The Wild Rose Press Makes a Splash at Moonlight & Magnolias

For the first time, The Wild Rose Press had a presence at Georgia Romance Writers’ Moonlight &

Magnolias annual conference. And they made quite an impression.

Rhonda and RJ came down and took the conference by storm. Rhonda had two days of back-to-back meetings with authors at the Editor & Agent appointments. She also conducted a workshop called, “Ten Ways to Lose an Editor,” and was featured on two Editor and/Agent Q&A panels. RJ was on hand to answer the many technical questions that inevitably come up about publication.

In addition, The Wild Rose Press sponsored our conference bags and they were amazing. Of course, Rhonda lamented that they weren’t pink, but they were green (my favorite color). The bags were very sturdy and I will definitely be hanging on to mine.    

The first thing Rhonda did Friday morning at breakfast on Day 1 of the conference, was to go around to each table and introduce herself. Sounds simple, but no one has ever done that in the history of our chapter conferences as long as I have been attending. That gesture endeared her to the conferees right away and everyone commented on how personable and approachable she was and the fact that they loved the conference bags.

I think their participation did a lot to enhance The Wild Rose Press brand. I know a lot of people were excited about submitting to The Wild Rose Press.  

Personally, I had only communicated by email to Rhonda and RJ, and I finally got a chance to meet them in person. That makes all the difference, putting a name to a face and cementing relationships.

Rhonda and RJ and their authors went to dinner the night before the conference. Authors attending included Melissa Klein, Robin Weaver and Suzanne Rossi. We had an opportunity to meet each other and sit with Rhonda and RJ at different meals and events.

Perhaps the highlight of the weekend for me was the 2014 Maggie Awards for Excellence. I was nominated in the Published Novel with Strong Romantic Elements category for my TWRP humorous women’s fiction, Significant Others. Although I didn’t win, being a Maggie finalist was an honor. And Rhonda and RJ were on hand to share it. Thanks also to my wonderful editor, Nan Swanson.

We had great speakers throughout the weekend, ranging from Marie Force, Wendy Wax and Roni Loren and three days of craft workshops on a variety of topics. We also had an author signing for Literacy and I got to sign my new TWRP humorous women’s fiction, Stones.

Moonlight & Magnolias is always a great conference, but this year, because of the participation of Rhonda and RJ, it was even more memorable. If Rhonda or RJ are ever in your town, take the opportunity to meet with them. Better still, invite them to your local chapter conference or to present at a chapter meeting. They will make you proud to be a Wild Rose Press author.

By Marilyn Baron

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