It’s day three of the Romance Novel Convention in Las Vegas, and it’s been a blast so far.  Although my son is still in the hospital back home in Georgia, I’m a little calmer about not being there with him.  I’ve been reassured that he does not have a fever or anything of that sort and is not sickly.  He has a severe rash, and the doctors are trying to figure out what the source is.  He is still smiling and acting like his normal self.  At first I was imagining him sickly in the hospital and needing his mommy (or I need him), but he’s been too busy watching the television that he doesn’t even want to talk to me.  It seems I’m not needed (breaking my heart).

Last night was the costume ball, and Melissa and I dressed as Alissia and Anika from Unexpected Metamorphosis.  She was not happy about the unruly wig she had to wear, and the freaky, purple contacts I wore were NOT comfortable at all.  Near the end of the ball, we went back to the room, and she got rid of the wig while it took thirty minutes for me to get those blasted contacts out of my eyes.

We’ve met some amazing women at the convention, and I’m learning a lot and getting some great ideas.  I’m now considering writing a novella or two later throughout the Alissia Roswell series.  That’s a drastic change from a novel, but I think I can manage the challenge.

This morning we had to leave our classes and began an evacuation in the hotel, but before we made it out the door, we found out that it was no cause for concern.  The Starbucks downstairs had an accident with their blender, and it set off the alarm.  Maybe it woke some of us up a little, because I know I’m starting to feel the lack of sleep from this week.

I’m posting some pictures, and I hope you enjoy.  Also, I want you to meet some fellow fantasy authors.  Please be sure to check them out.

Melissa was ready for the meet and greet party Wednesday night.  Isn’t she cute!

Melissa has got some moves!  She was rocking it.

Meet Raven Raye and her daughter .  Raven is another fantasy romance author, and you can learn more about her and her writing by clicking here.

The night of the ball.  Although Melissa despised this wig and my purple contacts were killing me, it was a great night.

We tried to look like Anika and Alissia from Unexpected Metamorphosis, but this was the closest we could get.  It didn’t go as well as I imagined.  I promise Alissia looks so much better in the book 🙂

Author Raven Raye and her beautiful daughter Megan.

Lindsey J Parsons’ paranormal romance got a five star rating from Ind’tale Magazine, and you should click here to check out her series called Return of the Effra.

Megan, Raven Raye, me (my freaky eyes), and Lindsey J Parsons.

My five-year-old son had a mark on his back Saturday that resembled a mosquito bite.  Although he had scratched at it heavily, it was no cause for concern, and my best girlfriend and I boarded a plane early Monday morning and went to Las Vegas for the Romance Novel Convention.  Although I’ve greatly enjoyed the last two days and today started off with smiles of anticipation for the beginning of the convention, I am now a frazzled mother wishing I were back home holding my son in his hospital bed.

It seems his rash has grown, and my husband took him to Urgent Care last night.  They did not know what the rash is from, so they gave him medicines to fight both viral and bacterial infections.  Today my son got a second rash, and my husband thought it was an allergic reaction to the antibiotics he started last night, so he took little John Isaac to his pediatrician.  Now my son is admitted into the hospital with IVs, and my husband is way out of his element.  He also has my 11 and 9-year-old daughters with him at the hospital.

My entire family is spending the night in the hospital, and we don’t know what is wrong with my son just yet.  Meanwhile, the convention just began, and all I want to do is be with my little one, who has never been in a hospital.  My mind is in two very different places now, but I’m taking a deep breath and waiting to find out more from the doctors.

I guess I now get the full effect of being a working mother.

