RT Booklovers Convention 2017

The #RTRoadTrip

Jen Doyle and I were welcomed to the South by a frog with a pitchfork. (By the way, you can book this venue for your wedding, just in case you were wondering.) Our favorite ridiculous site was the Peachoid, a water tower that must have been engineered by Sir Mix a Lot.

Romantic Times Atlanta 2017 road trip by authors Jennifer Hallock and Jen Doyle


The People

There were so many people at #RT17. I met Lydia San Andres, my Edwardian Promenade co-blogger, for the first time, which was awesome. She was handing out authentic Dominican chocolate from Xocolat—not the only reason I love her, but a good one. I also saw Maita Rue, who flew all the way from the Philippines! I bought five decks of Talecraft cards off her, which will be the subject of a later post.

Authors Jennifer Hallock Lydia San Andres and Stephanie Kay at Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Atlanta 2017

I also fangirled all over Tiffany Reisz, Sonali Dev, and (of course!) Courtney Milan. I thanked Ms. Milan for her wonderful mention in Amazon Book Review. I’m still blushing. All three authors were so, so nice. It was such a thrill.

Yet it is the readers who make #RT17 so incredible—and the scantily clad male cover models in the bars. Check out the two ladies with “When I think about books, I touch my shelf” t-shirts. Or the pair of librarians with their circulation card bags. Or the costume pajamas at Dreamspinner’s Cinema Craptastique. I love it all.

Wonderful crowds at the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention in Atlanta in 2017


Swag

Wow, do people spend a lot of money on swag. Unfortunately, a lot of it ends up in the trash. It’s sad, but you collect so much over the course of the week that there’s no alternative. If you want to stand out from the crowd, swag-wise, you have to either give away books—see my amazing haul below, all but two of which were free—or give away an item that is both unique and useful. Next to Lydia’s chocolate, rubber duckies were my big winner. These will go to a friend who collects them.

Books swag neck wallets and rubber ducks from the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention 2017 in Atlanta

Oh yeah, and there were workshops. Learning happened! I will share some of the lessons I learned in my next post.


The way home

We passed the Peachoid again, and it looked no less obscene in the daytime. Really, what were they thinking?

The Peachoid of Gaffney South Carolina during the Romantic Times Booklovers Convention Road Trip 2017 to Atlanta

Tomorrow we will breakfast in Boonsboro at the inn owned by Nora Roberts before heading back to Boston. We hope everyone has safe travels home from #RT17!

Virginia is for Lovers sign at the welcome center on return from Romantic Times Booklovers Convention 2017 in Atlanta