On and Off the Page

/ Olivia Dade / 21 Comments
A picture of Olivia Dade as a relatively young child, maybe 7 or 8, in a ruffled white shirt and mauve vest and skirt. She is smiling, with very chubby cheeks.
Me, around the time I began reading romances

One of the great joys of romance novels is their fundamental optimism. They reassure us that obstacles—everything from lingering childhood hurts to zombie apocalypses—can be overcome. That love can find us even under the most unlikely, humdrum, or harrowing circumstances. That happy endings are still possible, even in a very imperfect world filled with very imperfect people.

I’ve read romances since the age of seven or so, shortly after my mother pointed out the stack of dog-eared books in her closet and declared them off-limits. The next time I found myself unsupervised in the vicinity of her bedroom, of course, there was no stopping me. I basically dove headfirst into that pile of paperbacks.

I emerged transformed.

Continue reading →

A Baby, an Engagement, & Sex Emojis: The Lovestruck Librarians Epilogue

/ Olivia Dade / Leave a comment

Lovestruck Librarians

Tonight, I finally remembered that I hadn’t posted the epilogue for my Lovestruck Librarians series yet. So at long last, here it is!

The epilogue is about the length of a long chapter, and I had SO MUCH FUN with it. Based on fan feedback, I wrote it from the perspective of Angie, the bawdy, outspoken heroine of My Reckless Valentine. It includes an engagement, a pregnancy, and an extensive discussion of sex emojis. Yes, really. 🙂

One final note: Thank you, thank you, thank you to all the readers who’ve followed this series. I’m more grateful and honored than I can say. The Lovestruck Librarians books celebrate love and the power of female friendship, and they’ve brought me so much joy. I hope they’ve done the same for you. ♥

P.S. The link for the epilogue is below, and it’s a PDF. Enjoy!

Epilogue

Links to All the #notRWA17 Threads!

/ Olivia Dade / 3 Comments

I’m so sorry I haven’t posted this before now! The wonderful S.S. Jaxon gathered a list of all the #notRWA17 threads several days ago, but I was too distracted by a novella-in-progress to put the links on my blog right away. At long last, though, here they are!

Thank you again to all the presenters (and giveaway authors, commenters, and lurkers) who made our virtual conference so special. ♥

pages of a book curved into a heart shape

Not RWA Wednesday Schedule

Wednesday, July 26th:
No Dukes Allowed: Writing Unusual Historical Romances (Sandra Schwab)
Writing Tips from Soaps & Bollywood (Suleikha Snyder)
Demystifying Reviews (Ana Coqui)
Are Two Heads Better Than One? Tips on Working Collaboratively (Racheline Maltese)
Super Series Plotting: How to Plan a Series & When to Let the Plan Go (Michelle Boule)
Beyond Big Bang Theory: Writing Realistic STEM Characters (Abby Ryan)

Not RWA Thursday's Schedule

Thursday, July 27th:
Dark Art of the Blurb (Ainslie Paton)
Beyond Alpha: Writing Heroes Who Break the Mold (Emma Barry)
The Virtual Artist’s Toolkit—Tips & Tricks for Effective Description (Erin Satie)
Preserving Romance at the Browne Popular Culture Library (Steve Ammidown)
True North: Character Development in Romance (Mia Hopkins)
10 Tips to Meet Your Daily Word Count (Nicole McLaughlin)
10 Steps to Hitting a List (Zoe York/Ainsley Booth)

Not RWA Friday's Schedule

Friday, July 28th:
Salty, Sour, Bitter & Sweet: A Tasty Case for Writing Older Heroes (Mia West)
Reviving the Muse: What to Do When Your Creative Well Has Run Dry (Sandra Schwab)
Beyond Diversity 101: The No Fucks Edition (Suleikha Snyder)
Writing Romance While Single & Dating in a Swipe-Right World (S.S. Jaxon)
How Wishing (and Research) Makes Things Happen: Worldbuilding in Contemporary Romances (Stacey Agdern)
Navigating the Query Trenches and Beyond (Rachel Pudelek)
From Dispatch to Death Investigations: Law Enforcement from the Inside, Part 1 and Part 2 (Christina Alexandra)
Ways to Introduce that a Character is Trans (& Pitfalls to Avoid) (Xan West)

Not RWA Saturday's Schedule

Saturday, July 29th:
Plotbunny with Purpose (Sasha Devlin)
I Write Like Who? Using Librarian Skills to Market Your Book (Kelly Maher)
How to Woo a Blogger (Books and Joe)
Working 9-5 & 5-9 (Don’t Quit Your Night Job) (Maggie Wells)
The Care & Feeding of Magical (Author) Creatures (Sasha Devlin)

My Romance Romp Podcast (AKA Ramble-thon 2017)

/ Olivia Dade / Leave a comment

20170105_123935a

Kini and I in the offices of The Frederick News-Post (Kini’s the adorable one on the right).

Yesterday on Twitter, a lovely writer friend mentioned listening to the podcast I recorded in January with reader, reviewer, and podcaster extraordinaire Kini. Several other people then asked for the link and listened to the interview too. Which, incidentally, made ME click the link and listen, since I didn’t remember what I’d said! 🙂

Anyway, it occurred to me that I’d never posted the podcast link on my blog and website, so here it is: the Romance Romp podcast! I’m Episode 7, and there are many other wonderful episodes too.

If you want to listen to me chat with Kini about romance as both a reader and writer, or if you want to hear why I have such a hard time reading or writing alphahole heroes, or if you simply want to know what it sounds like when a grown woman giggles for an hour and twenty minutes, this podcast is for you!

