Best Moonlight & Magnolias Conference Ever by Suzanne Rossi

Hi everyone.

I promised in my last post to give you a blow by blow description of my experience at the 2016 Moonlight & Magnolias Conference sponsored by the Georgia Romance Writers. I've always loved this event. The workshops are informative for all levels of writing and the members are warm and friendly. Have a question? Just ask. There's always someone to help out or give you an answer.

This year's conference did not disappoint. My book, The Good Twin, had finaled in the Maggie Awards Contest, so I attended with an added bonus.

I arrived late Thursday afternoon, checked in to the hotel, and took an hour to decompress from traveling before heading down to register for the conference. When handed my goodie bag, I proudly wore my badge that stated, Maggie Finalist on a bright purple ribbon. My next stop was the lounge for a glass of wine and an early dinner. Within minutes another lady approached and asked if she could join me. Naturally, I said yes. This is how it works at conferences. You say hello to people you don't know, and then talk about anything that comes to mind. Not long after, two more ladies joined us. Thanks to a good conversation I now have two new Facebook friends.

My Friday morning was filled with good workshops, and I met an old friend, whom I hadn't seen in over fifty years, for lunch. The afternoon was a repeat of the morning, and dinner that night saw me with another group of new friends discussing the days' events.

I woke up on Saturday only slightly nervous. The Maggies would be announced at the dinner that night. I tried not to think about it, but couldn't stop myself from composing an acceptance speech. Silly, I know, but sometimes that's how it is. Later in the afternoon, I was waylaid by the Maggie Chairperson and asked to give a short speech in front of a video camera on what the Maggies meant to me. Wanting to be humble, I said I didn't care if I won--that just being a finalist was like the cherry on top of the sundae. I lied. I did care. I really wanted to win, but at this stage, the competition was top-notch.

Everything went fine until I walked into the ballroom and saw the cameras set up. They would be streaming the event live on YouTube. Now, I got nervous--so nervous I could barely eat. After a heartfelt and tearful dedication to a GRW member who had passed away the week before, they got down to business. Thankfully, they presented the Published Maggie Awards first. I'm not sure my nerves could have stood waiting any longer. Win or lose, at least I could relax and hit the dessert bar.

My category, Single Title, was second on the list. The chairperson read off the finalists in alphabetical order. I was last. "And the 2016 Maggie goes to..." was announced. I held my breath determined to clap and cheer for the winner because by this time I was convinced it wouldn't be me. I stared at the video screen. "Suzanne Rossi for The Good Twin!"

Hey! That's me! I won! Somehow I made my way onstage. To this day, I'm not sure what I said as I accepted the award, but friends assured me I made sense and even made them laugh with one comment. I honestly don't remember, but I do know I thanked my editor, Johanna Melaragno. This was the last book she edited for me before leaving the company. I also thanked my publisher, The Wild Rose Press.

It took a week for me to return to reality. I have the certificate in a nice frame and the Maggie Medallion pendant on a lovely chain. I can honestly say it was the proudest moment of my career.

I want to publicly thank the judges, GRW, and especially, Maggie Chair and Coordinator, Christina Crayn. You guys put on a spectacular show. I will never forget the 2016 Moonlight & Magnolias Conference.

Oh, and before I forget, my book, Killer Conference, the second in the Snoop Group series, was released in all formats this month, too. It's all about a critique group that solves murders, and of course there's a healthy dose of romance in the bargain. The first book was A Novel Death. Number three, A Taste of Death, is going through critique at the moment.

Wow, this was some October! I hope you all have a great month of November and I'll be back with tales of Thanksgiving.

Suzanne

Moving Is Not For The Faint of Heart by Suzanne Rossi

Hi everyone.

As many of you know from my past blogs, the hubster and I sold our home in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, and moved to Germantown, Tennessee, to be near my youngest son and his family. We'd lived in Florida for almost twenty years. During that time we managed to accumulate a lot of--well, junk. I thought we'd done a good job of weeding out the unnecessary stuff until the movers actually showed up to pack. It took them two days. This should have been an indication of what was to come.

I don't know how it happened, but we misread our closing date as August 27th. It was listed as August 29th. In the meantime, we contracted with the moving company to load the truck and leave on August 26th. Oh well, we were driving so it didn't seem like a big deal. We could take our time. Sounded logical to me. The residents of our new home then asked for an extension on them vacating the house due to their jobs--she's a teacher and he's a firefighter. We said okay and agreed to take possession not at the time of closing (August 31st, a Wednesday) and delay it to Saturday, September 3rd. A couple of extra nights in a motel wouldn't kill us.

My husband contacted the moving company with the change of off-loading dates. The company came back with the news that since that was a holiday weekend (Labor Day), the driver wouldn't be able to leave Florida until September 6th with delivery on September 8th. That meant we had to spend close to two weeks in a motel. Let me just say that eating out is not on our agenda for a while.

Glad to say the van arrived and was off-loaded in less than four hours. Now, I had to unpack all those boxes. Enter my daughter-in-law. There is something metabolically wrong with the woman. She can only work for ten hours at a crack before calling it quits. I was whining and whimpering after four. My back hurt, I was tired, and up to my knees in a sea of packing paper. Somewhere in the world major deforestation occurred. Those packers used more paper than I even knew existed. I guess there was a method in their madness because nothing ended up broken, which is more than I can say for me. Last week I bent over to unpack a box when my lower back seized. I have since gulped Aleve and now have a close relationship with a heating pad.

