The Chronicles of an RT Virgin Day 3 by Leslie Soule

 Day Three: YA, FBI, Faery Ball

At the start of day three of the convention, I was already feeling a bit exhausted from the whirlwind of events that is the RT convention. 

Since I am a YA Fantasy author, I looked at the RT brochure and was intrigued by a workshop titled “Young Adult: Pretty In Pink: Girl Power, Feminism, and the YA Revolution”. The workshop featured a great panel of authors, and I took copious notes. During the course of the workshop, I was reminded that it is writers who steer the course of public discourse regarding social issues. The next workshop I attended was called “How to Create the Ultimate Female FBI Agent” and afterwards, I felt a strong compulsion to write an FBI/crime novel. However, the entirety of my knowledge on the subject comes from what I learned in the seminar. So I decided to put that idea on the back-burner for now. It was well past noon when the workshop ended, and I felt the pangs of hunger. I called my friend Colleen and we met up for lunch. Soon we were joined by Heather Bennett of Decadent Publishing. Shortly thereafter, Colleen and I spotted fellow Decadent author Robert C. Roman, and welcomed him to our table. Lunch came and went, and it became time to go to the RT Book Reviews Awards Ceremony. After the ceremony, we were each given a bag full of books.

I went up to my room, to change into something vaguely Victorian and to get ready for the Steampunk tea. My day had already been filled with activity, but the main event was yet to come – the Venetian Masquerade Faery Ball. 

To my surprise and enjoyment, I found that my fellow Decadent author Deanna Wadsworth had dressed up as the Beer Fairy, complete with hat of beer boxes, yellow wings, and a tool belt of shot glasses and Bud Light. Another of my fellow authors, Robert C. Roman, dressed up as a Redcap, with edible blood all over his hat – he assured me that it was a tasty mix of cinnamon, corn syrup, chili pepper, and food dye. So of course, I had to taste it, and it was yummy! There was a contest for best costume – and everyone lost to a hot guy holding a puppy with little fairy wings. 

With half of the week over and gone, and the other half still yet to come, I began to reflect on my overall impressions of the RT Convention. It had been a crazy whirlwind of an event – chaotic, insanely fun, and from what I’ve seen and experienced, well-worth attending.

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The Chronicles of an RT Virgin Day 2 by Leslile Soule

Day Two: Books & Bollywood

At 9AM, my roommate and I were able to sign in at registration. We were handed our RT convention passes, along with cards for book bags and the Book Room. The Book Room is a room that you can walk around in, with books piled high on the tables. Participants in the convention get to walk into the room and select a designated number of books to take with them and keep. I was surprised to learn that this year, participants were allowed to select nine books from this room. Then, we went to the seminar for RT virgins, hosted by Amanda McIntyre and Sahara Kelly. Our hosts managed to make this presentation both lively and entertaining, which is a feat. If I was hosting the RT Virgins seminar, it would have been a complete snoozefest.

After the seminar, the workshops and seminars began, and we were free to pick and choose which ones we wanted to attend (the RT Virgins seminar wasn’t required, but was definitely helpful). We attended a “Western Reader Roundup” in which we got to meet a whole table of friendly authors, who autographed free books for us. There was also line dancing, and I think I did alright at it. Not knowing any line dancing prior, I was a bit nervous. The dance leader informed me that we would be doing “kicks” and this delighted me, since I’m a martial artist. A little voice within said “Yes – kicks! I can do kicks!”

Then we went to a pirate workshop, held by three pirates, one of which was our own Maureen O. Betita from Decadent Publishing. Upon entering, a free book was on my chair, waiting for me. Argh! Free booty! This workshop was great – we had to come up with our own pirate and ship names. The girl sitting next to me was “Stink Eye” the pirate. I nearly died laughing.

I met up with my friend Colleen, and together we went grocery shopping, to by supplies for the Decadent Publishing author party. This party was one of the big highlights of my trip, since I finally got to meet so many authors who I’d only known by name or author photo before. The night ended with the Ellora’s Cave Bollywood party. 

The saris that attendants wore were gorgeous. The ballroom was decorated beautifully and I was delighted to find a hip scarf and finger cymbals waiting for me. I watched the Bollywood dancers and was reminded of the time I’d spent in India about five years ago. 

