Recap by Jennifer Carole Lewis
Every June, the Ottawa Romance Writers’ Association gets together and spends an afternoon laughing, celebrating one another’s achievements and enjoying each other’s company. This year was no exception.
Hosted at Lucy Farago’s lovely home, ORWA members quickly settled in to trade suggestions, ideas and share anecdotes. We swapped opinions on various conferences, from local events to the big RT Booklovers Convention and RWA National Conferences. We talked honestly about sales and the support we receive from our various publishers. We shared recommendations for editors, layout, book tours and advertising options. And we supported each other as we talked about the challenges of managing a work-life balance and pursuing our dreams.
This year, we had a special treat. Leslie Brown had arranged for a professional photographer to come in and do new author photos for those who were interested. She also arranged for a professional hair and makeup artist to bring us from great to gorgeous. Many of our members took advantage and ended up with some fabulous new photographs.
We also celebrated Alexa Bloom’s first book with the Indie First Book Award. Our executive put together a beautiful frame with her book cover and a certificate. Alexa thanked everyone, sharing how grateful she was to be part of a supportive group like ORWA and how much it meant to her to join the ranks of published authors.
Our President, Christine Enta, also took the time to recognize several of ORWA’s volunteers: Leslie Brown for providing snacks and refreshments during our meetings and Eve Langlais for stepping up to the challenge of getting our newsletter out. She also thanked our Board of Directors: Anne Lang, our Treasurer, Colantha Welker, our Secretary and Lucy Farago, our Vice President.
After a group photo, it was time to begin heading back to our own homes and lives for the summer. But I know that we’re all looking forward to meeting up again in September.
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