RomantiCon - a tantalizing tradition

I just attended my third RomantiCon #Rcon13, hosted by Ellora's Cave -- http://ecromanticon.com/. Due to a weighty personal problem, I wasn’t in the mood to go this time, but since I’d signed up months ago and committed to doing a workshop, I decided to follow through. I’m so glad I did. All the fun and excitement distracted me from everything else. After all, who has time to think when wondering: Which shade of lipstick should I wear? Which shoes? Which Caveman do I want to photographed with?

My room was perfect, and since we had just about the entire hotel, there were no noisy tourists running up and down the halls. The food was great. I finally met the authors I’d been wanting to meet, such as Jayne Rylon, Laurann Dohner, and Sabrina York. Am hoping some of their superstardom drifted over to me by osmosis!

And now I can say I’ve got a workshop under my belt. Eve Vaughn and Koko Brown did the Fabulous Fusion workshop with me to celebrate EC’s interracial line of books. By the time everyone left the room, bonds from laughter, fun, learning, and deep sharing had been formed.

RomantiCon has the best book signings too. Like last year, my books were flying off the table. I got to chat with author Alexa Day. She knows all about Jamaica and I happen to be writing a book set there. How lucky is that? Rodney and Diamond were entertaining emcees, making the time pass quickly. Because authors were arranged by first name this year, I got a front-row view of the Cavemen’s dance performance. What a treat. Kudos to Nick Soto for his stellar choreography.

We got to learn some of those moves from Nick and Ace at zumba, which is so much more fun than sitting at a computer all day. This year they did it for two days. I participated on the first day, but on the second I just planned to take pictures. Well, I couldn’t stay in my seat for more than five minutes, so I joined in, jeans and all. (Luckily, they were stretch jeans.) After that, I learned some new yoga moves and how to belly dance.

Last year, the fantasy photo shoot was all new to me. This year, I was prepared, sporting 5-inch heels. It’s a good thing I wore them because I chose two tall guys to pose with, DeAngelo and Axl, the new guys on the block. Hopefully, the picture will inspire me to write another book as last year’s photo with David did.

And how about those parties! I love the themes. My belly dance outfit was a fun sewing project I worked on over the summer. My favorite night, though, is the Thursday meet and greet. I’m a big karaoke fan and made sure to practice this year ahead of time. When the DJ remembered me from last year, a wonderful feeling of familiarity came over me. RomantiCon isn’t just a one-time fun thing. It’s an annual tradition. I got the same feeling of déjà vu while having breakfast with Lisa Foxx and Sara Brookes.

To me, the Cavemen make it extra special. Each is unique and adds to the experience. I finally introduced myself to Justin and realized what mesmerizing eyes he has. Shy and sweet Ace was my backup dancer for karaoke again. Nick always inspires me to dance. Taylor has such thought provoking Facebook pictures. Axl is basic male, no frills needed. DeAngelo won the Alpha Caveman title, and it was well deserved. Wonderfully charming and polite, he made me feel like the belle of the ball. I think I danced with him every night. (I need to find out the name of that cologne he wears and buy a gallon of it for the hubby.)

I had no idea my convention experience would end on such a high note on bingo night. Because it was my birthday, I’d dropped a few hints earlier. When ten o’clock drew near, however, I was sure it would be forgotten. When Rodney said, “Guys, line up,” to the other birthday girl, I felt even worse. My name never sounded so good when Rodney called me up front. I got to “celebrate” with most of the guys, and we were all wearing our jammies. Sigh. What a dream!

Is RomantiCon YOUR tradition?

Afton Locke

Unlock your fantasies…
www.aftonlocke.com
Stripper With Spice - coming soon from EC!