Friday, April 30, 2010

Romantic Times Convention with Barbara Vey

I spent Friday morning at the Romantic Times Convention with Barbara Vey, of Publishers Weekly Beyond Her Book romance blog (www.publishersweekly.com/blog/Beyond_Her_Book)! She's an amazing and gracious lady. Barbara knows no strangers, and when with her, you feel like you've known her forever! Needless to say, Barbara was acquainted with everyone there!

While with her I met several from the publishing industry including Donna Hayes and Loriana Sacilotto of Harlequin, Angela James of Carina Press and Tina Trevaskis of Samhein. As we walked through the RT Club exhibits I met lots authors including Julie Kramer (Stalking Susan), Patricia Sargent (Sweet Deception), Cindy Gerard (Show No Mercy), Loreli James (Shoulda Been a Cowboy) and many more.

One of the most fascinating things I watched was Barbara being airbrushed by Julie Kramer. Julie works in the "desperate world of televsion news," and she explained that with high definition TV there's a lot of pressure on the anchors (men andwomen) to look good--and young! Apparently, HD empahsizes every pore, crease and wrinkle. The device used to airbrush on makeup costs a few hundred dollars. The nozzle evenly sprays on foundation and provides a smooth matte finish that perfectly camouflages imperfections.

I also had the opportunity to meet May Boonpitak. She has the only romance blog in Thailand, and was inspired by Barbara to come to the RT Covention all the way from Thailand. She told me that romance novels there are censored, with anything too explicit removed. May says her English has improved by reading English versions of the romance books censored in her native language.

All in all, Friday was a fun day! Thanks to Barbara Vey for a great time at RT!

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