Guess who had their Kindle die last night? Me. Guess who had to download the Kindle PC app to their computer until they can order another one? Me. Who did this without asking Anne about it? Me. I can’t believe it either and someone please revive Anne from her collapse from shock. I had a melt down over my Kindle. A meltdown complete with crying. My spouse and son looked at me like I was crazy but they are non-readers, so they don’t get it. I spoke with Amazon, who told me there was nothing they could do. I have to order another one. They wanted me to place the order right then and I asked if I get another one will the same thing happen in 3 years? They said probably not. I said, your product is expensive and I can’t afford to buy one every three years. They told me when new products come out the old ones become obsolete, to which I asked, why are trying to sell me it then?

We (Amazon and I) had a very calm but frank discussion at 12:30 a.m. I am probably well over a week away from getting another Kindle, as this hit after bill paying of course. I am not complaining about Amazon’s customer service because they have always been great, I’m just frustrated at some of the comments made, like the above obsolete one or sometimes electronics don’t last as long as we’d like. I told him that all of my electronics were older than three years, so maybe it is just their products don’t last longer then three years. So, I will wait impatiently for my next Kindle to arrive. Thanks for letting me vent.

Kay

Let’s talk books.  Specifically let’s talk romance written in a three (or more) book installment.  I’m sure it’s been around forever, but Twilight and 50 Shades of Grey’s success seem to have made it the format everyone wants to write in.  This makes me stabby!

I know there’s a lot of people who love this format.  Obviously.  They’re selling like crazycakes.  But I like a happy ending!  (pun totally intended)  So you can imagine how I feel about a cliff hanger…  cliffhangers make me feel bad.  That floaty happy feeling I get at the end of a good book?  Well the direct opposite of that is how I feel when an author leaves the characters hanging.

I do make an exception for the urban fantasy genre and my acceptance of the multi book relationship arc there.  I’m a huge fan of the Kate Daniels series by Ilona Andrews.  I can handle the unresolved relationship in those books, probably because the focus is on a different story.  I also really enjoy the In Death series by J.D. Robb.  It’s always about Eve and Roarke, but they are always happy at the end of each book.  And again, the focus is more on the mystery than their (or Peabody and MacNabb’s) relationship, so I can handle a little bit of relationship suspense.  When the focus of the book IS the relationship, as it is in the romance genre, that’s when I have a hard time!

I’m not saying I’ll never, ever, ever read a one-relationship-focused-trilogy.  But you can be assured that if I do, I won’t read it until all three books are available and I can read them back to back!  And speaking of that, I wish there was some sort of identifier in a book blurb that gave me a heads up that the book I’m looking at is part of that kind of trilogy.  Because there are a lot of trilogies with a different couple featured in each book and a HEA at the end of each one.  That’s my kind of trilogy.  But how can I tell them from the trilogy of cliffhanger?  Right now my best bet is to search on Goodreads and read the back cover blurb for both book one and book two, as well as checking the tags people have labeled the book with.  To be honest, that’s more work than I like to do when looking for a book to read.

So, what do you think?  Do you love the three book relationship story?  Or do you hate it like me?  If you love it, I’m curious as to what appeals to you.  If you hate it, do you have a way to avoid it?  Please share!

So…  Kay and I are going to our first RT Convention.  I started getting ready months ago, but the serious prep work started over the weekend.  There was the toenail painting.

Is there a more appropriate color for RT?
And here is the wardrobe planning.  I’m a bit of an organizer.

And, yes, I’m going to paint the wall behind my bed green.  Probably the shade in the lower right corner of the samples, if you’re wondering.  Yes I know that’s going to take a lot of coats to cover.  Whatever.

Our RT started Tuesday with the Blogger Conference run by Smart Bitch Sarah and Dear Author’s Jane.  We learned a LOT and have some great ideas for things to come.  Here’s me (Anne) before the Blogger Con started:

As part of the blogger conference we were lucky enough to chat with a few authors who came in for a cocktail party.  You guys!  I met Shannon Stacey!  I tried really hard not to stalk her around the room all night, but I might have been just a little creepy.  I also got to meet Jaci Burton and Vivian Arrend.  All are authors I enjoy, and all were very nice.  And I really wanted to take pictures, but I was trying to play it cool.  You know, it was a cocktail party.  Now I SO regret not asking them to take pictures with me.

