Today I'm packing up to head to Portsmouth, VA and GayRomLit! Yes, I'm going up early, hoping to catch up with friends I only get to see once per year, and to meet new ones. It's hard to describe GRL to someone who hasn't experienced it for themselves, but mostly it's a meeting of what we call "the tribe," a group of like-minded people connected by their love of LGBT romance.
I've met some folks there who are now great friends I speak to online frequently, but not merely in the capacity of author. There I'm just another book lover, who alternates between reading passages from her upcoming novel, to fangirling all over favorite authors and begging to know when the next installment of their series will release.
I've danced, dressed in costumes, discussed scenes over dinner, and once even took a tour of the surrounding area while an author pointed out where her character lived, showed me the diner where he met his love interest, the late night hardware store that figures into the story... Well, I'm sure you get the idea.
I don't have a new release to show off this time, but Suspicion (Diversion 7), is close enough to publishing that I can talk it up.
But mostly, I'll hug, smile till my face hurts, and feel like I've just come home.
