We had a staff event held together with another store on the weekend and I took a ton of pictures. Take a look.

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All of it adds up to a refreshed and ready to work Sasha. I also have to say, this past RT was my favorite so far. I’m not sure if it’s just because *I* was more comfortable, or because of the venue / sunshine / pool bar, or if it’s because I not only got to meet many new people, but also got to know those I’d met before that much better. It was fun, and worthwhile.

I arrived in Orlando on Monday night, and after doing a small bit of volunteer work for the fabulous Jo Carol, we all ended up at the poolbar. (Yes, big surprise) Kathy Love was my bestest buddy that night, and we had a nice chat about life, love and writing…as well as some fun. Did I mention the wine and Corona?

The next night the fantabulous Lorelie James helped me get started on a bottle of Don Julio before we headed over to Lauren Dane and Megan Hart’s room where they were holding a shindig. Notice I didn’t bring my camera to that either? Go visit Megan’s Blog and watch her slideshow and you’ll get an idea of what it was like. Those girls know how to have a good time.

I got to spend more time with editor extrodinair Angela James, (Thank you very much to her and Marty for the Samhain wine and Cheese social) as well as long time writing friends like Shayla Black, and Larissa Ione.

Cathryn Fox, Delilah Devlin, Myla Jackson,Sylvia Day,Vivi Anna and I (the Allure Authors) Hosted the Paradise Happy Hour on Friday afternoon where we gave away free Sangria and books. The party was held in the pavilion by the pool, and it was HOT! But, readers stuck around and gathered up the goodies. Including early copies of my June release MOST WANTED. Lisa Renee Jones, our final Allure sister, didn’t make it in person, but she was there in spirit.

Beth Willaimson, was my roomy and the poor girl got sucked into posing for me cuz I really wanted to do a photoshoot. The pics turned out pretty good, and we had a great time.

This year I got to know the lovely Richelle Mead better.(She says I’m her second favorite Canadian! *grin*. Which is cool because her first favorite is Michelle Rowen, and she’s awesome) As well as author Mark Henry and his wife Caroline. (be sure to visit Mark and Richelle’s Blogs for great recaps of the week) Most of my Wicked Writers co-horts were in attendance as well. We had breakfast with the readers from our loop who could make it, and they were as fantastic in person as they are online. (LKap, you rock!) Reader DannyFiredragon made it in from Germany again, and Booksellers from all over the world were there. Christina and May from Asia, Rosemary from Australia, and of course the fabulous Sue Grimshaw from the US.

During the big booksigning on Sat, I got to sit beside Smart Bitch Sarah, and she was a sweetheart. She didn’t remember meeting me last year, I had to remind her, but thats okay, she was still a sweetheart. She was gracious and and funny and stuck around even after selling out of all of her books. She also offered to share her sugar coated bosoms with me. *grin*

I’m sure I am forgetting many many people that I got to chat with, and get to know, and I’m sorry. But my not naming you doesn’t mean I don’t remember you the smiles, hugs and laughs. Thank you to every one who said Hi and took the time to make my RT experience in Orlando the best ever.

Here’s my annual slideshow of the conference. I didn’t mess with the order of the pictures, so you can see it from start to finish for me. You might notice a lack of party/dancing/costume pictures this year. Thats not to say I didn’t dance and party, but to say I didn’t bring my camera to those particular events this year. LOL I was more into catching the people every day, with a few spontaneous photoshoots. There is one session I didn’t include in the slideshow, and you’ll get to see that special piece tomorrow. Be sure to come back because it’ll be worth it. :)

If you want to see the slideshow from Last Years RT conference, CLICK HERE.

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Uhmm and ignore the fact that I put 2009, not 2008 in the date. LOl I mentioned that my eyes don’t open for a couple of hours after I wake up..right?

There is already some great information out there about Voice, but I know sometimes the information can be the same, it’s just the way one person explains it that makes it click. So maybe the way I explain things will click for some of you.

Be Sure to check out Jordan Summers Blog Post from last week for another take on Voice AndAlison Kents first workshop for the LB & LI is on VOICE as well. Both of them are extremely knowledgeable, and have great posts up on VOICE.

Now, you can watch the video introduction to see what’s in store for this week,(it’s 7 minutes long) or you can just continue on and read the post on WHAT IS VOICE?

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WHAT IS VOICE?

Voice it what makes an author stand out. It’s what makes a reader go out and search for an author’s backlist after reading one book, and what makes them anticipate the next story.
Yes, readers fall in love with characters, but what makes the character come alive is the author’s voice – the way in which they describe the characters, the setting, the happenings. It’s the way they tell the story.

Voice is the natural storyteller in you, and we all have it. Did you hear that? Your author voice is natural to you. The key to the magic of it is…finding it, trusting it, and using it to make your stories shine.

And it’s a lot harder than it sounds. Why? Because voice is the “it” factor. It’s invisible, and it’s instinctive. If you don’t find your own right away do NOT get discouraged! It is a process, and one that, at times, requires a lot of faith in yourself.

This workshop is going to be interactive, so I hope you’re all ready to work!
Below I’ve asked some questions to get us started. Please take the time to answer them honestly, and post them in the comments section below. If you do not feel comfortable sharing your answers with the others in the workshop, you can email them to me via the CONTACT link on the toolbar above.

In order to find your voice, and build on it, you need to know yourself. And in order to help you, I need to know you better.

What do you read?
What do you want to write?
What do you write?
How do you feel when you write?
What are your strengths as a writer?
What are your weaknesses as a writer?
Are you a fan or workshops and craft books for writers?

Who is your favorite author? Why?

I won’t be online 24/7 but I will be checking in several times a day, so post whenever you are ready!

I love writing for Berkley and Aphrodisia because they allow me to write the way I want to write. To tell the story the way I want to, and I’m not trying to fit into a style or line that isn’t natural to me.

This is one of the huge points I try to emphasize, when I do workshops on writing Hot. You can heat things up if you want, but if it’s not a natural thing for you, if writing sex or pushing the envelope isn’t something that you want to do naturally, you won’t be truly successful. Everyone has strengths, and they need to find them, and capitalize on them. One of my strengths just happens to be Im fascinated by human sexuality.

It seems that Fear is a weakness for many of us. And let me just say, those of you that realize that you have that fear, are already a step ahead. Now, let me tell you that Fear is the worst enemy of Voice. Why? Because it makes you doubt yourself, and your natural ability.

I admit that when I started writing, I knew nothing about the industry. I didn’t know anything about all these online author communities, and I never read any craft books. I just decided one day I wanted to be a writer for a career, and I started to write. To me, that is why I found success right away. I sold my very first story I wrote, and have sold every one since.

But, I was fearless. I wanted it, I went after it and I got it. But, I was fearless because I didn’t know any better.

I know this train of thought is a bit wonky, but stay with me.

Kids are fearless. They want to do something, anything from drawing a picture to attempting a somersault on the trampoline or a 360 on their bike. They are fearless, they try it. They fail; they get back up and do it again. Because they don’t know what fear is until society teaches them that failure is bad.

Have you ever seen a child fall down, and start to cry, then realize no one was rushing up and cooing and making sure he was okay, then stop crying? Society has taught us that we need to always show only the good, only the end result, and that the journey, the learning, the failures, are something to be hidden. And I disagree.

I look back on some of my earlier writing, and I see that it’s not my best, but you know what? It’s a learning process. When I finished WICKED, which was my fourth story for Berkley, in my mind, at that time, it was my best work ever.

When I’m done each story, I hope to feel that way, but it doesn’t always happen. That doesn’t mean I stop trying.

You need to realize that what you are writing now does not have to be perfect to be good, or engaging, or even great! It just has to be best you can do right now. That means you have to try, and that means ignoring any fears you have, and doing what you want …which is to write.

Make sense?

The good news is, you can turn it around by using your fear. Once you acknowledge it, it loses a lot of its power. As long as you don’t feed it. That means, stop giving in to it. It means focus on the goal, eyes on the prize. We all have fears, find what yours is, introduce yourself, acknowledge it, and then slam the door on it.

Denial has always worked well for me.

Be sure to check out PBW’s Power Plotting Workshop too!

Okay, I know that this image above, where the video pauses, looks like I am Hammered drunk, but I’m not! I swear!

Can you figure out what we were hunting?