It’s RomCon time again!

This weekend, I’ll be hanging in A-Town — that’s Aurora for those who haven’t read Hard Evidence — and spending some time with other romance novelists and, best of all, romance readers.

I wanted to share my schedule for those of you who plan to attend RomCon so that we can make sure to hook up somewhere during the course of the weekend. I’m not staying at the hotel — I just don’t feel like it — so connecting with me will only happen before/during/after these events.

Thursday

8:30-9:30 PM, RomCon Social — I think this is in the Vail room. This is where RomCon “buddies” meet up. This pairs experienced RomCon people with newbies and authors with readers.

Friday

11:10 AM-12:05 AM — Contemporary Author Panel. I’ll be on the panel with a wonderful group of authors: Carly Phillips, Dee Davis, Meg Benjamin, Pamela Clare, Shayla Black, Sherrill Bodine. Some of us are bringing books to give away. I’ll have copies of Breaking Point with me.

6:30-10:30 PM, Wild West Night Dinner — I hope to saddle me a cowboy. (Unlikely since mostly women attend this conference, but one can hope.)


Saturday

10:10-11:05 AM — Pamela Clare’s True Stories Behind the I-Team — Featuring special guest Vince Darcangelo. (Does anything about that name sound familiar?) I’ll be bringing actual copies of newspaper articles, photographs and maybe video (if I can figure that out). Vince, who worked with me for three years, will help me share details about the investigations that eventually fused with my imagination to create the I-Team series. This should be a lot of fun. I just hope someone attends! If not, I guess Vince and I can do a lot of catching up.

11:20 AM-12:15 PM — Intimate Chat /BatBabes Reader Group & Pamela Clare. Who are the BatBabes? I guess I’ll find out, won’t I? Vince Darcangelo might also attend this event.


Sunday

9-9:55 AM — RomCon Readers' Crown Social. Breaking Point was a finalist for the Readers Crown for Romantic Suspense. It didn’t win, but, hey, it was a finalist, right? This is a pre-brunch social for finalists, readers and winners. It’s very early in the morning, so I can’t guarantee I’ll be there.


10:10 AM-11:30 AM — READERS CROWN Awards Brunch. Last year, I sat with Tara Janzen and Cindy Gerard. We were like this Romantic Suspense power table or something. They wonderful, and I adore them both. The food was quite good for a breakfast brunch buffet. I had a custom-made omelet.

12-2 PM — RomCon® Rumble. I have no idea what this is, but apparently I signed up to participate. Yeeha!

This is the only conference I’m attending in 2011 due to the demands of my job and of my writing schedule. I’ll be meeting with authors who are old friends and some, like Julie James, who is a wonderful new friend. Jenn LeBlanc will be there with her cover model. I’m hoping to get some MTM action at the conference.

If you’re at RomCon, be sure to track me down to say hello!

In the meantime, I’ve been very busy trying to get Sweet Release and Carnal Gift, my first two books, re-edited and up as ebooks. Sweet Release will have a fresh edit but no new material. Carnal Gift, however, will have 100 previously unpublished pages, and I can’t wait to have it up. But I’ll share more on this next week.

I am also working on Defiant, of course, and eager to finish it and get Connor into your waiting arms.

Also, those of you who want to hang out and have some I-Team fun — okay, so it’s mostly hot chesticles — should join the new private Pamela Clare’s I-Team on Facebook. I decided to start a new group and set it up as private so that our posts are visible only to members and not all of the Facebook universe.

Have a good second half of the week, everyone. I haven’t been around a lot lately, but I’m still here.

I just wanted to pop in to update you all on a few things.

Recapping from my last post, Naked Edge is a DA BWAHA finalist in the contemporary category. The winner is determined by reader participation, and the games start on March 13!

RomCon — RomCon is taking place this summer in Denver. Last year was it’s first year, and it was a pretty amazing event. This year, some of those minor kinks will be worked out, and it should be tons of fun. It’s the only event of its kind — a gathering of romance readers and romance writers. It’s not about how to write romance or get published. It exists purely to bring readers and authors together. There are discussions and private chat sessions and a whole host of other events designed to get you close to the authors whose work you enjoy.

