Friday, April 06, 2007

Romantic Times

by Lois

This is my son, Travis, and since I never said I was normal…or nice…I’ll admit it: I’ve once again convinced my first born, my eldest son, the light of my life, to accompany me to the Romantic Times conference in Houston, Texas.

For the uninitiated, Romantic Times is a publication that reviews mystery and romance novels. They’re also the folks who take credit for Fabio’s rise to fame. Anyway, their annual conference is coming up at the end of the month--April 25-29th to be exact. It consists of a giant book fair, dozens of workshops, lots of intriguing parties, and a contest for young men to vie for the title of …tadah…Mr. Romance.

See where I’m going with this?

Approximately 1000 women attend this little get-together and about…ohhhhhh…12 guys. Now, you might think this sounds like cruel and unusual punishment for a young man of 23. And you might be right. But Travis and I went together last year when the Cosmo Chix (Top Left to Right: Mary Schultz, myself, Michele Hauf…Bottom Left to Right: Emma Holly, Cynthia Williams, Betina Krahn, and Michelle Buonfliglio) hosted a little RT gathering. And we had a fantastic time. There’s nothing more fun than getting together with your friends and laughing at your first born, your eldest son, the light of your life. It was great meeting readers and signing books too.

And in the end, Travis came home with a trophy for first runner up. Which means it’s conceivable that this year he could win a trip to New York City, a photo shoot, a spot on a book cover…and enough embarrassment to last a lifetime.

And there are some things money just can’t buy.

So…any thoughts on the Romantic Times conference from those of you who have been there or those who’d like to go, or those who think I should be locked up for child abuse?

Or how about the unending joy of humiliating our children in public? That’s a fun topic too.

18 comments:

Anonymous said...

You have a very handsome son, Lois ;) I hope to meeet both of you at RT. This'll be my first time. I'm very excited and nervous, too.

Kathleen Eagle said...

Lois, are you doing the party agin this year? I hope it's scheduled for after the Coverboy contest so that you can celebrate Travis's WIN. It's his year, and he's adorable, so if the judges have any sense at all, not to mention taste...

Your kids are beautiful, bright, well-adjusted, and devoted to their mom. Yeah, you're a little crazy sometimes, but it's good crazy. It's worked wonders. Congratulations, and good luck to Travis. May he land in the sweaty clutches of a million happy readers!

Catie said...

Oh, he's really cute. *laugh* And obviously it's not child abuse--he's willing to go back a second time! :)

-Catie

Unknown said...

Ali, so you're an RT virgin. You're in for an...ummm adventure. Hold onto your hat. And drop by and say hi. I'm hosting the Mixer to Die For on Saturday morning with a bunch of other mystery writers. We'll be giving away prizes and signing books etc. I'll be the harried one guarding a large, young man.

Kathy, sweaty cluthches. Tee hee. Luckily Trav is big enough to fight off a few dozen by himself, but he might not be very motivated. That's where I come in. We're bringing a broadsword. Who goes to RT without a sword? And thanks for the kind words, Kathy. You know my kids are the light of my world.

Unknown said...

Lois, you're the bomb. Not only do you write great, funny, sexy, wonderful books, but you've raised three terrific children and inspired us all with your love of horses and other critters.

I am so bummed that we aren't doing Cosmo Chicks this year. Maybe someday we can do it again. I'm frantically writing, so I opted out of RT for this year. . . but I envy you the fun you'll be having and the folks you'll be meeting.

And best of luck to Travis! He's such a cutie and so sweet and genuine to boot. Yeah, he deserves the big kahoona this year. He definitely ought to win! We'll have fingers crossed.

And as to me embarrassing my kids in public. . . hmmm. . . probably the worst was when a secretary at the law firm where my eldest was summer-clerking asked him if I was his girlfriend. He wouldn't even walk beside me for a month after that! I tried to explain that it was the blonde hair and that she didn't get a close-up look at me to see all the wrinkles and age spots. He wasn't buying it. Sigh. He's over it, but he still makes me carry one of the grandkids when we go out together.

Hellie Sinclair said...

I'd vote for him. He needs to be on the cover of a novel! :)

Unknown said...

Catie, yes!! One vote against child abuse. I'll tell social services.

And Mshellion, you should go to RT so you CAN vote for him. :)

I wish the Cosmo Chix where getting together again too. We should plan a future event when it's going to be somewhere fun.

Anyone know where RT is in the future?

Michele Hauf said...

If we can't exploit our kids for the occassional promotional venture or even in an attempt to further their own careers, then what fun are they? :-)

I still remember when Lois and I took our kids to a signing with us. I think they were around 8 or 9 at the time? I dressed my son as a musketeer, and Lois's daughter had a medieval look going on. Hey! They attracted people to our books. And I only had to pay the boy Pokeman cards. Such a sport, he was.

Of course, now he's 16, and knows better. Sigh... I have warned him that an RT convention may be in his future. TIme to start pumping up those muscles!

Best of luck to Travis, Lois. He really is the nicest, most charming guy out of the bunch. He'd look awesome on a cover. But he'd better do Mom's cover first!

M

Debra Dixon said...

Lois-- We're pulling for Travis! His winning would be great. We'd have our very own cover model for the blog!

Unknown said...

Michele, yeah, you and I understand the beauty of child humiliation. And RT's right there with us. Remember our kids' cute little picture in their magazine? Ahhhh. Why haven't we paired those two up yet?

And Deb, I'm thinking of doing a cover model interviewey thing with the other guys. Any suggestions?

Still, I'm going to see what kind of cheating I can do to get Travis a win. What a mom, huh?

Cindy Gerard said...

With Travis in the contest again, the bar has been raised! he's such a sweetie pie too. I mean - how many sons do you all know who would go with their mother to a romance conference wearing a kilt? Too cool
Can I submit and absentee ballot??
cg

Kathleen Eagle said...

Yes, Lois, interview the contestants for us. Get photos! Get dish! Deep dark secrets, best and worst date ever, modeling assets, ideal woman, who's your hero, favorite book, and how can you hope to compete with Stephen Colbert? (Did you see the show or the video? If not, take the link from Judy's (Wed) blog--"Nightgown Model"--and be sure Travis sees it. He'll love it!)

Unknown said...

Cindy, yes on the absentee ballot. I'm sure that's legal. They asked him last year why he was there and he said, "Mom asked me to come, I said no. She said, I gave you life. So I'm here."

And Kathy, good ideas all. I'll try to get a little interview thing going. And the pics. It's a dirty job...

Christie Ridgway said...

Oh, Lois, I love it! I fear my sons are not that devoted...or obedient. The closest I've gotten to this in putting on my younger one's soapbox derby car a sign that read "Read My Mom's Books!"

Good luck to Travis!

Susan Kay Law said...

Beware, Lois. I have a good friend who took great pleasure in embarassing his children, anytime, anyplace.

He ended up with an extremely unflattering photo of him in his underwear emailed to everyone he knew.

So watch out.

Of course, my question was WHY was did he have a picture taken of him in his underwear, anyway? I never did get a good answer for that.

Susie

Anonymous said...

We are all pulling for him in the book group at MOA! I still get such a kick out of you dressing him up and sending him out there with all those women:)

Good Luck! I'd vote for him.

Unknown said...

Joanna, you should come. We could embarrass him even more. But I'll tell him the MOA gals are rooting for him.

Anonymous said...

I would love to come but all my $ is funneling into the education system at the moment:(

I am planning on getting there at some point!