What fun I had at the NOLA Stars conference! Not only did I have almost 72 hours of uninterrupted gossip and brainstorming time with my good friend, author Lynn Lorenz, but I also met a whole ton of new authors and the charming and entirely hilarious Barbara Vey.
Barbara Vey
For those of you who don’t know Barbara Vey blogs about romance for Publisher’s Weekly – http://barbaravey.com/books/. Barbara’s workshop had us in tears we laughed so hard, particularly when she spoke of how the blog started and the possible names for the blog – The Nipple Notes, The Breast of Barbara, The Vagina Vignettes – OMG, we had to hold our sides.
I also had the pleasure of meeting two amazing authors, Mandy Harbin and Parker Kincade.
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Mandy Harbin (left) and Parker Kincade
Isn’t the cover scrumptious?
The lovely Mandy Harbin has a few books under her belt and is remarkably diverse with her writing – and her website’s intriguing – check Mandy out at: www.mandyharbin.com
We had lunch with Kerri-Leigh Grady, the Editorial Director of Flirt and Ever After at Entangled Publishing and Winne Griggs of the NOLA chapter, the conference chair, and a terrific host.
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![IMG_0932[1]](https://jiannecarlo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/IMG_09321-300x224.jpg)
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The Becca Ladies
Not only did I meet a bunch of wonderful, talented women, but I also managed, thanks to Lynn, to satisfy my crawfish cravings! Yep, four meals in three days – a crawfish boil, crawfish stew, crawfish etouffee, and crawfish pie!!! We ate twice at Becca’s Restaurant and these lovely ladies and Lynn helped me decide what to eat.
But the best part of the conference was the three-hour drive with Lynn Lorenz from Houston to Shreveport and back. Nothing more wonderful than spending time with a good friend. ![IMG_0936[1]](https://jiannecarlo.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/IMG_09361-300x224.jpg)
The only thing that would’ve made it better was if the fabulous Georgia Woods, who started the two of us on our writing careers and friendship, had been with us – we missed you Georgia!
Have a wonderful Monday!
Cheers,
Jianne
Sounds like a great time was had by all.
Yeah – we had a terrific time, Jane. Thanks for dropping by!
This was a lovely post! All those pics just brought it all back like it was yesterday! Hey! It was only two days ago!
I miss you already! We had a blast and such fun driving around Shreveport looking for Shane’s Crawfish!
After Jianne finished off three pounds of crawfish, she was a pro at suckin’ heads and pinchin’ tails! Aaaaiiiii!
OMG Lynn – let’s do two novellas – Suckin’ Heads, Pinchin’ Talis – we just need one more and we can get Belinda roped in too.
Man, did we have a blast or what! My one consolation is that RT is in New Orleans next year. Heck, I swore I wouldn’t go again ’cause of how rotten they treat e-authors, but who can resist the lure of N’awlins AND you showing us around? Not me.
I miss you too!
It was so good to meet you, Jianne! I had a blast hanging out and chatting…and the drinks were good too! 🙂 Looking forward to seeing you again.
Back atcha Parker – too bad you’re not going to RT!
Jianne, I’m so glad you enjoyed your time at the conference – we work hard to see that there is something for everyone! And yes, Barbara is a great lady!
The hard work paid off Winnie! You did a great job! It was so lovely to meet you.
Sounds as if you had a great time Jianne. Never have had crawfish, but you sure make them sound good. 🙂
They are Leela – and I’ve only had them about three times before this trip, so it was a bonus I didn’t expect. And I have to thank my good friend, Lynn Lorenz, who went out of her way to ensure I got my crawfish boil!
Thanks for sharing the pics Jianne! Looks like fun was had by all!
It was Timitra – I also found out that they can fry anything in the South!