AMERICA - SUMMER 2003  [page one]   [page two]

Romance Writers' of America Conference Report New York 2003

It’s more than twenty years since I first sailed into New York harbour onboard the QE2 in my previous incarnation as a professional singer. This year I took a trip on the Staten Island ferry to see the Statue of Liberty, and found the sight every bit as evocative as I had done the first time around.

[Throughout this newsletter, if you click on an image you can see a larger version!]

To think what the sight of this great statue has meant to so many people fleeing from oppression is always very humbling.

On this occasion I had more time to look around New York, and the beautiful green spaces in Central Park, and in Harlem are all the better for being so unexpected in the heart of a city. And my return to the Stage Deli in downtown Manhattan certainly brought out the characteristic New York humour- no, the food certainly isn’t so bad that I stayed away for twenty years- it’s fantastic! Try the Pastrami on Rye - or the Tuna if you don’t believe me!

But the memories I shall really treasure from conference are those of friendships formed, and strengthened. Top author Kate Walker is shown in the photo below with her husband Steve.

And now to some truly fabulous events...

All the Harlequin parties were stunning affairs, and the Black and White Ball held in the Starlight Roof ballroom at the Waldorf Astoria was something I shall never forget. All those authors I have admired for years! And boy, did we dance!

It was a great opportunity to get together on an informal basis with Kate, my editor - here she is in the picture above right with me and my daughter Leonie.

Another glamorous setting was the Plaza hotel where I enjoyed afternoon tea at the invitation of another great chum, the beautiful Jane Porter. Dainty sandwiches, yummy cream cakes, mammoth chandeliers, crisp white linen tablecloths, cut glass, silver cutlery, attentive waiters - I wonder which one of the Presents authors amongst us will be the first to use the fabulous setting of Plaza Hotel New York in a book? [Left to right in photo below - Jane Porter, Liz Fielding, Barbara Dunlop, C J Carmichael, Lillian Darcy and me]

As a Newbie to conference I discovered the event was so much more than I had anticipated, and the friendship and camaraderie will stay with me always. More in number too- imagine over 2300 women coming together under one roof!

Not all the get-togethers were formal events either- far from it! Here is a photo of me chilling out in Sandra Marton’s bedroom before our Pizza Party.

The opportunity to meet so many email pals, and put a face to all those names from the United States, and Australia was unforgettable as far as I’m concerned, and the particular bond between those authors who write for Harlequin Mills & Boon was incredibly supportive to me as a relative newcomer.

Dinner at the invitation of Liz Fielding was definitely one of the highlights of my trip. [Left to right in the photo below: Barbara Hannay, Shannon Short from the Romantic Times, Lucy Monroe, Liz’s son, Barbara’s husband, Liz Fielding and me]

Hello to everyone I met in the line waiting for the ‘Literacy signing’! Wasn’t that the most impressive event? All those incredible authors in the same room together- the organisation alone was breath-taking.

The chance to exchange gossip, make new friends, and generally have fun together was something I want to experience again, and again, and again… and the sooner the better- roll on Dallas 2004!

And finally, thank you to my hero, Steve, who made everything possible…

[Throughout this newsletter, if you click on an image you can see a larger version!]

And after New York… click here for page two of my American Trip!

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