Saturday, October 1, 2011

Moonlight & Magnolias

It's hard to believe that we've already been here two full days.  Time truly does fly when you're surrounded by smart, savvy, fun women!  We arrived at our hotel early Thursday afternoon, Gannon and I pulling in right behind Buffie and Andrea.  And we didn't even plan it! :)

One of the first people we ran into was Kellie Kamryn who traveled all the way from Canada for the conference.  So great to see her! 

We unloaded the cars then set off for The Chocolate Bar for a "meet and greet" with authors Karen White and Eloisa James. 


Loved catching up with Eloisa!








Karen White always looks so chic!











Buffie, Andrea, Maureen and Terri
 There we ran into Terri and Maureen from Romance Writer's Revenge, Nancy and Donna from Romance Bandits, saw many more familiar faces and made some new friends too.  I met a lovely mother and daughter who had driven from near Tennessee just to meet Eloisa. 









Romance Bandit Nancy Northcott won the door prize.  Isn't it fabulous?





For dinner Thursday night, we joinjed a group from Georgia Romance Writers at a local restaurant called The Raging Burrito.  This is a wall mural that's in the courtyard where we ate. Margarita, anyone?















We're off to breakfast but I'll check in later with more photos and news!

Saturday 10:30am: 

I have a break between workshops so thought I'd grab a few minutes and continue on...

Friday's lunch was an event we'd been looking forward to for some time.  Eloisa James hosted a "Bon  Bon Reunion" at a local restaurant.  We spent a couple hours feasting on wonderful food (if you're ever in Decatur, GA, you must visit Leon's and try the Pomme Frites with smoked tomato mayonnaise sauce.  To die for!), catching up on everone's lives, laughing and talking non-stop.  The Bon Bons are what those of us who were regulars at the former Eloisa James/Julia Quinn bulletin board called ourselves.






Manda Collins shows off an ARC of her much-awaited debut historical romance, HOW TO DANCE WITH A DUKE, which will be a February 2012 release.  Isn't that cover gorgeous?


















Vanessa Kelly, Manda Collins, Eloisa James, Terri Osburn.







Have to head to the next workshop.  More later!

~PJ

16 comments:

  1. What a great time you ladies are having! Hope you have lots of fun, you can rest later when you get home....

    Love the sound of Moonlight & Magnolias, someone should write a book with that title.

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  2. Have a great time! Looks and sounds like you already have had some good fun!

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  3. Thanks for sharing the pics, PJ. Your posts are the next best thing to being there. Seeing the Bon Bon reunion made me teary. I wish I could have been there to give everybody a hug.

    And Manda's cover is gorgeous, as is the book within the covers and the smile of its terrific author.

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  4. LOVE this!!!! So wish I could have stayed and chatted with everyone. Next year. :)

    Thanks so much for sharing the experience with us.

    Hugs

    Tami

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  5. It looks like everyone had a blast! Hope you guys get to do something like this soon :)

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  6. It looks like fun. With a place called The Chocolate Bar, I picture somewhere with a lot of desserts. Was there any?

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  7. Sounds like a lot of fun! There is nothing like getting together with a bunch of ladies and spending time. I always enjoy getting together with my sisters and its a lot of fun. I would say athors getting together is a lot like that.

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  8. Sounds like you are having a great time! Those bottles of wine are so big and inviting...lol. glad you ladies are having a good time...

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  9. Looks like a great time - spending time with friends is always a joy.

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  10. How wonderful, everyone looks like they're having so much fun!
    Thank you posting the pictures!

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  11. Hey, our Nancy won DA BIG PRIZE!!! How cool is that? Love the photos, Dishies! What fun you all had.

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  12. Thanks for all the pix, Dishes! It's almost like being there with you all. Please say hi to J. Perry Stone and Vanessa Kelly for me!

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  13. Congratulations to Vanessa Kelly and Tricia Mills Aka Trish Milburn on their Maggie wins!

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  14. Everyone looks so happy & why wouldn't they?

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  15. This was so much fun! Thanks for posting a picture of me :) You ladies are all so sweet! Love you and have a safe drive back. TTYS

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  16. I didn't realize I'd made the blog while I was away. LOL! Love these pictures. Gah! Such a good time. I already miss being able to sit around and laugh with all of you.

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