Magic Thursday: Reflections on the Romance Writers of Australia annual conference with Alexandra Almond

The RWAus conference is always a blast and this year (22-24 August 2025 in Hobart) was no exception. The keynote speakers—Sarah Maclean, Brenda Novak, Stacey McEwan and Sarra Cannon—were all excellent, Hobart turned on gorgeous weather, and the social functions were sparkly and fun.  

My writers group at the Hobart conference, together in person for the first time ever.
We met doing an online course in 2020 and have been catching up once a month via zoom ever since.
Aspiring writers: I cannot emphasise enough the importance of finding your tribe.

I’ve been going to conference since 2018 and my experience has changed over time. I went originally because I’d been told it was the best place to learn the craft of writing, and my first few conferences were all about craft sessions. There’s still value for me there, but some of those writing 101 sessions are starting to feel a bit repetitive.   

This time, the things that hit home were more about the big picture. There were three overall themes that stood out: writing romance being a political statement, perseverance, and taking your chances. Below I’m sharing with you my thoughts on these themes; what I heard and what I’m thinking about now. 

Writing romance as a political statement

Sarah Maclean set the tone for the conference with her opening keynote, The Power and Purpose of the Romance Novel in a Fast-Changing World. Sarah is American and it was easy to see in her speech, the impact of all the heteronormative patriarchal atrocities going on there at the moment. 

Sarah’s talk moved beyond defending romance as a genre; her pitch was to us as writers, to take pride in what we write and to lean into that. Romance centres women, it says that love is important, it says that it’s okay to have expectations and to look for happiness. That’s really challenging to men, but it’s also absolutely critical to women, to know it’s okay to enjoy life and love and sex and to have expectations of your partner. All of that is particularly relevant in the current environment. 

Resilience

Many speakers talked about the writing journey as a marathon, not a sprint. One of them described the whole process as “cake-inducing”— as in, you need to go hide in your room with cake on a regular basis just to cope. Part of me hates that it has to be that way, and another part recognises the hard work and rebuffs are why the good bits are so good. 

They were all very clear that dreams don’t happen in a big leap but a lot of very small steps, and that success comes from showing up again and again. The best piece of advice was to remember why you’re doing this. Having a clear vision for why you’re writing in the first place, helps you keep going in the dark times.

Taking your chances

This is about understanding what’s stopping you from taking the next step. It’s easy to believe the biggest barriers are external (ie. the state of the publishing industry) but often what’s stopping us is in our mind. Sarra Cannon talked about fear having many faces: 

• Perfectionism
• Comparison
• Judgement
• Control
• Self-doubt
• Resistance 
• Shiny object syndrome 

I think we’re probably all guilty of some or all of those. But if you recognise that what you’re doing is driven by fear, you can do something to address it. 

Conclusion

I haven’t mentioned the only paranormal specific session on the agenda—Jack Bridges talking about Creating Better Monsters—because it didn’t fit with the overarching themes. But it was a terrific session exploring the history and mythology around monsters (did you know the first werewolf appeared in 2000BC in the Epic of Gilgamesh?) and how that’s changed over time, and what it means for our work in the paranormal space today. 

Oh, and let’s not forget to celebrate the Darkside Downunder authors who won awards and were nominated this year!

Ruby – Speculative Fiction

1st: KE Turner – Wolf’s Prize

2nd: Angelica Grymm – The Reckoning

3rd: Leisl Leighton – Alpha Bound

Ruby – Romantic Suspense

3rd: Annie Seaton – From Across the Sea

Ruby – Contemporary Short

1st: Rachel Armstrong – Bali Escape with the Single Dad

Diversions anthology

1st: Kristin Silk – The Fairy Ring

Kristin was also selected in the Sweet Treats anthology

I’m refreshed and inspired after the conference, and would be sitting down to work on my WIP with renewed enthusiasm except I had to write this article first… 

Next year the conference is in Darwin and they have an INCREDIBLE line up including Alyssa Cole and Ashley Poston (yay, paranormal on the main agenda!) so I look forward to seeing you there. 

Thoroughly Disenchanted

A weekend away that has lasted a century. True love's kiss can' break this spell ... A cosy, romantic fantasy mystery for all fans of Rebecca Ross, Legends and Lattes and Assistant to the Villain.

A hundred years ago, Genevieve and Oliver spent an amazing weekend together in Riverswood manor. They wished they could stay there forever ... and then something made their wish come true.

