09 January 2010

Special Announcement: RomCom™

Historical romance author Elaine Levine is here today for a special guest announcement post about RomCom™. Hope you find it useful!

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Hi Carrie! Thanks so much for letting the RomCon™ team visit Unusual Historicals! We are here today to tell you a bit about RomCon™, the new romance reader convention--and especially the sessions we're planning for historical romance fans! The convention is being held in Denver, Colorado next summer on July 9-11, 2010. RomCon™ is the ONLY convention of its size where all sessions are structured for ROMANCE READERS!

Our sessions are arranged in three focus areas at the convention--Contemporary, Historical, and Fantasy/Futuristic & Paranormal (FF&P). Several of the sessions showcase authors from all three groups. These first few sessions feature historical authors and topics in an interactive approach that makes history accessible! The remaining sessions focus on other aspects of the amazingly diverse romance genre--all are geared toward readers and designed for fun!

Shock the Queen: Think you have a handle on social etiquette in Victorian England . . . or would your manners Shock the Queen? Your favorite historical authors (Jo Beverley and others!) will put you through your paces in a friendly competition to see if you can make it through a day in London without "Shocking the Queen" and earning a "cut direct". Ouch. (Games & Prizes)

Historical Authors Host A Tea: Join our historical spotlight authors, Hannah Howell, Anna Campbell, Elizabeth Hoyt, Jo Beverley, and Julia Quinn, as they host 75 special attendees with afternoon refreshments including tea, coffee and cake! Attendees must register for this free event and will be selected via a lottery in May.

Strip the Heroine: The history of female attire revealed--layer-by-layer. This session will be oh-so-delicately handled by leading historical authors who know exactly what women wore...or didn't! Participating authors include, Jo Beverley, Dee Gist and more!

Weapons Gallery: In a powerful pre-event show, weapons experts will have an amazing array of weapons on display. Come see what the heroes we love to read about take into battle!

Intimate Chats with RomCon's™ Spotlight Authors: Drawings for these FREE tickets will open to registered attendees later this month! Winners will be added to the guest lists each Wednesday beginning in April. Participating Spotlight Authors include: Christine Feehan, Nalini Singh, Melissa Mayhue, Anna Campbell, Julia Quinn, Elizabeth Hoyt, Jo Beverley, Cindy Gerard, Carly Phillips, Susan Mallery, Hannah Howell, and Jeaniene Frost.

Anti-Heroes You Hate to Love: Do you love the Dark, Desirable and Deadly heroes? Join us for a lively chat with authors who have mastered this archetype. Chat with a room full of authors and friends who understand your obsession! Participating authors include Jo Beverley and more!

Build a Hero: What makes a hero PERFECT? In this fun session, participants will construct the perfect fiction hero working in teams. At the end of the session, each table will vote on the assembled selection of heroes--the group with the most votes wins. Authors participating include Elizabeth Hoyt, Jo Beverley, Elizabeth Boyle, Hannah Howell and more! (Games & Prizes)

Borders' Reader Roundtables: Come visit with editors, book buyers, bloggers, reviewers, and other readers--let them know what you love, what you're over, what you'd strangle the friendly neighborhood bookseller to get your hands on!

$2,500.00 Reader Trivia Challenge: Think you know romance? Questions will be pulled from authors' public websites, with a listing announced in May. Care to play? (This challenge is only open to registered readers. Must be present at the Sunday Brunch awards ceremony to win!)

Murder, Darling, Murder! RomCon™ hosts a murder investigation with leading authors of romantic suspense. Step through the crime scene, gather clues, and use your newly acquired C.S.I. skills to solve the murder!

Speed Date a New Author! Have a flash visit with your favorite authors or new-to-you authors and decide for yourself if you'd like to check out their books! Some of the authors participating are Anna Campbell, Julia Quinn, Elizabeth Boyle, Dee Gist and more!

Betwixt & Between: Paranormal & urban fantasy authors host an evening event.

Midnight Sexcapades: Join erotic romance publishers & authors in a naughty, late-night romp through erotic romance fiction with games, chats, and more.

