Romanticon 2013

Romanticon 2013

I’ve recently returned from the best erotic romance conference. Ellora’s Cave has outdone itself again. This is the Not-to-be-missed event for lovers of Erotic Romance. Romanticon is different from other events due to the non-stressful atmosphere. Many romance related conferences present an air of dislike for the ‘non-traditional’ genre of erotic novels.

Not Romanticon.

It was created specifically to embrace this genre and celebrate its uniqueness. Ellora’s Cave does this with flair.

They open the conference with the ‘Bad Girls of Romance’ meet and greet, which features Karaoke for those bold enough to take the mike. Our very own Cait Miller sang a duet with a tall, lean Texan named Jenny. 

Myself, I waited until the place was nearly cleared out and brought home a little country tune, Redneck Woman.

A bit off-key, but I had some sweet eye-candy behind me so no one was listening to me, they were watching him.

Taylor Cole.

This picture wasn’t taken at the Thursday night party, but I was busy working and didn’t take any pictures. Hopefully, Cait can supply us with a few. I know she’s got plenty and quite possibly some incriminating video footage as well. LOL. Not of me of course. I was an ‘Angel’.

Friday and Saturday both started off with a bang with our Alpha Caveman Nick rocking the house with a rousing bout of Zumba. I watched from the registration desk. He moves so fast none of the pictures I took were acceptable to share but it’s obvious he loves his job.

He and two fellow Caveman have gone into the Zumba business in Texas and started a fitness center called, “Fit the Rhythm”. If I lived nearby, I wouldn’t miss a class with hot instructors like Nick, Ace and David. What a yummy way to sweat.

Picture taken at dress rehearsal.

This year brought us a new ‘Host’ for the events. Our eternal Mr. Romance, Rodney Chapman had a co-host that added humor as well as beauty to the events. Meet Diamond Hunter one of the most fascinating people at RCon this year.

As co-host go, these two rocked the house and made the show along with the Cavemen of course.

There was a roster chocked full of awesome workshops. The one on sexual positioning was a rousing hoot. Laughter could be heard all the way to where I was working at the registration desk. Apparently, several blow-up dolls were the victims of whatever situation they could be twisted into. There were some smiling faces coming out of that room when they were done and the expressions on the doll’s faces were priceless. I did get to attend the sexual charades workshop and had a blast. But not only were there fun and exciting workshops, the editors of Ellora’s Cave were taking pitch appointments. Fingers crossed that a certain person named Jenny gets her novel in and accepted before next year’s conference.

The party themes this year were Bollywood and Old Hollywood. 

Costumes from both nights were astounding. The bright colors and flowing silk was abundant on Friday night for Bollywood. And everyone dressed to the nines for Old Hollywood.

 On Saturday night, Ellora’s Cave handed out awards to their authors and employees for different feats throughout the year. 

Cait and I both got awards J Cait got the ‘Farthest Traveler to RCon13’. I got an award for attending all 5 years of the conference along with a host of other attendees. I also got the ‘Cave Slave’ award, which made me cry. I was happy when Ramrod gave me a ‘Cave Slave’ t-shirt. The award was the cherry on top. Apparently, they think I work hard, but honestly, the tasks they give me are a pleasure to do. I love working with EC authors. They are the cream of the crop.

Sunday hosts the Sexporium, which is Ellora’s Cave’s version of the bookfair. The Cavemen perform as well as the belly dancers of Cleveland Dance. I enjoy watching these women because they are not only talented, but they are REAL sized woman. They make me feel as if I could actually belly dance or shimmy up a pole with ease. NOT! But I can dream. LOL.

Another reason I enjoy the Sexporium is it’s open to the public. Readers pour into this event who are there because they love to read Erotic Romance. It’s a fantastic relief to discuss what I write with people who want to hear about my babies. And some of them actually buy them too. What a plus!

Needless to say fun was had by all. My hope for next year is that I see everyone who reads this article there…hint, hint, hint to the Ruby Stormtroopers (ya’ll were missed).

Keep an eye open for the updated site for the conference at ecromanticon.com

BEA 2013: EC's Booth rocked!

Book Expo America was a fantastic event. The Ellora's Cave Booth rocked the entire conference. Each day, different authors signed: Cindy Lee, Cris Anson, Cherise DeLand, Jez Marrow, Velvet, Lynne Silver, Koko Brown, Kate Poole, Desiree Holt and (me) Tara Nina. It was wonderful meeting such talented authors and hearing their insights on the publishing world not to mention what they have in the works for the future. Yummy stuff coming our way.
I even was interviewed alongside Desiree Holt and Cherise DeLand. Desiree was so kind. I was extremely nervous so she held my hand and it made a world of difference for my nerves.
Our Booth had an even Sexier attraction than the Extremely hot authors of Ellora's Cave. Several of the Cavemen attended as well and drew crowds of people while they signed the EC calender.