Day two of RT was amazing, and though I was thoroughly exhausted, I definitely looked forward to more positive experiences that would be sure to come with day three.

The Chronicles of an RT Virgin by Leslie Soule

 Day One: The Run Devil Run Show

This begins the chronicling of the first three days of the RT convention. I have decided to share my experiences with you. So, I went to the Romantic Times Booklovers’ Convention for the first time, not quite knowing what to expect. Being a native of northern California, I was not expecting hot weather to hit so soon upon my arrival in southern California, which we locals refer to as SoCal. I stayed with my sister in Oxnard for a week prior to meeting up with my RT roommate in Torrance, and fortunately my sis was willing to teach me the ways of more fashion-savvy SoCal women. But some habits die hard, and I walked away from Oxnard with a pair of shoes that looked like they belonged to Cleopatra’s wardrobe instead of a fashion-trendy modern woman’s. 

 Arriving at the hotel with only about twenty minutes in which to get settled in, we quickly checked out appearances and then made our way down to the lobby and out to the bus that would take us to the Viper Room on the Sunset strip. Our hosts on the bus ride were Heather Bennett of Decadent Publishing and Dave, drummer for Run Devil Run. They kept the mood lively and gave out prizes. Soon, we reached the Viper Room. The black curtain surrounding the stage parted and Run Devil Run appeared, bringing their classic rock sound and intense energy to the performance. Jeremy Aric channeled AC/DC for the band’s rendition of “Dirty Deeds” and Dave twirled his drumsticks in the air. The show was over all too soon, and it was amazing. 

Well, Run Devil Run is a smart band. Lead singer Jeremy Aric is the embodiment of rock star hotness. I met him after the show and he was the one selling the band’s swag. Confronted with his good looks, I felt compelled to purchase a CD and t-shirt. Then, a woman passed by, selling roses. I had some cash in my pocket, so I bought one and gave it to Dave. I had never given a rose to a band member before. Dave graciously offered to take a photo with me, and then my roommate and I returned to the bus and went back to the Westin Bonaventure. I had a great time and looked forward to another exciting day’s adventures at the RT Booklovers’ Convention.

Please Welcome Author Leslie Soule to the Island

Brian Jacques: In Memoriam

I was saddened to hear of the death of author Brian Jacques in February of this year. I’d read and loved his books as a child. When he passed away, I wondered if there would be a grand procession of sword-carrying mice, otters, squirrels, and hares. I pictured them carrying long, wavering banners on stout wooden poles, speaking in loveable British accents and offering scones to the people who’d gathered to mourn. Poems would be recited and songs would be sung of the creator of the Redwall series.

I felt the need to write a remembrance poem to the author I so loved but never met, and I styled it after the poems that filled Jacques’s work. Without futher adieu, here is the poem I came up with.

The Summer of the Changing Winds

"You came and went like a summer breeze,

Master of the Abbey with the sandstone walls.

Whose words echo, immortal, from the leaves

of books and down through the Great Hall.

Through time immemorial,

battles of Good and Evil rage,

but I retreat to peaceful Redwall Abbey,

with only the turning of a page."

I first got a hold of a Redwall book when I was in the sixth grade. There were books laid out on a table and we could pick one out to take with us and keep. I chose Mattimeo, by Brian Jacques. Once I started reading it, I couldn’t put it down. I still have that old paperback, and I read it so many times growing up, that it’s now in fairly bad shape. I’ve had to put packing tape all over the front cover just to keep it together.

Then, when I was a young teenager, I saw on the Redwall.org website that kids were creating Redwall-style websites and I decided to create my own. It was a site where people could submit poetry, poems, recipes, and play games, and everything was based on the Redwall series. That site was called Lunar Isle. So if any of you Lunar Islanders are still out there, it is my pleasure to unmask myself as the one and only Kaliah Wolfsbane.

Wow, that was a long time ago. But suffice to say that the Redwall series brought a lot of joy into my life as I grew up. I smiled as I looked at a website called the Redwall Compendium, and to my shock and delight, saw an old Lunar Isle award that I’d given it! Ha! Oh, how I loved Microsoft Paint.

 Suffice to say, Brian Jacques will be dearly missed and his novels have brought joy to many, many people.

You can check out Leslie's site here as well as info on her new YA Steampunk release Birds of a Feather