My Resignation

I don’t tend to air my grievances publicly, and in my professional life, I stay out of most conflicts and drama, preferring to observe before I draw conclusions. However, in this case, I have decided to speak out.

After careful consideration, I have decided to withdraw my membership from my national writers organization, the Romance Writers of America. As a result, I will no longer be able to maintain my membership with my local chapter, the New Jersey Romance Writers, since membership in the national organization is required.

I do this with a heavy heart. However, I can no longer be involved in an organization that repeatedly treats writers of color and of diverse backgrounds as less worthy than its white writers. I have watched the national organization make significant and egregious errors multiple times, and each time I decided to give it the benefit of the doubt, since no one is perfect and we all make mistakes. However, despite giving it numerous chances, it continues to treat marginalized writers poorly and show a preference for white authors.

I won’t stand by and watch that happen. There is entirely too much hate in this world for me to let this go by unchecked. I won’t pay money to support an organization that does this. There is guilt by association, and I do not want my continued membership to be looked upon as tacit agreement or complicity in its actions. Therefore, I am announcing to my fellow writers and readers that I am no longer a member of the Romance Writers of America.

I hope to be able to join them again in the future, when and if they overhaul their practices. I have truly appreciated the wealth of knowledge and experience the organization has given me. And I’ve loved meeting so many talented writers. But until the organization changes its practices in a measurable and consistent way, I’m on my own--but in very good company.

It's Conference Time

If you know any romance writers, chances are you’ve heard us talking about writers’ conferences—if nothing else, you’ve seen photos of the shoes we’re planning to bring (lots, and way more than we could possibly wear). But just in case I’m the ONLY romance writer you know, let me clue you in.

This week in New York City is the Romance Writers of America’s annual four-day conference. It’s a big deal. There are famous writers who speak—Nora Roberts, for example; workshops on everything from what not to do at a conference—don’t accost editors and agents in the bathroom—to how to market your books to how to self-publish; and pitching sessions, where we get a chance to talk about our manuscripts to our dream editor and agents in the hopes that they’ll love them as much as we do. 

It’s exhausting and inspiring and filled to the brim with noise and people and food and workshops and drinks.

I’m not officially going this year. Despite its proximity to my house, the timing doesn’t work for me. So instead, I’m taking the train into the city on one of the days to mingle in the lobby and meet up with writer friends I only know via social media. Plus, I’m having dinner with my editor—there are about 30 of us and we’re having a pizza party in her hotel room. Just picture that many romance writers in one hotel room. Together. Oh boy.

And, it means I can wear whatever cute shoes I want. They don’t have to be comfortable for four days of walking; just comfortable enough to get me from the subway to the hotel. I will be eating more food than I’ve ever wanted, since I’m meeting up with people throughout the day and each meeting seems to involve a meal and/or coffee. I might jet out to a museum to take up some downtime between unofficial appointments. And I’ll probably join the multitudes of writers sitting in the lobby, hogging an outlet as we charge our computers and write. 

Writing is a solitary experience. We spend most of our time alone at home on our computers. So when we have the chance to mingle with other writers, even the most introverted of us takes the opportunity. Besides, there are few other people who understand our quirks and can banter along with us about sex scenes without getting arrested or written up for inappropriate workplace talk. 

Chaos

There’s chaos everywhere. As expected, the Mueller report was released and will now cause even more debate as both sides debate, well, everything. Great Britain doesn’t know what the heck it’s doing and Canada’s gorgeous PM is plagued by scandal (Canada? Really?).

When the world goes crazy, I retreat into Romancelandia. Except there too, there is chaos. The Rita Awards finalists were just announced, and once again, we have a problem with underrepresentation of authors of color. The fact that not a single author of color has received the award in its 37-year history, despite exceedingly qualified candidates is a problem. A huge problem. A judging problem. One that the RWA Board is working on, but nevertheless, a huge problem that should never have gotten this far. I have several good writing friends (white ones) who have finaled in this contest (the equivalent of the Oscars in the movies) and a few who have won. They all deserved it and I’m so excited for them and proud of them. But there are many authors of color who are as good or better and who deserve it just as much. 

Interested in who I’m talking about?