(Note: Do I really sound like that? I guess I do, huh?)

Saturday’s #notRWA17 Schedule

/ Olivia Dade / 2 Comments

Saturday is the last day of our virtual conference, sadly. But we still have some wonderful threads throughout the day, as well as a HUGE numbers of authors giving away books! Have fun! ♥

Not RWA Saturday's Schedule

AM prompt: Pics of #notRWA17 conference clothing (AKA pajamas)
PM prompt: Productivity/procrastination-beating tips

Twitter threads:

10 a.m. EST: Sasha Devlin (@SashaDevlin) Plotbunny with Purpose

11 a.m.: Kelly Maher (@kmmaher) I Write Like Who? Using Librarian Skills to Market Your Book

Noonish: Books and Joe (@booksandjoe) How to Woo a Blogger

1 p.m.: Maggie Wells (@MaggieWells1) Working 9-5 & 5-9 (AKA: Don’t Quit Your Night Job)

2 p.m.: Sasha Devlin (@SashaDevlin) The Care & Feeding of Magical (Author) Creatures

All day Saturday: Giveaways Featuring 50+ Authors!

Not RWA author giveaways

To enter the giveaways, simply visit the Twitter feeds of participating authors and follow their instructions. They’ll use the #notRWA17 hashtag, and we’ll circulate a graphic with their names. Also, their names and Twitter handles are listed below. (Out of alphabetical order, because I’m feeling a wee bit lazy. Sorry.)

1. Olivia Dade (@OliviaWrites)
2. Karen Booth (@karenbbooth)
3. Ainslie Paton (@AinsliePaton)
4. Ruby Lang (@RubeLang)
5. Maggie Wells (@MaggieWells1)
6. Aislinn Kearns (@ardentaislinn)
7. Manda Collins (@MandaCollins)
8. Emma Barry (@AuthorEmmaBarry)
9. Cecilia London (@authorclondon)
10. Lydia San Andres (@lydiaallthetime)
11. Linda Poitevin (@lindapoitevin)
12. Jodie Griffin (@Jodie_Griffin)
13. Sandra Schwab (@ScribblingSandy)‏
14. KJ Charles (@kj_charles)
15. Sara Rider (@SaraRider42)
16. Nicole Locke (@NicoleLockeNews)
17. Mia Hopkins (@MiaHopkinsxoxo)
18. Susan Scott Shelley (@Susan_S_Shelley)
19. Maggie Chase (@TheMaggieChase)
20. Mia Sosa (@miasosaromance)
21. Jocelyn Adler (@JocelynZombie)
22. Andie J. Christopher (@authorandiej)
23. Seressia Glass (@seressia)
24. Megan Frampton (@meganf)
25. Sue London (@cmdrsue)
26. Alexandra Haughton (@WriterAHaughton)
27. Amie Stuart (@chronic_mom)
28. Kelly Maher (@kmmaher)
29. Amy Quinton (@AmyQuinton)
30. Shannyn Schroeder (@SSchroeder_)
31. Laurie Benson (@LaurieBwrites)
32. Christine d’Abo (@Christine_dAbo)
33. Felice Stevens (@FeliceStevens1)
34. Sabrina Sol (@theromancechica)
35. Nicole McLaughlin (@nicolemauthor)
36. J. Margot Critch (@juanitamcritch)
37. Melanie Ting (@MelTing21)
38. Cynthia Diamond (@CinsDiamond)
39. Michelle Boule (@wanderingeyre)
40. J. Suzanne Frank (@JSuzanneFrank)
41. Karyn Gerrard (@KarynGerrard)
42. Jen Gilroy (@JenGilroy1)
43. Lita Harris (@litaharris)
44. Kel O’Connor (@KelWriting)
45. Crystal Bowling (@crystalbooksit)
46. A.C. Nixon (@ACNixon_writer)
47. Arlene Hittle (@ArleneHittle)
48. Melissa Blue (@mel_thegreat)
49. Mia West (@miawestwrites)
50. Shae Connor (@shaeconnor)
51. Rain Merton (@RainMerton)
52. Ryvr Jones (@Nospheratt)
53. Kate Canterbary (@kcanterbary)
54. Sarah M. Anderson (@SarahMAnderson1)

Friday’s #notRWA17 Schedule

/ Olivia Dade / Leave a comment

We’ve had so many amazing threads already, but lots more are headed your way on Friday. 🙂 And as always, if I got anything wrong, please let me know!

Not RWA Friday's Schedule

AM prompt: Best traditional pubbing tips
PM prompt: Most inspiring writing quotes

Twitter threads:

11 a.m. EST: Mia West (@miawestwrites) Salty, Sour, Bitter & Sweet: A Tasty Case for Writing Older Heroes

Noon: Sandra Schwab (@ScribblingSandy) Reviving the Muse – What to Do When Your Creative Well Has Run Dry

1 p.m.: Suleikha Snyder (@suleikhasnyder)‏ Beyond Diversity 101, the No Fucks Edition

2 p.m.: S.S. Jaxon (@BooksbySSJaxon) Writing Romance While Single & Dating in a Swipe-Right World

3 p.m.: Stacey Agdern (@nystacey) How Wishing (and Research) Makes Things Happen: Worldbuilding in Contemporary Romances

4 p.m.: Rachel Pudelek (@rachelpud) Navigating the Query Trenches and Beyond

5 p.m.: Christina Alexandra (@AuthorChrisAlex) From Dispatch to Death Investigations: Law Enforcement From the Inside

6 p.m.: Xan West‏ (@TGStoneButch) Ways to Introduce that a Character Is Trans (& Pitfalls to Avoid)