Melissa Mayhue & Friends Host a Blogger & Reviewer Party

Bestill My Heart: Does your favorite Hero's heart beat? Join Christine Feehan, Jeaniene Frost and other authors of Vampire fiction for a foray into vampire lore, legend, & their individual story mythologies. Find out if you know the difference between the "Good Guys" & the "Bad Guys" in vampire romance. (Games & Prizes)

Guess Who? Join Paranormal & Urban Fantasy authors whose characters go beyond Vampire and Werewolf legend. They'll give you clues, but you will have to figure out what kind of mythical creatures they write about! Do they have Wings? Pointy Ears? Can they breathe fire? Or cast spells? Are they more than meets the eye (shifters)? Do they shed their seal skins to become humans? Lose their tails out of water? (Game & Prizes)

Contemporary Authors Host A Tea: Join Susan Mallery, Brenda Novak and Carly Phillips as they host 150 special attendees with tea and traditional tea fare! Attendees must register for this free event and will be selected via a lottery in May.

Blog, Oh Blogger! Visit with the True Romance team, Dear Author's Jane, Smart Bitches' Sarah, and other bloggers for a chat about all things blogosphere. Bring your questions and ideas to share and leave with some fabulous new ideas about the direction your own blogs might take!

Publisher Meet & Greet Scavenger Hunt: Make your way through the labyrinth of clues in our Publisher Maze to win great prizes and find some great new authors! Along the way, be sure to meet each publisher's showcase authors and let the publishers know what you like and dislike in romantic fiction!

Susan Mallory--En Route to the Bookstore: Have you ever wondered why your favorite authors' covers don't match their books? Why aren't reissues marked so you don't keep buying the same book in a new format? And hey--what about audio books? Why do some authors offer them and others don't? What happens on the way to the bookstore explains who does what in publishing, what authors control and what publishers decide. An honest and entertaining look inside the world of publishing. All questions will be answered!

Q&A with Featured Authors X 6! RomCon™ is all about getting authors and readers together for informal chats. Join us for a panel discussion with 6 authors in 6 separate sessions, one each for Contemporary, Historical, and Urban Fantasy, Romantic Suspense, Erotic Romance, and Paranormal, and Category Romance?

Were-Squares: Can you tell the big hairy bluff from the unvarnished truth? Two reader teams go head-to-head attempting to detect which werewolf & shape-shifter authors are telling the truth and which are lying through their canines.

Book Reviewer Panel: Ever want to add your opinion of a book you just read to the reviews accepted by online bookstores? How much do you tell about the story? What types of criticisms can readers offer? Why do reader reviews matter? How do you move up to the next level? When do you move up to the next level of book reviewing? How do you get publishers and authors to submit books to you for review? Come visit with a panel of authors and expert reviewers to learn the tricks the of the reviewer trade--get the inside scoop on how to move your reviews to the big time!

Author Fairy Godmothers to the Rescue! Have you ever wondered how you, the reader, can help your favorite authors? You indicate your support for an author by purchasing her books, but is there more that you can do? Join us as a panel of authors and publishers give you the tools you need to help ensure your favorite authors keep producing the magical stories you've become addicted to!

Multi-Author Booksigning: Join all the authors at our 2-hour booksigning event (open to the public) hosted by Borders Books. Guests are permitted to bring up to 3 books from their personal libraries to have authors sign at the booksigning.

Tweet Stations: Chatter with the outside world about all the cool things they are missing by not being at RomCon™! We'll have several dedicated Tweet Stations standing by for your indulgence.

We've got a Costume Ball, a Black & White Masquerade, fine dining both nights, a Widower Golf Tournament, Sunday Brunch… and more. What are you waiting for--register today, and get your name in the drawing for the Historical Author Tea, for Spotlight Chats, for everything! Treat yourself to a weekend doing what you love – talking books and having fun with friends both new and old.

Oh, and don't try that worn-out, old excuse, "But, I don't know anyone who reads as much as I do!" Or our other favorite, "I don't know anyone who'd go with me!" Problem solved. RomCon™ introduces the Romance Reader BUDDY SYSTEM. Simply sign up, fill out a short survey about what you like to read, and we'll match you up with 3-4 Reader Pals for the weekend, new-to-you friends who love to read and chat about books, just like you do.

We will see you there!