Monday in Maryland - There's something about Barbara Vey

United States Naval Academy

Last week, the Maryland Romance Writers (MRW) hosted Barbara Vey as their guest speaker.  From her website (link),

As Contributing Editor for Publishers Weekly for 7 years, Barbara Vey left to start her own website with the goal of bringing readers and writers together. She is the recipient of the 2012 RWA Vivian Stephens Industry Award and 2013 RT Melinda Helfer Award. Barbara has created the ultimate reader experience with the Barbara Vey Reader Appreciation Luncheon held in Milwaukee, WI every April. An avid reader, Barbara consumed a book a day before taking on the glamorous life of a roving reporting. Traveling all over the world to conferences from Romance to Thrillers, Mysteries to Horror, Historicals to Comic Con, her love of Romance and the Happily Ever After keeps her grounded while she offers readers a place to step away from life's daily trials to take a positive journey through the world of books.

Barbara shared her journey from author cruise to Publishers Weekly to the reader luncheon. She entertained the audience with her own "Lucy" moments while finding readers along the way. Barbara's enthusiasm for life in general, but reading in particular, was infectious to the entire audience. She offered examples of author branding and reader connections. Check out the tweets from the meeting at this link.

I invited Barbara to stay with me over the weekend so I could share the sights of Washington, DC. After our tour of the Pentagon, we joined Diana Belchase (link) for a driving tour of the Marine Corps Memorial, Fort Myer, and the Air Force Memorial. We ended the day at the Chart House in Old Town Alexandria. On Saturday, we visited the United States Naval Academy in search of a few good men and women serving our country.  We found John Paul Jones, "father of the American Navy".

Midshipman in front of the
US Navy Submarine Centennial Monument

Before this weekend, I had a casual acquaintance with Barbara. Back in 2008, Mary Gramlich (link) recommended I check out Barbara's blog on Publishers Weekly - it was a refreshing change to the snarky blogs dominating Romanceland. I attended Barbara's reader luncheons in 2014 and 2015 at this link, link, link, link, link, link, and link. I advocated for more luncheons like Barbara's at this link.

After this weekend, I have found a kindred spirit in this reader advocate. During the meeting, Barbara explained the importance of always carrying a business card and even a book. She shared several examples of how she gave away books to others in restaurants. As we left the meeting, Barbara noticed MRW members left books they received from conferences on a table for other members to take. Since we were the last to walk out of the conference room, Barbara grabbed the leftover books and gave them to the receptionist at the community center. She discovered the receptionist's daughter worked at a local library where books were always welcome. Barbara demonstrated there is always pockets of readers to discover.

I recommend any writer's group to invite Barbara as a guest speaker to a meeting or conference. I also encourage authors to request an individual consultation from Barbara - she is attending RWA in San Diego. Connect with Barbara at this link.

Mahalo, Maryland Romance Writers, for inviting Barbara to Baltimore!

Annapolis Book Store

I am giving away a book choice from my convention stash. To enter the giveaway,

1. Leave a comment about "author event" you have attended - book signing, luncheon, convention, or passing by on the street. What made it special?

2. Comments are open through Saturday, March 26, 10 pm in Baltimore.

3. I'll post the winner on Sunday, March 27.

Mahalo,

Kim in Baltimore

Aloha Spirit in Charm City

Navy personnel patrol Annapolis Harbor