San Diego Day 2 - Literacy Signing

Day 2 in San Diego started with a heavy grey sky and rain - this wasn’t the weather I expected in California! Happily, by the time my room-mate (the lovely Harlequin author Maya Blake) and I lazily emerged to face the world, the sun was once again shining. We made the most of this one chance for a slow start, first visiting the goodie bag & swag rooms, then wandering along the marina and enjoying a late breakfast burrito in Seaport Village.

The goodie room (courtesy of Pam Jaffee on Twitter)

Then we stopped at the Cheesecake Factory for a take-away slice of the most mouth wateringly amazing cheesecake anyone can imagine! Maya chose the lemon meringue and I had carrot cake cheesecake and they were both delicious. Even the cream topping was delicious, light and fluffy and sweet. The slices are enormous – enough for 2-3 meals!

By this time we were hot and a little tired out from our long walk so we headed back to our room for an afternoon nap. I’m still blaming the jet lag for this – it has nothing to do with my advancing age!

Rejuvenated by the nap, we headed downstairs to the Literacy Signing, a charity event for which readers come from all over to get books signed by the 400 authors present. Some readers began queuing in the late morning already!

The view of the room behind me - and this is just half the room!

The RWA is so super organized. Our places were already laid out ready for us, with books on display, and I even had a ‘Rita nominee’ flag at my place. I was terribly nervous that as a mostly unknown author no-one would ask me to sign books for them, but that little Rita flag, as well as being seated at the end of a row next to a popular author, really helped. I am so incredibly grateful to everyone who stopped to chat or get one of my books signed! It was also wonderful to be able to introduce my books to new readers and to meet an author I really respect who’d read and loved my books. (Thanks Robin Bielman!)

Photo courtesy of Maya Blake

The signing lasted two hours, after which Harper Impulse author Lynn Montagano and I went to unwind with cocktails and wonderful conversation at the Tequila Bar beside the pool.

Needing some food to soak up the cocktail, I gatecrashed Harlequin Presents author Sharon Kendrick’s pizza party where I met some amazing authors (Hi Nikki and Sabrina). It was completely surreal to end the day in a conversation about Boris Johnson and writing for Presents with such luminaries as Sharon Kendrick, Susan Stephens, Jane Porter, Caitlin Crews, Maisey Yates, and Lynn Raye Harris! I may have died and gone to heaven.

At midnight I fell into bed and set my alarm for Day 3.