wine on the keyboard

Blogs and Random Thoughts

by Kay~Kacey on 5/16/2005

So I’ve met some interesting people out in the romance writer blog community. People who I hadn’t stumbled across on the numerous lists and bulletin boards. Or maybe I had seen them, but didn’t remember it because I felt I didn’t KNOW them. You read a person’s blog long enough, you do get a sense that you know them somewhat. I enjoy reading both the aspiring authors’ blogs and the published authors’ blogs. In Reno I can’t wait to put some faces with names of people I’ve met through blogging.

Why do you blog? Is it for marketing? Getting to know people? Sharing your struggles on the journey to publication? Do you just like to hear yourself talk :mrgreen:

I feel about blogging the same way I felt when I found RomEX on GEnie. WOW, there are people just like me. :love: The same struggles. And they were there whenever I needed them. I could turn off the computer and not be bugged when I didn’t want to be either. How cool is that? A community of friends and support.

Now some of my writer friends I’ve known for 12? 13? 14? years. We were trying to figure this out the other day, but never came to a definitive answer. I keep thinking I’ll email RWA and see what year I joined…

How long have you been online with romance writers and where did you first find them?

Michelle May 16, 2005 at 8:01 pm

1992 was when I first discovered Romex. I LOVED it. I’d say that I’ve been active in the online community for 13 years now. Pretty amazing, huh? I think I met you back then, too. :beer:

Rene May 16, 2005 at 8:03 pm


Oh, good question. I started getting into the online romance community 2001 when I started to take my writing seriously. I started at about.com (it wasn’t about.com then, can’t remember what is was) and took part in their romance forum and I met my first cp. From there I joined Romance Central and got to know a lot of people there. Joined RWA and joined an online chapter. Some people collect stamps, I collect Yahoo groups. I belong to a few writing loops. Now, through blogging, I’ve met a few people.

I didn’t actually meet any romance writers face to face until I joined my physical chapter last year. I believe I am the only romance writer in my town.

kacey May 16, 2005 at 9:08 pm

Michelle, I remember meeting you a bunch of years ago. Before you were married. We were sitting at a table eating. You were working on your first historical. (and this way before I saw you again at the National in DC…where were we??)

Rene, are you going to Reno?

Rene May 16, 2005 at 9:24 pm

Alas, no I am not. I really planned on it, but it is really tough to find a babysitter for my kids. Hubby is self-employed, so he can’t take time off. My 2 year old is such a mama’s girl. I’m not sure she could take me being away 3 nights. Funny, I left my 5 year old for ten days when she was two and she didn’t miss me at all.

Michelle May 17, 2005 at 6:32 am

Kacey–that was Orlando, in 1997. And lord, I can’t even call that a real book. It was AWFUL. No storyline. Episodes and scenes, that’s all it was. Ugh.

Tori May 17, 2005 at 7:48 am

I’ve been online with the romance writing community since the early 1990s. Like Michelle, I think I found GEnie RomEx about 1992. May have been earlier than that. I can’t remember that far back! :mrgreen:

Even though I wasn’t technically writing romance, the romance writers on RomEx welcomed me with open arms. 🙂 The rest, as they say, is history.

I can’t remember when I first met some of the RomEx-ers in person. Was it the Kansas City Retreat, Kacey? I know that was when I first met you.

kacey May 17, 2005 at 8:02 am

Michelle, Orlanda. That was it. Man I had a cool room there with a patio surrounded by some bushes, but only a few steps from the pool.

Tori…I’d forgotten about the RomEx retreat in KC! Wasn’t that the best? Smaller size. Lots of energy and good info. I’m sure that’s where I met you. Do you remember what year that was?

Mary May 17, 2005 at 9:51 am

I blog because I like to connect with my readers and others, it’s fun, and it’s great for publicity.

Melissa May 17, 2005 at 10:46 am

I LOVE the blogs. I just started mine in March and really enjoy it. I also love reading other writer’s blogs.
I first jumped on the internet in 1999 when I quit my job to await the birth of my first child. The first place I went was Author! Author! which has now metamorphed into STWA.net I left it, though, because it was more the “literary” crowd and also because the flame wars were taking up way too much of my time. I then joined Romance Central and absolutely loved it. That’s where I met Rene. I didn’t meet any romance writers face to face until I joined my local chapter and that wasn’t until I moved to where I live now. We didn’t have a chapter in the previous place I lived – the closest one was four hours away.

Steph T. May 17, 2005 at 11:55 am

Hmmm, must think on this. I joined RWA two years ago, and I started the online romance community thing maybe two – three years ago. I didn’t know there were so many loops – I stayed mainly in Charlotte Dillon-land with the RWC list and crit group and from there moved into some wonderful crit groups.

But for me, blogging is much more fun than the lists -like you said – I found a community of support. And people who like to procrastinate as much as I do.:rofl:

Jill May 17, 2005 at 3:22 pm

I can’t remember when I first go online but I resisted forever, and am late to the scene … I’m glad I am finally here though.

Cindy May 17, 2005 at 8:33 pm

I joined RWA in 1992. I think I found Romex and Genie shortly after. I remember Orlando! Michelle and I were roommates. It was my first convention. I was so happy to find others like me.

I just started blogging in March too. I didn’t really pay much attention to them until then. Now that I’ve discovered them I love them. I find the same problem with blogging though that I did with Genie. There’s just so much good stuff to read. I don’t want to miss anything.

Sylvia Day May 17, 2005 at 11:45 pm

I joined RWA in Feb. 2004, but my involvement was only in reading the RWR. My site launched last June. I stared blogging June 26th. That was my first ever experience with meeting other romance authors. In Dec., after my first sale, I joined a couple online chapters. I’m looking forward to Reno and meeting in person some of the people I’ve met online. :beer:

Teresa May 18, 2005 at 6:52 am


I first got online around 2000-2001 era. I lurked on the eHarl boards for several months before joining the community. And was very active there for several years before I didn’t have the time to keep up. And once I started having more time I started my blog and started blog hoping. I joined RWA Online and FTH chapters of RWA as well as my local chapter.

But I learned so much from that great group of ladies at eHarl!

Larissa May 18, 2005 at 7:27 am

I’ve been online with the romance community for about five years. But I’ve only become really active in about the last two.

Suzanne May 18, 2005 at 7:35 am

1993. I joined Genie RomEx. I was like you–WOW! And how things have changed since then! I loved RomEx, but the internet is so much more cool and it’s changed and grown in ways I could never have imagined back then!

Tori May 18, 2005 at 9:16 am

Kacey, I want to say the KC retreat was in 1995, but I won’t swear to it. But it was a blast meeting all my imaginary friends! 🙂

And that Art Deco hotel was so cool!!!!

Sasha May 22, 2005 at 12:45 am

WHoo Hooo, You’re going to Reno!! I’d love to meet for a drink! I love meeting people who, like you say, you feel liek you’ve gotten to knwo over the internet. Oh, and I started with the blogging just over a year ago, but was on eHarlequin for about a year before that. 😆

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