Ask Elnora--About RT in Kansas City-Lenora Worth

Hello my lovely ladies and Vince! What a week we have had. I got home from my girls' beach trip and turned around to pack for Kansas City. I am attending the Romantic Times Book Lovers Convention. We drove across the country to get here and the weather was so nice, we put the top down on my little Mini Cooper. As I write this, however, it is snowing! I can see it out the window of our hotel room. I'll show a picture of that later. The scoop here, of course, is all about e-books and self-publishing. Mark Coker (of Smashwords fame) showed some compelling statics regarding the rise of e-publishing since this time last year and how authors who really promote their e-books can sell an impressive number of books. Covers count, he believes. Staying on top of promoting your books adds up to more books sold. And pricing your book around $2.99 to $3.99 seems to be important. Of course, good old traditional books were plentiful and in demand around here, too.

I was on a panel with Colleen Coble, Thomas-Nelson Senior Acquisitions Editor Ami McConnell and Deeanne Gist and we had a good time talking books with both aspiring writers and avid readers. I was touched when two of the audience members told me mine was the first inspirational they ever read and that they loved my books. They bragged on all of us, actually. One sweet lady said her daughter brings her to RT to meet her favorite writers. We had a great time. I also had lunch with writers Sherri Shackelford and Winnie Griggs along with Diane Moggy and Glenda Howard (both from Harlequin) We talked about a lot of things, especially the new HAN (Harlequin Authors Network) and how much we like it.

In the meantime, I've enjoyed walking around Union Station with Big Daddy. Below are some pictures of this beautiful train station that now holds shops and restaurants. Lucky for us, there is an enclosed catwalk around the hotels that lead to the station and a mall. Here are some pictures of our adventures:

 

 

 

So snow in May, e-books the topic of the day, all sorts of costumes and writers, 30 years of romance and lots of laughter and fun. RT has only just begun. And we, the writers, thank RT for a great convention and we hope for many more years of reading, writing and good intention!!!