This year BEA had a phenomenal turn out for their latest event: Power Reader Saturday. Droves of readers got great deals on ticket prices to enter the conference. Free books, complete with author signatures (if you stood in line which everyone did), lots and lots of freebies were given out showing our appreciation for the reason we write THE READERS. I posted about this event several times on twitter and facebook and was excited to see several of my friends dropped by to visit. Jen and Mary from my Jazzercise class came by to see me (or more specifically the Cavemen) but I'm ok with that :)
The Book Obsessed Chicks leader herself gave me a hug and took advantage of the photo op.

 Of course, I'm not in it and the wonderfully funny Jose photo bombed it. LOL. As you can see fun was had by all.
There were so many great and talented people at this event. Jim Carey, Kareem Abdul Jabar, Paula Dean and just too many to name. I did win Mother of the Year with my daughter by getting books signed by two of her favorite authors, Cassandra Claire & Heather Graham. I should have kept them as a bargaining chip to get her room cleaned but alas I failed. I was just too excited to give them to her :)
I look forward to next year!
Tara Nina
www.taranina.com

Charity Auction & .99 SALE

Candygram is now on sale for .99 at Amazon! Mix a beautiful sexy alien from another world with chocolate and what do you get? Mind blowing sex and Port Clef's doctor will never be the same. 

Here's the link for Amazon:

http://www.amazon.com/Candygram-Sweet-Spot-Series-ebook/dp/B00BEJOT6M/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1369137344&sr=8-1&keywords=Candygram

ON another note:

At the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention this year, I was placed next to the wonderful Brenda Novak at the Giant Book fair. 

 She hosts a phenomenal charity event for diabetes every year. If you haven't heard of it, then you have missed out on a fun way to help. It's a huge auction with hundreds of great items. First you register for the event, then you peruse the site and find the perfect thing you want and place your bid. Then you watch it to make sure you win it. It's exciting. Kind of like a giant tricky tray where you put your ticket in and hope to win the basket of goodies. But in this case, you just have to out bid your opponent. I donated a gift basket for the event called the Cursed MacKinnon's gift set. Here's the link:

http://brendanovak.auctionanything.com/Bidding.taf?_function=detail&Auction_uid1=2856761

Please follow the link to the auction then peruse the other items. There are so many to chose from there's bound to be something for everyone :)

Wishing everyone a day in the Sun!

Tara Nina

American's please stand up!

As we know, this world is full of hate. That hate is based off so many reasons: Race, Religion, money, jealousy and outright insanity. It saddens me to think there are no answers to rid this issue of hatred from our lives. But I do believe there is a way to lessen these extremists from acting out with such violence that takes so many innocent lives. An eye for an eye so to speak. Don't waste money on trials. Let law enforcement shoot to kill. End of the problem. It'll make others think twice before striking against innocent people again. They'll sit back and go damn, I'm going to die if I do that. Instead of let them kill at random and get free room and board, health care and an education better than I can afford for my own kids. The criminals have more rights than the hard working, law abiding citizens. It's sickening. Prisons may be over crowded but they don't miss a meal, or their daily medications as so many people in America go without every day because they can't afford it. Yet the animals behind the bars are treated with respect because they have rights. REALLY? They murder, rape and steal and yet they have rights. We can thank the lawyers and the politicians for this one.
Criminals deserve no rights.
Americans need to stand up and protect their own. Pull our military from every country and bring them home. Cut off ALL financial aide outside of our borders. Return that money to its rightful place, America's Recovery. Use it to get the homeless off the street, help support our elderly, rebuild the school system to actually educate our youth (don't me started on No Kid left behind, that led to so many individuals graduating who can't read or write), and help feed the hungry right here.
These third world countries that hate us will learn just how much they depend on the money America's capitalism helps them with when they're cut off. Let them fight amongst themselves. They have for hundreds of years. We're not going to stop it no matter how long we interfere. And if anyone actually believes we've been over in Afghanistan and Iraq to help 'free' those people, you really need to get your head out of the sand. There were no weapons of mass destruction. It's all about control of the oil fields. Its all about money. Peoples lives mean nothing. It's all about who holds the bargaining chip on the oil.
There are ways to live less dependent on oil. There are other avenues to follow but the oil companies here have too much power and refuse to allow those venues to flourish. It's not about what's right. It's all about money and control.
I'm sorry if my rant upsets anyone. It's just that with the recent bombings in Boston it brings to light just how much is wrong that needs to be righted. American's have grown weak and no longer stand united. Oh we will for about a week or so until this horrific event fads then the daily grind returns and nothing is done to prevent such a terrible tragedy from happening again.
Patriotism in America is a dying theme. If I had one wish, it would be for America to reunite and become whole again. It doesn't matter who believes in what religion or where a person is originally from or if they're gay or straight. What matters is that we believe in becoming a United States of America again. A united front is what we need. Stop labeling each other as African American, Irish American, Italian American etc... We are all Americans period. If you chose to live in America then you no longer are anything but American. The Pledge of Allegiance should be everyone's oath to this country. One nation under God. God is an ambiguous word. It stands for any God you so believe in. Being an American gives you that right to believe in anything.
I believe we can pull together and save America. I believe we can be United and strong.
Let's all pray for those who were killed and injured while simply enjoying a day meant to be fun in Boston. Let's all pray for a timely end to terrorism for no one reaps any benefit from it.
Sincerely,
Tara Nina