she has been the host of “The Romance Bookmark” (formerly “Canned Laughter and Coffee”), a weekly internet radio show with between 80-100K registered listeners via Readers Entertainment.  From wine wrangling to stand-up comedy and public speaking, there’s nothing off the table.  (No really.  Nothing.  Except anything involving a pole.  She’s past that now.)

Renee lives in the foothills of the Sierra Nevada mountains with her husband and daughters, and an adequate number of cats to qualify as a romance writer.

  

Lady Rises book reveal

Look what's coming July 22nd.....Raven is back to create havoc with those that have wronged her.