Blessed with immortality but trapped for eternity, the two former lovers are now completely tired of one another's company. Then, one dark and stormy night, a stranger called Ella arrives with a cheery disposition and a secret that could be the key to their salvation. With the help of Ella and the return of their best friend, Fionn, Genevieve and Oliver learn more about Riverswood's tangled history.

If they can come to terms with their own feelings, and the truth that has kept them locked away, they might stand a chance at breaking this curse. True love certainly hasn't worked.

Buy

Alexandra Almond

Alexandra Almond lives and works on Bunurong land in Melbourne (Naarm) with her tennis-ball obsessed Labrador, Captain. Before turning her hand to writing, previous roles included stablehand, clown, HR assistant, flower buyer, procurement manager, cleaner and human-centred designer, which is her current day job. She might have included footballer on that list if the AFLW had arrived three decades earlier; and if she had any ability. She writes mostly cosy fantasy, although she also dabbles in contemporary romance. Her debut novel, THOROUGHLY DISENCHANTED, was published by HarperCollinsAU in 2024; it's a cosy fantasy about a group of friends trapped in a country house for 100 years. 

Visit Alexandra: website, blusky and Instagram.

 

Magic Thursday: Top 5 reasons to go to RT

(from my recent and limited experience)

I travelled around the USA in April. One of the reasons for the trip was to go to the Romantic Times Convention in Chicago. Sourcebooks is based in Chicago so it was also a chance for me to see the offices, meet my editor and all the people who work behind the scenes to get the book to the shelf.

Putting aside that reason to go, here are 5 other reasons to go to RT.

1)      Networking with authors

There are hundreds of authors at RT from all different publishing houses and also self-published, all there to talk writing. Just by meeting and talking to people there’s a lot to learn about publishing.

2)      Publisher spotlights

This is where you can hear about the publisher from the publisher, the editors and other staff (like cover artists and marketing people). Also included are tips about what they are seeking and what they see too much of.

3)      Parties!

There are parties every night. Some are put on by authors others by publishers. Again it’s a chance to network—you never know who you might end up talking to.

4)      Books

Errr, watch the suitcase weight. There are books everywhere. I got a stack of free ones, plus I bought some at the signing and then there were more in the goody room. I also cruised down promo alley and picked up a couple of bookmarks about books that sounded interesting. I know bookmarks are meant to be passé but I love them and use them.

5)      Readers

Without readers my stories wouldn’t live. As this is a convention for readers they are everywhere looking to meet their favourite author and meet new ones. There are also booksellers, librarians and bloggers. The book fair on Saturday was an amazing experience and a chance to sign books and talk to readers. I also signed at the ebook expo but it was much smaller.

RT was a lot of fun. I’d love to go every year.

Now that I’ve lugged all the books home I’ve got some to giveaway. Some I read while I was away—I had to read something on the way home J (but they are in excellent condition). Plus I’ll include my newest release, Kiss of the Goblin Prince which Sourcebooks was able to have ready 2 weeks early for the book signing (and it sold out).

The prize includes:

Fitzwilliam Darcy, Rock Star by Heather Rigaud

The Sun Sword by Lexxie Cooper

Devil’s Bargain by Jade Lee

Kiss of the Goblin Prince (signed) by Shona Husk

One lucky commenter will win all 4 books (Australian residents only). Winner drawn 14th May.

Magic Monday - Is your manuscript ready?

(Magic Monday =  a little something extra this week from Kylie Griffin)

It's that time of year again, contest divas! The RWAustralia Emerald contest for unpublished authors is just around the corner.

Have you polished and edited your manuscripts? I hope so because The Emmy wants you!!!

For anyone who's not a member of RWAustralia, this is THE major contest for anyone who writes category or single title romance.

The whole contest is designed to mirror the submission process an author goes through when sending off their work to agents or publishing houses. The first two rounds are scored and judged by readers, while the final round is read by an acquiring editor from a major publishing house (usually from the USA).

Round 1 - the first 18pgs of your manuscript in ARC format
Round 2 - submit the full manuscript
Round 3 - three finalists from each section (category & single title) will send their full manuscript to an editor for final placement

# Opening date October 28th 2011
#Closing date November 25th 2011

Places are awarded for the separate category and single title sections but results aren't announced until the August RWA conference.

* Entry forms and details on how to enter can be found on the Contest page of the RWAustralia website.

So, what's so good about entering the Emerald?

Check out what previous entrants and place-getters have said about their experiences... 

