10:00am
Check-in begins
10:30am
Break the Ice and Bling Your Badge!
Join award winning New York times and USA Today’s bestselling author Beth Williamson who also writes as Emma Lang for this fun-filled kick-off! Add sparkle, color and fun to your When the Heart Dreams badge while getting to know your fellow conference attendees. Make the badge your own and kick off the conference with a bang!
Facilitator: Beth Williamson, New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author
11:00am
Q & A with Rochelle Alers, Romantic Times Career Achievement Award Winner
12:30pm – 2:00pm
Queen Author’s Roundtable Luncheon
Dine with the Authors! Join our diverse panel of guest authors in an intimate setting for a Q & A discussion. In addition, you will have the opportunity to sit at an author hosted table and compete to create the ultimate "fan girl" story moderated by our honorary host and emcee, Elizabeth Michels to win fabulous reader prizes!
2:30pm – 3:30pm
Workshop: “For Love and Food” This workshop is back by popular demand!
Since the beginning of time, man has been motivated by two things: food and love. “For Love and Food” is a fun, interactive workshop that explores the relationship between food and love, and how they are connected. Participants will also learn how hormones and chemical reactions that affect our emotional attachments to loved ones are stimulated by food, and how these reactions heighten the sensations of well-being and comfort. Not for the bashful!
Facilitator: Andria Gaskins, author of “A Second Helping”
Andria has appeared on the Food Network and the Cooking Channels. She has a regular cooking segment on Charlotte Today, a local live lifestyle and entertainment show in Charlotte, North Carolina. Andria is the owner of Queen City Kitchen, an online shop specializing in baked goods and small-batch spice blends. Andria is currently working on her second novel and lives in North Carolina with her husband and their two boys.
4:00pm – 5:00pm
Workshop: “Dreaming Up Romance”
Where does an author get her story ideas? Join award-winning author Karen Witemeyer as she shares some of the secrets behind finding novel ideas for plots and characters. Then it's time to spark your own creativity . . . with CHOCOLATE! Using M&Ms to randomly generate genre, characters, tropes, and more, we'll laugh (and eat) our way through the invention process as we treat ourselves to a host of delicious romantic inspiration.
Facilitator: Karen Witemeyer, bestselling author of warmhearted historical romance with a flair for humor, feisty heroines, and swoon-worthy heroes!
7:00 pm – 10:00pm
"Book Signing Party!"
Join us as we mix and mingle with local and national authors at the book signing and party. This is your opportunity to meet the authors one-on-one, get your books signed and win door prizes all while in enjoying great food, a complimentary glass of wine, music and entertainment! Bring your dancing shoes, spouse or significant other! Let's celebrate the season of romance!
Join bestselling author, Kianna Alexander, in a game of "Pin the Package on the Hero"!
Have you ever wanted to be on front of a romantic book cover? Here is your chance. Take a souvenir photo with our calendar models.
WEEKEND MIXER