Lovely Rita!!
Posted by mimi on Aug 3, 2008 in dish | 6 commentsSo I’m on the plane from San Francisco to Atlanta when I realize the blonde woman sitting across the aisle and one row back from me is reading a Silhouette Desire. That, and the fact that she also has a laptop handy, prompt me to ask if she’s been at the RWA Conference. She tells me she has, and that she’s also noticed me reading my manuscript on my laptop. Then she puts out her hand, smiles, and says, “I’m Rita Clay Estrada.”
Rita, THE Rita, is shaking my hand! OMG!!
Luckily, I do not go all fangirl stupid and actually manage to hold up my end of the conversation, which is basically me thanking her for making the conference and RWA possible at all and trying not to plotz all over her shoes, and she being warm and gracious and providing a valuable piece of career advice, given to her by inimitable editing legend Leslie Wainger: “Make a timeline. Put everything on it. It’ll save your life.”
So that’s how you come home with a Rita, even though you’re (as yet) unpublished. I think that’s a sign.
LOL
Now you can say, “I went to San Fran with no expectations, and I came home with THE RITA.
LOL
Thanks for keeping us updated. I wish I could have been there with you, so hopefully next year.
What a lovely anecdote! Thanks for sharing your take on RWA with those who couldn’t make it.
Omg, that’s so awesome! Very cool story, thanks for sharing 🙂
Wow! What an amazing moment..
I forgot that the RITA was actually named after a woman named Rita!
Actually, the Rita was named after *this* woman named Rita, which makes it doubly cool! She’s as pretty as her statue, too.