I signed up to be a RomCon affiliate this year so that those of you who want to attend can get a small discount. If you look at the right-hand column on my blog, you’ll see a little RomCon graphic together with a coupon code. The code is pclare. Just register with that code to get your discount.


RomCon is taking place from Aug. 5-7. And though we say it’s in Denver, it’s actually in Aurora — where Julian Darcangelo hits the streets. Last year, I took an SUV load of friends and readers on a tour of sites in the I-Team books, called the PC Reality Tour. I’m not sure I have that much energy this year. But if there is interest, I might pack a few people into my car and go tooling around Denver/Boulder and perhaps even into the mountains.

Facebook — I started a new fan page at Facebook. I’m not too far from my cap of 5,000 friends on my regular Facebook page and having a fan page allows me to do some things, like host certain events, that I can’t do as easily from the regular page. So pop on by and click “Like” to join in the fun. I’ve uploaded some photos and made a start toward getting the page rolling. I just don’t have tons of time. But it will come together. The first event I’ll be hosting is a release party for Breaking Point that will involve lots of giveaways, not just from me but from other authors, as well. Stay tuned for more info...

RangerCon — In 2012 — possibly May, possibly September or October — I plan to meet with a group of readers in Fort Edward, NY, to celebrate the MacKinnon’s Rangers series and the release of Defiant — and to see the real places in the novels. This includes: Rogers Island (Ranger Island), the town of Fort Edward (Fort Elizabeth), Fort William Henry, Lake George, Fort Carillon/Ticonderoga, Rattlesnake Mountain and other sites in the vicinity. I hope to gather a group of reenactors, history experts, and others whose knowledge of the French & Indian War and the Colonial Rangers is astounding and have them guide us through history. Then I’ll read from the books, with the location right there in front of us.

This will be a not-for-profit event, with the cost based solely on the cost of all the things we do, i.e., vehicle rentals, experts fees, etc. I hope to have us all stay at the Historic Inn of Fort Edward, which is where I always stay when I’m there.

By necessity, this will be an intimate group, not a grandiose affair with five hundred people packed into a conference center. I’d like to get some idea of the interest out there. So please let me know if it’s something you’d be seriously interested in doing. The cost would involve airfare to Albany, NY, your hotel stay, meals and a registration fee to cover the cost of the events.

I might be able to arrange for us to go to the waterfall where Amalie and Morgan made love for the first time. I might be able to arrange for a mock battle complete with muskets to be fought in our honor. Who knows? I’m willing to try anything.

So please let me know if you’re interested. And if you know someone who’s a complete MacKinnon’s Rangers fan, please pass this to them.

I’m off to dose up on caffeine, and then I’m heading back in time to 1760 to the wilderness west of the Hudson River, where Connor is about to put his life on the line for the niece of the man he loathes most in the world — Wentworth’s niece, Lady Sarah Woodville.

Yesterday was the first official day of RomCon in Denver. It’s the first year this event has been held, and I certainly hope they do it again. Designed to bring readers and writers together and to focus on the interests of the readers, it’s been lots of fun for me so far, even if I haven’t attended many RomCon events.

My focus yesterday was taking some readers on the Pamela Clare Reality Tour. The tour, named by my good friends Sue and Kristi who were the very first to experience it (rather by accident), is all about showing people the real places in the I-Team series. When they were here, I took them around, pointing things out as I showed them my hometown and state. And that’s when they came up with the name.

We started at the convention hotel and drove past Denver women's prison, where, of course, parts of Unlawful Contact occurred. The prison itself wasn't so much part of the story as events that happened to Megan, the hero's sister. Come to think of it, Denver County Jail, which we also passed (on the same corner) is where Sophie was when she was arrested.

From there, we got into a bit of a snarl, as Peoria, the street I wanted to take to Colfax, was blocked by a bad — and I mean bad — car accident. So with the help of Jackie’s GPS, we made our way to Colfax by other means, then saw some of the streets and intersections where parts of the stories took place, including Kara’s home street and the intersection where Tessa witnesses the drive-by shooting.

We stopped at the state capitol, looked around a bit, saw the office where Kara and Reece made good use of the desk, and then some of us walked 99 steps up to the capital dome, which is covered with gold. I get a bit dizzy with heights and didn’t look down all those floors of the rotunda. But Lucy, Jackie and Sara did.

