My Harlequin Moment: Amy Knupp

Being an author is the coolest thing.  We get to work in holey sweat pants and our favorite oversized sweatshirt.  Like it or not, we quickly become the center of attention whenever someone innocently asks what we “do.”  We receive paychecks to, well, make stuff up.  Let’s face it, for having such a solitary, unglamorous career, we sometimes get the best star treatment outside of Hollywood.

I have many favorite Harlequin moments racked up in the three years since I sold my first book.  Of course the biggest one was the first sale, but I’m betting a lot of authors will write about that because it’s such an unforgettable, mind-blowing moment.  So instead, I’m going to tell about my first dose of star treatment…the annual Harlequin party at RWA’s national conference.

I sold my first book to Superromance on July 6, 2005, just three weeks before RWA that year.  So picture me in Reno…I’m still floating from The Call.  It’s my first conference ever, the first time I’ve seen hundreds of authors at once, first time I’ve actually met so many of the writers I’ve glommed, admired, and appreciated. 

I’m wearing my pink first sale ribbon, taking workshops from New York Times bestsellers, meeting my online writing friends for drinks and getting caught up talking to them for hours. I’m sharing elevators with agents, spotting editors in the coffee line.  I’m running on very little sleep because I’m afraid to miss anything.  Basically I’m having the time of my life.  (And, bonus, I can write it all off!) 

By Friday evening, I’m exhausted, and my nerves are jumping full force as I ponder the impending Harlequin party.  Luckily, author Suzanne McMinn has taken me under her wing and already arranged to ride to the party with me, otherwise I might have holed up in my room with a good book (and probably fallen asleep before nine.) 

I make my way down the elevators to the lobby to meet Suzanne.  A few others join us in the cab to the party.  I’m too tired to drag myself out of my shell, so I just sit back and listen to the others talk.  We arrive at the hotel where the party is and walk in to an amazing set up.  Dim room, disco ball, music pulsing.  Bars around the room with free-flowing drinks, a sinful, gourmet chocolate bar, and hundreds of people in sparkles, straps and heels.  I soon find my new friends from Supers, Kay Stockham and Suzanne Cox. 

The powers that be of Harlequin do their annual presentation of awards, and then the music is cranked up.  Not fifteen minutes later, the dance floor is overflowing with mostly women and a random y-chromosome here and there. 

My memories of the evening are scattered because it was such a surreal event (not because of the free-flowing drinks, thank you.)  I remember author Deb Salonen welcoming us newbies, spending time talking to us.  I remember spotting Nora Roberts at a table with her friends (celebrity sighting!) and later, sharing the dance floor with Nora herself.  (I was technically across the floor from her.  With my friends.  She was with hers.  But we were dancing together.)

I remember taking a moment and looking around at all the people, thinking, these people are all published authors.  How cool is that?  And even cooler, I’m now one of them!

I recall talking to the awesome Superromance editors and then being dragged to the dance floor with them.  And I remember staying until the very last song, until the DJ kicked us out and refused to play any more music.  Kay, Suzanne and I each acquired one of the blue feathers that were used in the décor…mementos of our first Harlequin party.  (Mine was on my bulletin board for months, until we moved.)

The parties keep getting better every year.  They’re one of the highlights of my conference each time.  And these we get because…well, because we’ve spent the year sitting at our lonely desks, staring at the monitor, arguing with characters, whining to the keyboard, and making stuff up.

I’ve got a very cool job, indeed.

About The Author:

Amy Knupp lives in Kansas with her husband, two sons and four cats.  She graduated from the University of Kansas with degrees in French and journalism and feels lucky to use very little of either one in her writing career.  In her spare time, she enjoys reading, buying books in excess, traveling, kickboxing, watching college basketball and playing addictive computer games.  Her next book, The Secret She Kept, will be out in January 2009.  To learn more about Amy and her books, visit her website at www.amyknupp.com.