Orycon 2020

Ack! Orycon is this weekend and I’m on several panels and I’ve forgotten to post about them! The con is virtual and free, so you just need sign up to get the Zoom info. My panels:

Self-Publishing 101 Fri Nov 13 1:00pm – 1:50pm
It looks so easy! Just write a book, find a friendly editor, and then publish! Right? Maybe not! Talk to our experienced writers, editors, and publishers about the art of self-publishing. Find out what you need to know to make it successful for you.
April Aasheim, Leah Cutter, Dayle A. Dermatis, Zoom Monitor – Phoenix Turley

Tropes, Memes, and literary devices Sat Nov 14 12:00pm – 12:50pm
Why do we use them? Lazy writing, or a good start to something better? Let’s discuss how tropes, memes and literary devices hurt us, or help us!
A. Lee Martinez, Dayle A. Dermatis, Jackson Dean Chase, USA TODAY bestselling author, Sanan Kolva, Zoom Monitor – Robert Gallup

Sex and the modern market Sat Nov 14 8:00pm – 8:50pm
Your characters don’t just sit around and talk or stare into each other’s eyes. They get down and dirty. How do you sell the stuff? How do you stay out of the Amazon Adult jungle? There is so much bad stuff out there, how do you get noticed? What about audio? Come listen to us talk about the naughty bits. 18 and over only, please.
Dayle A. Dermatis, Matt Haynes, Theresa Reed, Gibbitt Rhys-Jones, Zoom Monitor – Chris Ballowe      

Want to chat about this post? Join me on Facebook or Twitter. I’m able to continue writing and publishing thanks to my wonderful supporters on Patreon.

Where’s Dayle?

Or, more correctly, where’s Dayle gonna be so I can get an autographed book?

Urban Fantasy Showcase
August 25, 11 am – 1 pm
Reader’s Guide bookstore, Salem, OR

I’m one of four authors (and friends!) who will be there with books to sell and sign.

Rose City Comic Con
September 7–9
Oregon Convention Center, Portland, OR

I’m part of a bookstore collective, and we have a sweet corner booth to display our wares! There will be signings every day, too.

I believe we’ll be in the program as Knotted Road Press, because the person who handled the signups is the publisher. But it’s a bookstore with tons of books, trust me!

(Note: It costs to attend the con.)

Pagan Pride
September 16, 1–5 pm
Oaks Amusement Park, Portland, OR

Another book signing with two other authors. This one will be a lot more low-key than Rose City Comic Con, for sure!

Hope to see you at one of these! xo

Want to chat about this post? Join me on Facebook or Twitter.

Because there isn’t enough stress in my life!

Eeee! I just found out I’ve been added to the reading schedule at the California Dreamin’ conference—it’s a thing where each author gets 10 minutes to read an excerpt from one of their books. I was on the waiting list…but now I’m scheduled.

So now I have to pick which book, and practice reading a 10-minute chunk, before Saturday.

My carpool buddies may have to put up with me doing this in the car…

(I’m not really freaked out. I think it’s going to be fun!)

Unfortunately, the readings aren’t open to the public, but the booksigning is, so if you’re in the Brea area on Sunday afternoon, I’d love it if you stopped by and said hi! Yes, you!

Book signing in Brea, March 29

Southern California peeps! I will be one of 70 authors at a big book signing in Brea on Sunday, March 29!

The deets:

Sunday, March 29
2-4 pm
Embassy Suites, 900 East Birch Street, Brea, CA 92821

http://caldreaminwritersconf.org/2015-book-signing/

I will be have a variety of books available, including the newly re-released A Little Night Music (sexy rock-n-roll romance), some funny sexy books, some paranormal books (both with and without the funny and/or the sexy)…you know me, I’m all over the map.

The signing is part of a romance conference, so I won’t have any non-romancy fantasy/SF available. However, Waking the Witch is really more of a gothic mystery with a gentle hint of of romance, so there will be something for every spice level.

Questions? Fire away on Facebook or Twitter.

RWA Nationals 2012, Day 1

I’m at the annual Romance Writers of America national conference (aka RWA Nationals or just Nationals), surrounded by smart, creative, savvy, engaging, vibrant, funny, wonderful women. I was hit with some negativity in my life recently, and this is like a refreshing, energizing dive into a woodland pool that’s almost shockingly cold—bringing me back to center, sluicing away the bad stuff, and waking me up to the good.

Over the past couple of days, I found myself resisting coming here. (It was never a question, since I’d already paid for it, committed to sharing a room, etc.) It wasn’t logical; it was emotional. Ken’s going to be gone for most of August, and I just don’t want to be away from him right now. Plus I’ve been in a bit of a writing slump, thanks to the above-mentioned negativity but also, I’m coming to realize, that I really haven’t completely recovered from the emotional battering of the past couple years (the trifecta of my father’s death, my sister’s aneurysm, and Ken’s accident and my attendant primary-caregiver status, along with the added pain and stress of my own hand injury last December). I always think I’m better before I really am, and I’m surprised to discover I’m wrong. I’m much, much better, don’t get me wrong—I just forget that it’s a process, and there are always slides backwards, even if they’re small and the forward motion is bigger.

Anyway. I rode down here with the utterly wonderful Kim—which is, in fact, one of the things I really was looking forward to, because she’s funny and a bundle of positive energy, and I never get the time to just sit and talk with her. We had a blast. Then I hit my room and hugged my awesome friend Christine and met our roomies Sarah and Roz, both of whom I adored within minutes, and Kim and Tanya stopped by, and there was wine and conversation until far too late.

I’ve been to two workshops today, but the third was so crowded that I opted to take a break and do a little work in the room. Next is a luncheon, followed by another workshop, and then I’m taking the rest of the afternoon off. Sarah and I are going to work out, and then a bunch of us will grab dinner, and then who knows what mischief we’ll get into.

One of the workshops this morning made the conference worth the price of admission. It was about how productivity isn’t a matter of time management, but of energy management. So much of it resonated with me, like this simple exercise: Close your eyes, focus on your body, and think five times, “I have to write.” Did you tense up? Now do the same thing, except think “I get to write!” You’ll have an entirely different physical, emotional, and spiritual reaction. Duh. (I’m saying “duh” to me, because, well, that should’ve been obvious…)

[Hm…it’s now after the conference and I don’t remember what else I was going to write here, so I think I’ll just post this and move on!  🙂  ]

Workshop: The Sexy Side of Writing