At that point we were running late for our rendezvous with Ranger Rick Hatfield, so we had to get out of Denver and onto the highway to Boulder. We passed McCaslin Mesa, which is the view Sophie and Marc talk about. And I pointed out that the eastbound lanes — we were westbound — were where Sophie gave Marc head. (Those sorts of details are important, no?)

We drove part way up Flagstaff Mountain in Boulder Mountain Parks, until I saw Rick’s service vehicle. There, I parked and Rick was generous enough to explain his job and background to everyone. He’s such a professional and very knowledgeable about any subject matter relating to Boulder Mountain Parks.

I left it up to the gang whether they wanted to see Rocky Mountain National Park, which meant another 45 minute drive further into the mountains. They wanted to see it, so off we went. The photo above was taken at a scenic spot not far inside the park. The glare from the sun was pretty harsh, and I couldn’t even see what I was shooting. But we have more photos, so those will get posted eventually.

I was so grateful to have the chance to share the real stories behind the novels with this wonderful group of women. They were patient with all the driving and the cramped space inside the rented SUV. And I know they loved seeing the high snow-capped peaks.

From there, it was a rush back to the convention center and dinner.

And that was the first day of RomCon for me. I’m headed back in a bit. I have a panel on romantic suspense at 10. And I haven’t officially checked in to the conference yet.

After months of planning (not by me), RomCon comes to Denver! It’s the First Annual RomCon, and it should be a blast. RomCon is about readers being able to spend time with their favorite authors, and it’s about reading.

I wanted to post my schedule so that those of you who are coming can note which events we have in common and when I might have a break. I won’t be staying at the author hotel; I’m going to stay in my own house which is about 45 minutes to an hour away from the convention hotel.

I'm looking forward to meeting author Anna Campbell in person, as well as other important Aussies. I’m also going to be meeting some of you face to face for the first time. I’ve met Kristie J before, but she’ll be there again. That will be fantastic. And maybe, just maybe, Tara Janzen and I will get some face time. How can two people who live 35 minutes apart never see each other?!? It baffles both of us.

I imagine I’ll blog about the conference and share photos with you.

FRIDAY
12:30-3:30 PM Pamela Clare Reality Tour
3-4:50 PM Build a Hero (might be late for this one)
7-7:45 PM Readers' Crown Awards
8-11 PM Costume Ball
8:30-10 PM Blogger/Reviewer Party

SATURDAY
9-9:50 AM Reader Round Table
10-10:50 AM Q&A Author Chat with Romantic Suspense Authors
12 - 2 PM Book Fair
4:30-5:20 PM Author Avenue
7:15-7:45 PM Borders' Romance Bestsellers Awards
8-11 PM Black and White Masquerade Ball (Might not attend this; hope to spend time with some of you in a sane setting)

SUNDAY
9-9:50 AM Memory Lane
10-10:50 PM Games Finale
11-11:50 AM Q&A Author Mixer - Historical

The discussion about Julian and whether he is or isn’t a rapist continues below. I just needed to get this up here because RomCon starts Thursday for me. I’ll be meeting with my editor from Penguin to celebrate my new contract.

Happy Hump Day!

Summer is coming fast, and by now most of us are trying to firm up our summer plans. I’ve opted not to go to any of the other romance conferences in the country this year and instead plan to stay home and attend RomCon. For once, everyone will be coming to the Mile High State.

Unlike the other conferences, RomCon is strictly about readers and connecting readers with writers. It's going to make for a unique conference experience, I think, and it will also be a lot of fun.

I'm going to be participating in a few events, and I have organized an event of my own, the Pamela Clare Reality Tour. Based on a tour that I took a couple of friends on a few years back, the tour will take readers who sign up to see places mentioned in the I-Team books.

Here are some of the places we may visit: Downtown Denver; Aurora, which was Julian’s stomping ground; Eldorado Canyon State Park to see a route called The Naked Edge on Redgarden Wall where Gabe was climbing when Kat fell; Boulder Mountain Parks, where we might go on a brief hike led by one of my Ranger friends; a cement plant (we won't go in); and Rocky Mountain National Park.



What, I ask you, is the point of being in Colorado if you don't get to see real mountains?

There is only room for 10 people to join me on the tour. I’ll be driving the van and narrating as we go. There will be lots of time for questions. And if people have flexible schedules, we might even get to eat out at a restaurant in Estes Park.