"The Emerald was great for my writing journey in several ways. Firstly, it gave me deadlines to work to, which provided structure to my writing year.
It also gave me really interesting feedback, because it came from readers - the people we're writing for. And not just on the first 3 chapters - they could tell me what they thought of the whole manuscript, all the way to the Happily Ever After. Both wins also started dialogues for me with editors, not for the line I eventually sold to, but fabulous feedback and experience.
Such a great contest and resource for writers!" (Rachel Bailey) 

"Finalling - and then having to finish the ms that I'd supposedly finished before entering within 10 days really made me focus! 
Although that book wasn't the one that got me published (and I do hope to have it pubbed someday soon) :-) it gave me the kudos to be headhunted to do a Masters in Writing at Qld. University of Technology. That was a huge ego boost and validation that what I was writing wasn't complete crap (which I suspect just about every writer wonders about from time to time).
I really appreciated the feedback I got from the Emerald. It's a great contest." (C.C.Coburn) 

"Where do I start? :-) This was great for me as an entrant, because it gave me a taste of the publishing world : mainly, writing to a deadline, which is probably one of the most important abilities for a published author (other than producing a saleable manuscript!) And of course, a chance to hit an acquiring editor's desk.
I was thrilled when I finalled and could tell the editor that the first chapter of that same ms was on one of her assistant's TBR pile due to another RWA comp. So the Emerald helped by giving me a deadline to work to, plus impetus to actually finish a complete manuscript (before then, I'd been writing 3 chapters max.)." (Paula Roe) 

"The very first contest I entered was the Emma Darcy which, like the Emerald, was for completed manuscripts. It was life changing. Someone other than my beautifully biased husband and family had connected with my story, my characters, my voice. Wow! I finalled in that contest - very powerful motivation that sustained me when rejection letters from publishers started turning up...
Subsequent Emerald feedback helped me learn my craft. Yes, criticism can sting, but if you look back at it in a couple of weeks there will be kernels of truth. If two or more judges have identified the same thing, chances are they're right...
The Emerald gives you a goal to aim for during the year. It gives you a taste of the submission process you'll spend your writing life following. Most importantly it gives you an anonymous audience who will give you genuine unbiased feedback! So get writing and good luck." :-) (Helene Young) 

"I love entering the Emerald because the judges are readers, rather than contest judges who are writers. Readers, even in the first round, give you a different insight into whether the book is a good read or not, and if they enjoy your characters and your plot, rather than getting bogged down on writing type details. Readers give an overall perspective on how well a story might do on a published market.
 If theses judges say they want to read more, you know you've hooked their interest and are on the right track. If they say they were bored to tears, you know to cut out backstory and increase the conflict and drama. Then, if you' re lucky enough to make it into the second round, Emerald judges comment on the completed book, which is truly rare in contest circles.
The author then knows if the conflict is strong enough and the story arc complete enough, to hold a readers interest and make the book ready for submission to agents or editors. But either way, it makes you push yourself to write, edit, and polish an entire book, not simply the opening chapters." (Suzi Love)

"The Emerald Contest is the successor to the wonderful Emma Darcy Award, which I won in 2005, the last year of the contest. I withdrew from the 2006 Emerald because I'd sold my book - a nice reason!
I know as an unpublished writer, it was often difficult for me to soldier through and finish a manuscript. I still have numerous 'stumps' under the bed, stories I started with great enthusiasm and then decided weren't viable. So I'd start something else and then decide it wasn't viable either. Repeat ad-infinitum!
Having a contest that gets people to struggle through the doldrums of a manuscript and reach those magical words 'the end' is really great. There's so much you learn from finishing a complete manuscript that you can't learn from starting 100 that you don't complete.
Winning or finalling in a contest like the Emerald or the Emma Darcy is a great calling card too when you approach editors or publishers!" (Anna Campbell)

So, what are you waiting for?

Get those manuscripts out and send them off!

Good News Day!

Welcome to this week's Good News....

Release Date

Jenny Schwartz

The third story in the Out of the Bottle series, Three Wishes will be released on 23rd May.

Interviews

Nicola E. Sheridan

With the release of Magical Gains on the 8th March, Nicola has been interviewed by Heather Kuehl from the Examiner (Charleston). 

Tracey O'Hara
The Australian Romance Readers Association interviewed Tracey for an author spotlight. 

Releases

Mel Teshco
Moon Thrall is released tomorrow!!! 

Conference

The Romance Writers of Australia Conference (held in August in Melbourne) - From Here to Eternity - will be open for registrations as of today. Check out as some of DarkSiders are presenting or are part of panels - includes Keri Arthur, Denise Rossetti, Kylie Griffin, and Paula Roe. It looks like another fabulous conference. Go to the conference page on the RWAus website for details.




~Come back next week for some more DarkSider Good News~