Melissa and I have now been in Vegas for two days, and although the Romance Novel Convention doesn’t start until today, we are tired.  We got here Monday morning after a night of very little sleep and last minute packing on my part.  We then spent the day walking around Fremont Street, which was quite interesting and very different.  By the time we went to bed that night, we had been up for over eighteen hours, and we were exhausted. Yesterday, we spent the day walking the main strip of Las Vegas, and with the weather being over 100 degrees, we were drained of our energy very quickly.  We drank lots of water, did some shopping, and although Melissa doesn’t like spicy food, she agreed to eat at Emeril’s New Orléans Fish House.  Cajun food is one of my weaknesses, and I devoured a Caesar salad, bowl of gumbo, and the largest piece of banana pie I’ve seen in my entire life. We then went to see the musical called Menopause, where we cried with laughter.  By the time we got back to our hotel room, it was well past midnight, and we were exhausted to the point that we did not leave our room until after noon of today.  We were starving and needed a buffet.

The convention officially begins today, and authors are beginning to pour into the hotel.  Tonight is the meet and greet party, and we are looking forward to meeting many of the other authors.  I got to see my banner for Unexpected Metamorphosis for the first time, and I’m very pleased with how it turned out.  Jera Publishing has done an amazing job with working with Canton Walk Publishing in designing my book cover and marketing materials.  I can’t wait to see how the next book cover turns out.

I’ll continue to post updates and pictures as best I can.  Thanks for all my supporters and followers.  This has been an amazing year for me.

This restaurant on Fremont Street boasts of unhealthy eating.  The diners wear a patient’s uniform while being served by waitresses dressed in nurses’ uniforms.  No, I definitely did not eat there, but it was quite interesting.

In the evening, a light show begins in the tunnel of Fremont Street, and things begin to get a bit lively.

This is how Melissa started her Tuesday morning, all perky and smiles.  It was a different story on the way back to our hotel.  We were exhausted, and our feet and back were killing us from all the walking we had done that day.

This is inside one of the hotels on the strip of Vegas.  They all have a different theme.

This hotel and casino was filled with shops, and the ceiling was painted to look like clouds in the sky.  It has a strong Italian theme, and I did not want to leave.

Paris in Vegas!

Jera Publishing did an amazing job with the designs I use for my marketing and cover.  I highly recommend their services.

Just two more days until I leave for Vegas for the Romance Novel Convention.  My dear friend Melissa will be with me, and you may recognize her name from the front section of Unexpected Metamorphosis.  Not only is she like a sister to me, but she helps to keep me in line when it comes to writing.  Once I’m finished writing for the day, I always email her a copy of what I have typed.  Then, I wait patiently (not) for her to respond.  Although I do the writing, she always has a say in what gets deleted, and a LOT gets deleted.  There were many times I typed away all through the night, only to delete the entire night’s work since it did not meet her standards.

It also helps that she is from the North, and I’m from the South.  She continuously lets me know if I’m typing southern, which happens a lot.  Here’s an example of some of our conversations:

Melissa:  “You can’t type that.”

Me:  “Why not?”

Melissa:  “It’s from the South.  People from the North won’t know what you mean.”

Me (a little defensively):  “That’s not southern.  Everyone knows what that means.  It’s universal, Meliss.”

Melissa:  “I never heard of it until I met you.  It’s southern, and you can’t type it.  You can say it this way…”

Me (more defensive, but I make the changes):  “Now it sounds northern!”

Those were the easy conversations.  The hard ones were where I had to delete an entire night’s work, because it did not pass her inspection.  I can honestly say Unexpected Metamorphosis would not be half of what it is today without her.  She keeps me in line.

So now we are packing for Vegas, and she will be by my side at the convention.  Although we don’t live in the same state, she’s flying out of Atlanta with me, so her family is here for the weekend while we get ready.  That means our husbands are watching the children while we go shopping for new clothes, and my bedroom is covered in women’s clothing as we empty our shopping bags and sort through my closet.  Kids are laughing throughout the house, and our husbands are enduring.  Life is good!

I plan to blog while in Vegas, so stay tuned.  I’ll post pictures and try to give details of what it’s like to be at the Romance Novel Convention.  As for today, Melissa and I plan to take the children to the pool while the men go mountain biking.  Then, it’s off to more shopping and having our nails done.  At some point, we really should finish packing.