CR Spring Blog : Just another WordPress weblog

We are taking applications for speakers and discussion group leaders.
The deadline for submission is October 11th 2007. To be chosen as a
speaker or discussion group leader you must be registered and paid in
full by October 11th 2007.

Submission Guidelines:
Please submit via email to csolyn@rakehell.com your full name, what
genre’s you write in, and up to three 20 min speaker topics. If you
plan on partnering with anyone else please include the above info for
them as well. Topics MUST BE READER FRIENDLY. CR is not looking for
recycled author talks. This is a fan event. Trust me, readers don’t
care how to write the perfect hero and such. Successful talks in the
past have been everything from a show and tell about Japanese culture
and Kimono and What makes a book into a wall banger, to the strange
sex habit of animals and historical costume. Think outside the box.

If you haven’t, sign up for the general “CRspring-news” Newsletter
on the side of this page be sure to check in at this blog periodically
since we Blog a lot of info here, and if you want to hear all the
chatting about CR activities and who’s coming sign up for “CRspring”
chat group.

Any question email csolyn@rakehell.com

I have great news! Ever since March, we have been working on finding a way to continue Celebrate Romance for another year. We had such a great time in Kansas City, we just couldn’t let CR die. And thanks to Leanne and the other CR volunteers, we’ve been able to make arrangements for CR 2008.

Next year’s CR will be held in Columbia, South Carolina, from Friday February 29th to Sunday March 2nd. We looked at several other dates, but we ran into conflicts with other events in the area, as well as other romance events. But March in Columbia should be much warmer than it was last year (no snow!)

We looked at several cities in the Southeast, but settled on Columbia because we found a great hotel, the Inn at USC, which is a small hotel near the University of South Carolina. It combines the best of both worlds - it’s small enough to give us individual attention, it’s not too expensive, they have great meeting rooms, and it’s located in the downtown area near lots of shops and restaurants. And they have great food! I need to double check the rates with Leanne, but if I remember correctly, we have a room rate that’s similar to last year’s cost.

We already have two fabulous keynote authors signed up - Sabrina Jeffries and Stephanie Bond. We’re thrilled to have such great authors already! And we’ll have many more authors signing up in the months ahead, so stay tuned! If you are an author and want to find out more, you can email Cybil at csolyn@gmail.com and she’ll give you all the details.

It’s very important that next year’s CR is a success. If CR is going to continue to thrive, we need to find new ways to bring in new attendees, especially readers. We love our authors, but we need more readers to go with them! We’ve been brainstorming to come up with new ways to publicize CR and spread the word about how much fun we have every year, but we need your help. If you have ideas, please send me an email - I’d love to hear from you! karen@crspring.com

The web site will be updated once we have more specific details. (Be sure to sign up for the newsletter if you haven’t already.) See you in Columbia in 2008!

Karen

I just wanted to thank everyone for a wonderful weekend.  It was so much fun for all of us to see our hard work come together.  It was great to see new relationships forming as the weekend passed.  Forming friendships is what CR is all about to me. 

 As many of you know, CR attendance has been declining over the years.  Since Karen, Cybil, and I took over the conference,  I’ve been putting money into the conference to keep it alive.  Circumstances dictate that I can’t do that anymore.  We had decided that 2007 was going to be the last year as much as it saddened us to make that decision.

When people heard the news, several authors came forward with ideas to save CR.  I’d like to hear ideas from all you about attracting more readers.  I’d be especially interested in attracting younger readers.  That’s not saying that all of us are old:) but we need to keep bringing in more people if CR is to survive.

One of the ideas from authors was to combine CR with an RWA chapter conference.  While it has it’s advantages, we’ve decided against it for 2008.  The concern is that we would have to condense CR to one day.  Can you envision that?  We don’t run out of topics to discuss in two days; keeping it to one day boggles my mind:). 

 The new schedule flowed very well and we will keep it for 2008.  Please contact me with any ideas of activities or topics for discussion that you would like to see. 

 Thank you again for all the support and the fun.

In just under two weeks, CR will be starting.  I’m psyched.  How about you?  We have some fun times planned and Kansas City is a great place for us to be.  Now, if the weather will just cooperate, we’ll be all set. 

We’ve juggled the schedule this year so that there won’t be so much sitting on Saturday.  We’ve moved some talks to Sunday and shortened the time of the booksigning.  All this in response to the comments we’ve received over the last two years. 

 My life has been in constant upheaval since last fall.  In desparation, I quit my job without a new job lined up and the job hunting isn’t going my way right now.  I had surgery to correct some sinus issues and so I’m focused on CR giving me some sense of normalcy.  Like that is going to happen, right?  Ha!   

 Having dumped all that on you, I’m here to say that I have so many blessings in my life and my CR friends form a large part of those blessings.  The years of attending CR have given me life long friendships that have given me the strength to face adversity.  There is nothing more fulfilling than knowing that I can call on any one of them for help and they will respond positively. 

 CR has enriched my life in many ways.  I’ve learned things that I would never have experienced otherwise.  How to plan a conference, interacting with hotels and other businesses in way I would never have dreamed of years ago.  The friends are the best part of though.  I love knowing that I can travel to almost any part of the country and have a friend there that I can contact for directions, restaurant suggestions, and UBS information. 

 Like Karen, I’m a bookstore addict.  It’s a sometimes uncontrollable desire to see what goodies I can find.  Dancing in uncontrolled glee when I find a really rare book and knowing that friends will share the joy when they hear the news.  What could be better than that?

 We’ll see you all soon.  Remember to check out the website for the Kansas City airport if  you have any questions about where you may be coming in. http://www.flykci.com/ 

For shuttles, don’t forget this site.  www.kctg.com

 Remember to count your blessings as we approach a new CR.

I have a confession to make.  I’m a bookstore junkie.  When I go into a bookstore, particularly a used bookstore, I just can’t control myself.  There’s something about those dusty shelves, the dimly lit aisles, the smell of a good book… the thrill of finding a rare Mary Balogh or Carla Kelly book… before I know it, I’ve got a basket full of books to add to my overflowing TBR pile.

But the CR advanced book trade is here to save me.  By participating in the ABT, I get to find books for other people – how virtuous!  It doesn’t solve my problem with my overflowing TBR pile, since for every book that I find for someone else, a book gets found for me.  But it means I get the fun of “book hunting” for those hard-to-find books, while still getting books for myself!

I’m already planning a trip to my favorite used bookstores this weekend.  Although the book trade only started a few days ago, we already have more than 40 requests.  You might be surprised at what the book hunters of the CR book trade can find for you! 

If you want to join the CR advanced book trade, just check the book trade box on your registration form when you register (or email me at Karen@crspring.com).  You’ll also need to join the book trade list, which you can find under “newsletter signups” on the right side of the page.  I’ll send you more information on how to get started.

You can be a book junkie too! 

Karen