Adventures at RT Booklovers Convention 2015 Part 1!

rt convention logo

Hello readers! I have returned from all the excitement and bookish goodness that was the RT Booklovers Convention 2015. The event was held in Dallas, Texas which was quite the journey from Michigan. My overall feelings about RT?….

Source

It was amazing, exhilarating, and beautiful all at the same time!

Sorry these posts are so late! I would have written them sooner, but I had some scheduling problems. You’ll be noticing some RT themed posts here and there and in each post I’ll be breaking down my day-to-day experiences at the convention. I’ll be sharing highlights and even giving tips for those of you that may attend RT next year.

Day 1: Wednesday (May 13th)

IMG_0011

After going to bed late the night before, only having about five hours of sleep, and getting on a 8am flight, I was exhausted before I even got to RT. My mom and I (yay! mother-daughter trips!) checked in at the Hyatt Regency about 12pm, and though we were pretty tired, we were equally excited. I was instantly enamored by the hotel’s modern, sleek looks, and enormous size. Lots of readers, writers, and authors were everywhere in the hotel, chatting it up.

IMG_0023
Outside of the banquet rooms, where many panels were held.
IMG_0047
View of the bar area, from the balcony outside our room.

Upon checking in at the hotel we also received these sexy room cards.

IMG_0010
Our room keys! Hello handsome!

After dropping off our stuff of at the room we checked in with the convention registration and got these nifty tote bags filled with books and swag. After that, we decided to stop by the goody room and pick up three books (the maximum limit) out of a sea of beauties. I’m not gonna lie, it was hard to choose.

IMG_0034
Bags given to attendees who had full registration!

The first panel of the day was “Sample the Sweet, Sassy & Spicy Flavors of Romance”. The event featured lots of sweet treats and books which were provided by the attending authors. Some of the authors featured were Cora Cormack, Colleen Coble, and Molly Harper.

2015-05-13 13.48.21
Got an autographed novel from Cora Carmack! She was super friendly and nice!

The next stop was the “Mad Hatter Tea Party”. The event was hosted by authors Grace Draven, Tameri Etherton, Rebekah R. Ganiere, Elizabeth Hunter, Jeffe Kennedy, and LH Nicole. Each person was able to pick up one book by the hosts and we enjoyed author trivia as we dined on candy. We also received got goody bags full of tea, bookmarks, and many other things.

The second to the last panel of the day was “Take a Walk on the Historical Side!”, which was a pretty awesome event. Attending authors such as Hilde McQueen, Heather Graham, Sharon Page, and Elizabeth Hoyt were dressed up as people from different historical periods. Basically it was one big costume parties for the authors.

Each of the tables were period themed and were decorated with objects from that time. I sat at the Roaring 20s table where I got to enjoy some delicious Charleston Chews. I also got to chat with authors, snap some pictures, get some autographs, and mingle with other readers.

Another added bonus? A goody bag filled with wine, snacks, and you guessed it…bookish swag!

The biggest palooza of the day was the “Taste of Texas Romance Rodeo”! Hundreds of people filled the room decorated in cowboy fashion! There was tasty BBQ food, social mingling, and “kissing booths” where authors handed out promo items and swag. Best of all they had “bull riding” and line dancing to add to the fun!

IMG_0054

IMG_0058
Another brave volunteer getting ready to conquer the mechanical bull!
IMG_0068
What’s a rodeo without some country music and a little line dancing?

*Note: While I was in line for the rodeo, I got the chance to be interviewed by Buzzfeed and got featured in this article! Check it out!

http://www.buzzfeed.com/ariannarebolini/misconceptions-romance-readers-want-to-clear-up-right-now#.wvJ8DqjyX9

By the end of the day, we were both exhausted! I had heard many times about how big RT really was, but when I got there I was still very overwhelmed. There was so much to see and do, and I was unsure of what to do being an RT newbie. I will say that everyone was very friendly and very helpful in giving us tips for the convention.

A busy day to start off my convention experience, but I enjoyed every bit of it.

Stay tuned for the events of day 2! 🙂

*All pictures except the RT logo and gif were taken by me with a Canon camera and my Android phone

THIS BLOG claims no credit for any images posted on this site unless otherwise noted. Images on this blog are copyright to its respectful owners. If there is an image appearing on this blog that belongs to you and do not wish for it appear on this site, please E-mail with a link to said image and it will be promptly removed.

2 thoughts on “Adventures at RT Booklovers Convention 2015 Part 1!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *