Romancing The Genres Down Under

Last weekend I was lucky enough to attend the Romance Writers of Australia conference in Sydney, at the amazing Sofitel Wentworth hotel. It was a bit spesh, a lot posh...crystal chandeliers in the seminar rooms and Moet Champagne apparently on tap. To put it simply, I was in my element!

Glitz. Glamour. Prestige... killer tag line! 

A gangette of romance writers descended and took over, adding a splash of colour and life to the place, starting with the Tuxedos and Tiaras Cocktail Party on the Friday night. This is a chance to dress up, mingle and be merry. While sipping (necking) Moet, of course.

I met up with a few old friends and some awesome writers I only know from Facebook and Twitter. Some of the notable names were Jackie Ashenden and Maisey Yates, Rachael Johns and Amy Andrews. Anne Gracie was a terrific evil queen and I was just a girl in a tux and tutu who looked like she forgot her pants, with a tiara (from eBay) for all the sparkles. Plus I met some zombie brides...and that's a tale for another day!

Me in the middle, with Miranda Morgan and Samara Parish. 

Seminars to get the wheels turning

The next day we were into the serious stuff -- professional development you simply can't get anywhere. I gained a lot of in depth information in the seminars on character development by Kelly Hunter, and on pre-writing from Christine Wells.

Both of these incredible writers offered a window into their own methods, such as studying research on character traits and archetypes, the meaning of names (including cultural associations) and using research tools such as Pinterest and music playlists to spark inspiration. I'll be going back through my notes from both of these sessions to soak up some ideas.

Women's fiction or women-centered fiction? 

As a writer who's dabbling in women's fiction, the panel discussion on this topic was super interesting. Have you heard of the term, 'alpha protagonist'? I hadn't, but now I get it. In a genre centring women's stories and experiences, sometimes a group of usually female characters gets a point of view (POV). This can be handled by making one character the alpha, central POV, or alternatively in could be an ensemble cast with equal time on the page for each character.

Women's fiction panel: Rachael Johns, agent Hayley Nash, Christine Wells, Lisa Ireland and Victoria Purman. 

The Big Night

The Awards Dinner was fabulous food-wise, as you would expect at a 5 star venue. But it was all about the nominees and winners...

Here's a list but my apologies if I've forgotten anyone, and congratulations to:

Novella - Cassandra Dean

Emerald - Rachel Armstrong

Emerald Pro - Fiona M Marsden

Romantic Elements - Ebony McKenna

Short Romance - Kandy Shepherd

Long Romance - Emily Larkin

Romantic Book Of The Year - Jodi L Perry

Legendary inspiration 

A highlight of the last day of the conference was a panel of RWAus legends -- members who have been around and seen it all, and survived. Valerie Parv was remembering the time before RWAus existed, when there was just an Australian chapter of RWA (in America). Others on the panel, such as Alison Stuart, discussed the importance of persistence. It took her 25 years to become an overnight success with multiple international book deals!

I'll be trying to get back into my writing in the next few weeks, since life has got in the way lately. Let's hope the wisdom I absorbed at the Sydney conference will flow out of my brain, through my fingertips and bleed out onto my keyboard. But not in a gross, zombie bride way...

For more info on the conference including notes on the awesome keynote speech from Kate Cuthbert of Escape Publishing (Harlequin Australia), I recommend a hop across to romanceaustralia.com or author Renee Dahlia's blog.  Oh, and more pics are on my Instagram!

About Cassandra O'Leary 

Cassandra O'Leary is a romance and women's fiction author, winner of the global We Heart New Talent contest and finalist in Romance Writers of Australia and Romance Writers of America contests. Her debut novel, Girl on a Plane, was published in 2016 by HarperCollins UK and was a top 50 iBooks bestseller in the UK and Australia. Her indie published Christmas romcom novella, Heart Note, was released in November 2017 and was a top 50 Amazon bestseller in Holiday Romance and Humor Fiction in several countries. Cassandra is currently trying to write all the things while being distracted by the internet and drinking coffee in Melbourne, Australia.

Read more at cassandraolearyauthor.com

Love Gone Wild Down Under! by Cassandra O'Leary

I’m a new Genre-ista and I’m so pleased to be joining the blog this month with a round-up of happenings in Australia. A little about me: I’m a romcom and women’s fiction author, and my first novel, Girl on a Plane, was published by Avon Books/HarperCollins UK in 2016 after I won the We Heart New Talent writing contest. I love coffee, wine, movies, and hanging with my two little boys (and one big boy).

From 11-13 August I was lucky enough to attend the Love Gone Wild conference run by Romance Writers of Australia in Brisbane. I don’t think I’d be underestimating if I said the effect of the weather on my mood was magical. Goodbye, frosty Melbourne! Hello, sunny Brisbane! It’s winter in Australia, but I don’t think anyone told Brisbane.

As soon as I arrived on the Friday afternoon, I shucked off the multiple layers of Melbourne clothes and enjoyed the sunshine and 28 degree C temperature. And the super swish room at the luxury Pullman Hotel and my two fun room mates didn’t hurt either.



My attempt at a 'boudoir' photo in the fancy room at the Pullman Hotel, Brisbane. 

