Old Men in Speedos: RT Convention, Day 1 #RT14

After a long car trip filled with poor food decisions, we arrived in New Orleans a little after 7pm Tuesday night. Despite getting stuck in awful traffic in Baton Rouge, the car trip wasn’t a total loss: myself and one of the other writers kept ourselves busy with word wars and each wrote a couple thousand words on new projects.

We got over to RT just in time for the New Adult slumber party. Our timing was so good that we walked right in as everyone began lining up, and we got a prime spot for early entrance. The New Adult party was loud and raucous, with everyone having lots of fun playing college games like flip cup, beer pong, and never have I ever. The hosts also had an impressive number of door prizes to raffle off throughout the party.

After some swiftly downed candy and wine at the New Adult party, we headed down to the bar to meet up with Karina Cooper, who writes paranormal romance and is just as lovely in person as she is on Twitter. She spoke up as another person willing to help host an informal #QueerRT14 gathering this week, and I’m thrilled to have her on board.

The YA party started a little after 10pm, and in retrospect, a glass of wine and a Pimm’s Cup might not have been the best pre-game choices for that particular event. During introductions, each of the author hosts shared one of their fears, and perhaps the most memorable one was “old men in speedos,” which went on to become a recurring theme of the night. Each table had the opportunity to write a ghost story by passing the paper around and each person adding a sentence. Those who have played that game with me before know how dangerous it is when I’m involved, and needless to say, our story came out thoroughly deranged. It made use of rainbow speedos, a gyrating guy brandishing a cat, and some anatomical references I shouldn’t repeat.

All in all, it was a fun start to the convention and a preview of what I’m sure will be a crazy week to come!