The PC Reality Tour is tentatively scheduled for Friday, July 9, so those who want to be a part of it will need to make sure they’re in Denver by that morning. We take off at noon and come back depending upon when people want to be back. If we get time, we’ll visit my rose garden where I putter when I need a break from writing.

So I hope some of you will be there! There is a sign-up form on the RomCon Web site.

NEW Shackling bill update 4/30: The Senate Appropriations Committee voted unanimously early this morning to strike the fiscal note from the shackling bill and then passed the bill unanimously. It looked for a moment like we were in trouble when the committee chair asked the Department of Corrections to testify. These meetings aren’t supposed to take testimony and only do so at the chair’s discretion. (Obviously, I wasn’t the only person having conversations with the senators behind the scenes this week.)

DOC tried to say the law wasn’t needed. The chair asked if anyone knew of any instance in which a woman was actually shackled during labor. Well, duh! Then one of the senators spoke up and reminded everyone that this was already discussed, that the bill covered the county and city jails as well as the state prison and so the bill is about more than DOC. Then he suggested DOC be made to come up with the money on its own and that a vote be held. And then it was done.

Hurrah!!!

So now the bill goes to the Senate floor for discussion/debate by the entire Senate. I expect it to pass there. And then we start from the beginning in the House. We have two weeks to repeat the same process and get it to the Governor. And I’m betting cash that’s where DOC turns next to kill the bill. So, I guess I need to schedule an appointment with the governor, aye?

Novel news: I’m in contract negotiations right now, and I hope to have really good news for you here in the next week or so. Stay tuned!

And sorry about burdening you with the sight of those sexy guys for so long. I’ve been running ragged and didn’t have time to update my blog till today.

A view of the Flatirons about 10 minutes away from my office

Please pardon me if my teeth chatter. It's been very cold here lately, and that blizzard that is now blowing its way across the Midwest just left us yesterday after four days of dumping flakes on those of us who live in the Rockies.

We got about a foot of snow in the end, with temps dropping to -15 F/-26 C last night. It was all of -6F /-21-ish C when I drove to work. But the view of the mountains completely covered in white with sun glinting off the snow was spectacular.

I'm not complaining. I love winter. I've spent those days with my sister Michelle, whom some of you have met on my Yahoo group. She’s visiting from Sweden. We’ve been keeping warm with lots of coffee and blazing fires in my fireplace. I think I’ve laughed more in the past few days than in the past few months put together. We have such a great time. She’s been coming to work with me and reading the Twilight series in my office while I do newspaper stuff.

Such are the joys of living at the foot of the mountains.

But it's not all snow and chattering teeth here. Come summer it will be 95 degrees and sunny. Every day. For weeks. It’s dry heat with very little humidity. Sometimes it gets as high as 110 F / 44 C or so. (Personally, I’d rather have snow!)



I hope some of you will experience this yourself when you come to Denver for the first annual RomCon this summer. The event was put together by some Denver-area romance writers — alas, not me — in an effort to create an event that focuses not on the romance industry but on readers.

I will be attending, as will Christine Feehan, Tara Janzen and... Anna Campbell, as well as many other authors. The entire focus of the event is getting writers and readers together in fun ways. I'm very excited about it. For one, I get to see Christine again and I get to meet Anna face to face. (Tara lives about 45 min. north of me, and we get together for coffee when we can.)

The conferences takes place July 9-11 in Denver. I hope to rent a bus and take a group of readers on a tour of the real places featured in the I-Team series and of places where the real investigations behind the series took place. Maybe we can even make it up into the mountains.

For more about the three-day conference, click here.

In the meantime, I'm putting together the proposal for Natalie’s book and trying to figure out what I’m supposed to be writing now. I hope to be working on my next story before Jan. 1.

I've joined Goodreads, so if you frequent Goodreads please find me! I'm also on Twitter now, despite my promise never to tweet. There are so many social networking sites these days that it’s a bit overwhelming.

In other news, I've learned that my first three historicals are available on Kindle. I thought that would never happen. I'm also in the midst of a Web site update, so that will be coming soon, possibly by Monday.

OK, well that’s all there is to report today.

Thanks to Anna Campbell for sharing her time with us and to all of you for making her feel welcome!