We were lucky enough to be around Tuesday night for the early registration for the official RT convention.  Here is the line we waited in:

Thankfully, the line moved SUPER fast and check in was very simple.  It looked like it was not as easy today.

Wednesday morning started with an RT Virgins panel for first timers like us, followed by a welcome breakfast.  Then we got into the sessions.  I Pimped My Badge and won a bag full of swag from some awesome authors.  Z.A. Maxfield, Trixie Stilletto, and Beth Kery are now on my must try list. 

Then it was on to Erotic Romance Mad Libs, which was hilarious fun!  Participants teamed up to do a Mad Libs version of back cover blurbs.  Lexxie Couper was so funny in person that I really want to try something she’s written.  Actually, the whole group of authors looked like they’d be really fun to hang around with.  We won awesome swag and laughed a LOT.  Best moment?  When a line from an author’s actual blurb was mistaken for a mad lib.  Of course, Lexxie Couper acting out the mad libs ranks right up there, too. 

Finally, Kay and I attended a session together.  It was a session geared toward aspiring or current erotica authors, but we attended because we simple wanted to be in the same room with Jaci Burton, Lauren Dane, and Sylvia Day.  Eden Bradley, who we haven’t read was also on the panel, but we both agreed we really want to try a book by her now!

After the erotica session I was able to find some Kallypso Masters swag.  Kate couldn’t come to RT, but I asked her for a list of who she might want swag from.  So I picked up this really cool fan, along with a pen and button and bookmarks.  I was walking away grinning from ear to ear when someone asked “Would you like me to sign that?” OMG!  It was Kallypso Masters!  And she is AWESOME.  I told her about Kate.  I mentioned the blog.  She told us to get more swag and we’re going to try to get together with her later in the week to get some books to giveaway here.  What a cool lady.  Here’s me and Kallypso. 

There was some really entertaining swag and author displays to check out! 

Our final session of the day was Romance Reader Apples to Apples, where we won books and came up with adjective/noun combos like “furry mons” and “sticky kiss.”  It was very fun and funny!

There were two evening parties, Rosie Gulch’s Saloon and The Ellora’s Cave Bad Girls of Romance Disco Inferno. The saloon event gave us a chance to get acquainted with some historical authors, but my favorite part was the shot glass desserts the were incredibly yummy!  I also had a great conversation with the aspiring author who sat next to me.  Wouldn’t it be great if I could give you her name?  Well, I’d have to did her card out of my bag and I’m way too tired for that.  But she was awesome, she’s got a great book idea, and she’s got a kiddo with some of the same issues as one of mine, which made for some GREAT conversation!

The Disco Event was everything I imagined and more.  We walked in to find mini lava lamps as take home swag!  There were also calendars featuring Ellora’s Cavemen and Disco Ball Key chains.  My tweenager needs a calendar.  While this one would surely entertain her, it would also have her exclaiming “That’s inappropriate!”  So, alas, she won’t be getting any passed down swag from mom.

This is a wide shot of how big the disco set up was!  You can see some of the mini lava lamps on the tables, too.  Each attendee also got this awesome black sequined hat that Kay is sporting here:

We called it a night after the author introductions and the Ellora’s cavmen (and woman) danced to some Disco tunes for our enjoyment.  (And I totally called their impending shirt removal, but was wrong about the pants, which did stay on.) 

I’ll try to do a better job of taking pictures tomorrow.  It was an incredible day. I have a HUGE amount of swag and free books.  I can’t wait to dive into it all.  It almost makes me want to skip tomorrow so I can just sit and read.   Except that tomorrow I get to meet some favorite authors in the RT Cafe (Anne Calhoun, Delphine Dryden, Ruthie Knox, Cara McKenna, and Heidi Cullinan I’m coming to see you!)  I’m also excited about the Erotica Author Chat (Maya Banks, Jaci Burton, Lauren Dane, and Sylvia Day!), the All Tied Up: BDSM Romance panel, and the Romance Pride: Over the Rainbow Party.

So, are you at RT?  What has been your favorite part?  If you aren’t at RT, what’s the one thing you’d want to do most if you were here?