BACK HOME FROM THE RWA 2019 CONFERENCE! (From "Newt Kincaid Blogspot" July 27, 2019)

I am home from the RWA Conference and I was fortunate to have witnessed a historic moment. But before I get to that I want to mention two wonderful experiences I had.

First, I rode the elevator with author and queen, Brenda Jackson. I waived and smiled at her like some silly fangirl. She smiled back at me and actually spoke to me for a bit. She then touched my elbow on the way out of the elevator. I have chosen to think of that brief touch as Brenda Jackson blessing my writing career. In reality, I know it was probably just accidental contact caused by her exiting a crowded elevator. But I choose to think of it as a deliberate blessing she bestowed upon my elbow, which will lead to me finishing my book and becoming a best selling author. I have accepted this as gospel and will not entertain any other explanation.

Secondly, I ran into author Alyssa Cole on the escalator. She is one of my favorite authors and she was as sweet as can be to me. I wish I had mustered up the nerve to ask for a picture with her. I think she would have said yes. The only thing that would have made this conference more perfect is if author Beverly Jenkins had attended and I had run into her in the lobby or something.

The other glorious thing that happened is that yesterday, for the first time EVER, a Black person won a RITA Award. Actually two Black women, Kennedy Ryan and M. Malone, won RITAs yesterday. Romance Writers of America, which ironically was co-founded by a Black woman, had never had a Black RITA winner before.

Besides witnessing history at the RITAs, I got to see my melanated sisters show up and show out. A group of them were dressed in red and they looked all kinds of fabulous! The camaraderie among them was palpable. As I sat at the table next to them, watching them cheer on their sister writers, I felt so proud. I hope to be part of that group some day.

Which leads me to another wonderful discovery I made. There is an author named LaQuette whom I met earlier at the conference after I won a raffle. She gave a beautiful speech at the RITAs about the importance of diversity in the romance genre. Her words were poignant and profound.

It turns out that she is president of the New York chapter of RWA! Say what?! I had already decided that I was going to join my local chapter and now to find out that this gorgeous, eloquent woman is the president, is incredible.

One of the other surprises I experienced at the conference was learning how many indie authors there are in the romance genre. I never realized that indie publishing was a viable option for authors, but there were quite a few indie authors nominated for RITA awards. It is good to know that there is another option out there for when I finish writing my story.

Overall I am seriously glad I attended this year.