NOLA inspiration

I went to New Orleans at the beginning of this month for EPICon. I have to be an awful person and admit that I pretty much only went because of the location. I LOVE New Orleans. I'd only ever been there once before, about 10 years ago, but the trip was memorable enough for me to think of it fondly.

I'm happy to say that I'll also remember my second trip fondly. I stayed with my critique partners Ally Blue and Jade Buchanan and spent most of my time with them. We arrived on Tuesday, two days before the actual conference, because we wanted to see some of New Orleans. The hotel was just blocks away from the French Quarter so that was awesome. We had coffee (ok, I had cocoa) and beignets at Cafe du Monde. They had po boy sandwiches and blackened fish and I had my favorite crawfish. And, yes, two nights of our stay we did do Bourbon Street. I'm happy to say that even though we were shaky, we did make it back to the hotel safe and sound both nights. During the conference, we met up with some other friends: Laura Baumbach, Lucynda Storey, Rick Reed, Jolie duPre, ZA Maxfield, GG Royale... I know I'm missing people and I'm sorry about that. The conference was great, although I don't tend to do workshops much.

Now, about the inspiration. There were SO many pretty boys there. Oh. My. God! From the cutie at the hotel desk, to the street magician with the fox tail, to the adorable young man who worked in the sex shop. New Orleans was full of them. Ally, Jade and I spent hours in one bar on Bourbon Street just watching the show on the dance floor. It was awesome! I might have to move there just to bask in their gorgeousness.

2010 EPIC's eBook Competition

EPIC is ramping up for our annual EBook Competition, one of the premier contests in the e-book and e-publishing world. Please be sure you read ALL of EPIC’s 2010 EBook Competition Guidelines as some of you may be surprised by the changes that have been made to the competition this year:

• Codes and Divisions: Please be sure you understand how this might affect your entry.


• Entries must be an “as sells” e-book with a publication date between October 1, 2008 and May 31, 2009.


• Entries must be submitted in non-DRM PDF format.


• This competition is inclusive for GLBT (Gay, Lesbian, Bi, and Transexual) works; meaning EVERY category is open for this style of writing.


• EPIC’s EBook Competition will open for submission entries from July 15, 2009 through August 15, 2009 midnight (CST) ONLY.

Mark your calendar for March 4 – 7, 2010, and come join us in New Orleans, Louisiana for EPIC’s Annual Conference. This is an excellent opportunity to mingle with artists, authors, publishers, and industry professionals while learning more about e-books and the e-publishing world. You can be one of the first to learn the competition’s NEW name and see winners accept their awards at EPIC’s Annual Conference Gala Award Ceremony banquet.

Please check www.epicauthors.com for more information.

And remember: the competition opens 12:01 am, July 15th and closes to entries 12:01 am, August 16th.