Love Gone Wild cocktail party

Then it was a chance to get ready for the Love Gone Wild cocktail party, a costume or fancy dress event that’s always a hoot! It was amazing to see some of the wild animals let loose. Check out the pictures below, I’m sure you’ll see what I mean!



My author friends Stefanie London, megastar USA Today bestselling author, and Lauren James (a former Genre-ista) on the prowl, looking like the pussycats they are.

Authors were mingling with each other, some unrecognisable in animal onesies and body paint. Another bestselling author, Amy Andrews, was looking fierce as a tiger! But she didn’t scare me...



Me and Amy Andrews, who actually had sequins glued to her face, no joke!

Business Hub

Over the next two days I set about learning lots of new information from the fantastic guest speakers in the new Business Hub stream. This was a new concept for the RWAus conference and a popular one. Whether authors are thinking of self-publishing or simply want learning more about online promotion, there was valuable information for everyone.

The content from Google, Draft2Digital and iBooks left my head spinning…but in a good way. I came away with heaps of things to research and study. I’m looking forward to implementing some digital marketing and promotional ideas over the next few months.

Top Tips from Google at RWAus

• Visit the Google self-study site named Digital Garage. 
• Videos and tutorials can help you learn about Google AdWords (advertising on Google and across the web) and Google Analytics (analysis of statistics about your website). 
• Improve your discoverability by being 'everywhere' online. Try creating a Wikipedia listing for yourself, guest posting on blogs, etc. 
• Make sure your author website is mobile ready. Try running your author website through Test My Site. It checks your website's download speed plus it offers suggestions for improvements. Handy!

There was a lot of talk in general about the growth of mobile devices and phones for reading, so this information was very useful.

Awards Dinner and Butterfly Ball

The Awards Dinner and Butterfly Ball on Saturday night was a great chance for all the authors, publishers and other industry guests to eat, drink and be merry, just for a change. :)

Later we got to shake our tail feathers, at the Escape Publishing after party following the formal awards. The soundtrack rocked, with Love Cats and Eye of the Tiger and all other animal themed songs making an appearance.



My friend Savannah Blaize and me all glam at the Awards Dinner. 

The RuBY Award Winners

The Romantic Book of the Year or RuBY Awards are the biggest on the Romance Writers of Australia calendar. This makes up the formal part of the evening, when awards are presented to finalists and winners across many different categories, from Aspiring and Emerging awards to the books judged most outstanding by an expert panel of industry experts. 

Congratulations to the winners and so many talented authors who were nominated. I was just so excited to be there, cheering on some outstanding writers.

For RuBY Award winner Amy Andrews, the honour was special because she shared it with her sister, Ros Baxter, as they were co-authors of the winning Romantic Elements book, Numbered.

"Winning a RuBY is such an incredibly special experience. To share that accolade with your sister and fabulous co-author? That is the cherry on top! Being together at the awards gala when our names were read out is something I'll never forget," said Amy Andrews.

Amy Andrews and Ros Baxter with their RuBY Award for Numbered.



Avril Tremayne, winner of the Long Romance and Romantic Book of the Year awards.

The big winner for the evening was Avril Tremayne, whose book Escaping Mr Right, won both the Long Romance category and the overall Romantic Book of the Year. I loved this book, so I was so glad Avril was recognised with the awards.

"I occupied myself during the early part of RuBY night with trying out my 'I'm ridiculously ecstatic even though I didn't win' face on whoever would let me - not joking! Being a finalist alongside some seriously wow-calibre authors was humbling in the extreme. I have no idea what I actually looked like when Escaping Mr Right not only got the gong for long romance but was also named Romantic Book of the Year, but I'm guessing 'stunned' mullet' might be close to the mark!" said Avril Tremayne.

At my table of Melbourne Romance Writers Guild members, we were so excited for one of our group, Miranda Morgan, who finalled in several emerging author contests and won the Ripping Start contest. According to Miranda, she made a plan and stuck to it throughout the year, aiming for writing contest success. 

"At last year's awards dinner I sat in awe as several of my amazing writing friends and critique partners accepted awards. Perhaps it was the wine, or the glittery dresses and low lighting, (did I mention the wine) but I realised that I really wanted to be part of it all. There is no better feeling than standing amongst your peers and to receive validation that you're at least on the right track," said Miranda Morgan.

Miranda Morgan and fellow award nominee from the Melbourne Romance Writers Guild, Janis Linford.

Networking like a #LoveArmy

Most of all, the conference was a chance to network with like-minded romanciers, the fabulous (mostly) women writers who focus on the positive, the good, the love in the world. Something we all need right now. Someone on Facebook mentioned that Romance Writers of Australia is like an army of love. I totally agree and propose we all need #LoveArmy buttons.

Special mention to Marion Lennox

The keynote speaker on Saturday morning of the conference, and recipient of the RWAus lifetime achievement award, was the amazing Marion Lennox. Marion has written and published an astounding 115 books and was a truly inspirational speaker. She spoke about the need to find your magic as a writer, the thing that makes you truly happy, which resonated with everyone.

I also loved her tip about buying special writing boots with heat pads for writing in the cold weather. Tax deductible too!

If you’d like to see more RWAus conference photos, please hop across to my blog with lots more photos, or check out my Instagram feed. The hashtag is #rwaus17 if you’d like to take a look.