On the plus side, most of what we need is unpacked and in place. Everything else can wait a while.

My advice? Move every three or four years. Less stress and a lot less junk to pack.

I have also come to the conclusion that this is our last home. My next move will be to either the assisted living facility or the funeral home.

As you read this I will be in Atlanta for the Georgia Romance Writers Moonlight & Magnolias Conference. My book, The Good Twin, was selected as a finalist in the Single Title category of the Maggie's Contest. I'm very honored to have finaled. I was planning on attending this year anyway, so maybe it's a sign of good news to come.

Hope you all are easing into Fall. I'm looking forward to experiencing four seasons again and can't wait for Thanksgiving and Christmas this year. I'll be around family for both holidays for the first time in five years.

Have a great day and I'll be back next month with more of my adventures.

Suzanne

Setting As A Character by Suzanne Rossi

Hi, everyone.

I just want to take a moment to wish you all a wonderful Memorial Day and say thank you to the men and women in our armed forces. You do a great job and I appreciate it.

The two things that drive a good book are characters the reader can relate to and like, along with a plot that takes us on a journey around each and every bend of the story. Some authors are character oriented, adjusting the plot to fit the characters' actions. Occasionally, characters take on a life of their own and go with it. Not much the author can do except follow. Other writers structure the plot so that the characters must act and react to the situation. Both are effective, although as authors we must make sure one doesn't overtake the other. A great plot with weak characters is as unsatisfying as great characters following a weak plot line.

But there's one other thing that can drive both--the setting. Believe it or not, the setting of a story can project both elements of character and plot.

For instance, in my first book, Along Came Quinn, I set most of the story in Guatemala. I took a city girl, hooked her up with an adventurer (yes, opposites attract), and off they go to Central America to search for lost treasure. If this sounds a lot like Romancing the Stone, it is. I love that movie, and while my story is similar, it does have a nice plot twist.

At any rate, back to the setting. Have I ever been to Guatemala? No, and I'm not likely to go anytime soon. If you are going to use an exotic place but have never been there, then do extensive research. Find out the political atmosphere, tourist spots, food, rural life, the weather, the language(s) spoken, the customs of the people, and the flora and fauna. I'll bet I had close to fifty pages of notes in a folder by the time I finished. I used, perhaps, two pages in the story.

In Nearly Departed, I invented a dilapidated Antebellum mansion as the catalyst to bring my hero and heroine together. I set the story in Northern Mississippi, a locale I know. The house became as much of a character as Cybil and Max, not to mention the ghosts inhabiting it.

My book, Deadly Inheritance, was set on a Caribbean island that I imagined as a cross between Jamaica and Barbados. I used the size, food, and location of Jamaica, but since I had vacationed one year in Barbados, I utilized the physical features and the people. It was a blend that worked well. I had one reader tell me they felt like they were there the whole time. Always a good thing to hear.

At one point in time, I worked first as a dealer of blackjack and roulette, then later as a floor supervisor at a casino in Tunica, Mississippi. It became the setting for Death is the Pits. I brought my personal knowledge of how casinos are run (as opposed to should be run--there was a difference), the gamblers I have known, and how the games are played to this story. Adding a couple of bodies along the way was just plain fun.

For The Good Twin, I adopted my brother-in-law's lake house in North Central Illinois as one of the houses in the book. I'm not sure if it was really a character, but the ambiance was what I wanted to achieve. The real lake area works well as my fictional one for the suspense of prowlers in the woods, and intruders by water.

So, the next time you pick up a book, pay attention to the setting. Do you feel like you're there with the characters? Is it a place you might like to visit? Can you identify with it in some way--your hometown, your favorite relative's home or city, or where you currently live? If so, then the author has done his or her job.

Before I let you go, I want to celebrate by sharing with you the blurb and cover of my next book, Killer Conference. It's the second book of a series I call The Snoop Group. Book #1 was A Novel Death. I don't have a release date yet, but will let you know when I do.

"Anne Jamieson and her critique partners are once again thrown into murder and mayhem while attending a writers conference. Anne starts to believe she is a dead body magnet when she finds obnoxious agent, Carmella Radcliff, stabbed to death in the ladies room. This brings Detective Gil Collins onto the scene. Anne was hoping for a relationship when he was the lead detective on an earlier case she helped investigate, but lies and secrets drove them apart. The Snoop Group as they have named themselves, decide to assist again, but then, a second agent is killed. The conference offers a long line of suspects and motives. Was it the best-selling author? A disgruntled editor? An angry agent? An attendee whose work was rejected? Or someone else? Time is running out and the conference will only last so long. Amid the commotion, can Gil and Anne rekindle the spark from months ago before the murderer claims Anne as a third victim?"

One more thing. May marks my first anniversary as a member of this blog team. I want to thank Caroline Clemmons for inviting me to join such wonderful authors. I've loved participating and look forward to a long relationship with them and the readers of Smart Girls Read Romance.

Thanks to all, and I'll see you again next month.

Suzanne Rossi