Beverly Jenkins: http://www.beverlyjenkins.net/web/

Alyssa Cole: https://alyssacole.com

Sonali Dev: https://sonalidev.com

Alisha Rai: http://www.alisharai.com

Michal Scott: https://michalscott.webs.com

Robin Covington: http://www.robincovingtonromance.com

There are plenty more. Try someone new. Try someone different. Step out of your comfort zone. 

And regardless of your politics, race, gender, or beliefs, stand up for what’s right.

I'm A Finalist!

I received some exciting book news over the weekend: In the Moment is one of five finalists in the Published Mid-Length Novel category of the Stiletto Contest, sponsored by the Contemporary Romance Writers, an online specialty chapter of the Romance Writers of America.

I never do well in contests. Ever. So I was incredibly surprised to find out that I am a finalist. I was also surprised that of the three books I entered, In the Moment was the one they liked. It happens to be my favorite book, but it gets my worst reviews. Whatever, reading is subjective, you can’t please everyone and at least one person liked it enough to make it a finalist, so whomever you are, thank you!

The other finalists in the contest—both in my category and in others—are an incredible group of writers. I know several of them and am honored to be in their company. I don’t expect to win, and for me, being a finalist is enough, so I’m pretty happy. The winners will be announced at an awards show toward the end of July in Denver at the RWA conference. I won’t be in attendance, but I’ll be paying attention and cheering my fellow author friends on.

Also, a big thank you to everyone at The Wild Rose Press who helped publish the book. I really appreciate all of you!

And can I just tell you how appropriate the finalist graphic is for me???? I mean, look at those shoes!

In case you’re curious about the book, here’s some info:

Cassie Edwards, a former foster child, purchases an 1870s Victorian mansion, the one home from her childhood where she felt like part of a family. She’s spending her summer lovingly restoring it, with dreams of one day raising a family of her own here. 

Rayne Tucket, a photojournalist, is haunted by the death of his best friend in Afghanistan, a death he thinks is his fault. He survives day to day. Forever is not in his vocabulary. Swearing off photography, he answers an ad for a handyman—mindless, no emotion involved.

As the two of them renovate her house, can Cassie show Rayne that love is strong enough to heal all wounds?

Links:

Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Moment-Jennifer-Wilck-ebook/dp/B073XYRMG7/

Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/in-the-moment-jennifer-wilck/1126972509?ean=2940158847929

The Wild Rose Press: https://catalog.thewildrosepress.com/all-titles/5219-in-the-moment.html?search_query=jennifer+wilck&results=6

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RWA15

I just got back from my first Romance Writers of America National Conference in New York City. 2,000 romance writers took over the Marriott Marquis—I’m pretty confident we raised a few eyebrows of the other guests, although we were in Times Square, so maybe not—for five days of networking, workshops and events.

It was great!

The smart elevators did not outsmart me and elevator conversations were a lot of fun.

Random man in super crowded elevator: You can fit. Suck it in everyone!

RWA lady: We're dressed for the awards and wearing Spanx. We can't suck it in anymore.

Everyone else: And we're romance writers. You don't want to continue this conversation!

I roomed with my best writer friend and we still like each other. We ate yummy food and discovered new restaurants. We might have offered to marry the cute waiter who gave us a bowl of coffee, but I was really tired at the time and don’t fully remember.

There were a ton of workshops offered and it wasn’t possible to go to all of them. I had hoped to get some really good information on marketing, but those workshops weren’t particularly helpful. However, there were some great ones on different writing tips, such as conflict (and then…and then…but!), subtext (taught by a writer who’s first language is not English but who has won multiple writing awards for her English-language romances—I would have wanted to kill her but she was really nice, as well as hilarious), and characters (taught by Susan Elizabeth Phillips).

I skipped the keynotes because they were really early in the morning and I’ve heard many of them speak before. They’re awesome speakers, but I needed my sleep. I escaped from the crowds by hanging out in the New York Public Library, absorbing the solemnity of the building and the love of learning that was built into the walls. It was surprisingly noisy but the architecture was beautiful.

I saw a romance cover model up close—a little disturbing but wow, the muscles! I ate breakfast in the same space as Eloisa James. And I met a Twitter friend for the first time and we found each other, despite knowing neither names nor faces! And my shoes made it into a blog!

It was a fabulous time and now I’m looking forward to taking what I learned and applying it to my writing. I’m inspired, I’m grateful and I’m exhausted!