Living it Up in NYC by Megan

"I <3 NY." It's a classic ad, and now it's true for me, too. I have the T-shirt proclaiming it. (Five bucks at a street cart.) Was I surprised that New York grabbed a piece of my heart? Absolutely. I'm not one for big cities, and I tend to avoid noises, crowds, and in-your-face anything. So to say I was reluctant to go to New York City for the RWA National Conference doesn't start to describe my feelings.

Still, I had a book to sign, so I registered. I made my Romance Trading Cards to hand out to eager collectors. I even worked up a proposal for a presentation, which was accepted, so I had a third reason to go: pay-back time. Or pay-forward, whichever. I rode up to the top of the Empire State Building, but saw neither Cary Grant nor King Kong. Not even Tom Hanks. :( Still it was amazing, and the perfect start to my first day. I even wandered around, looking for a Miracle.

And no, I wasn't hoping for designer miracles--I'm no fashionista. (pause while I lmao) But you know, it was the wrong season for the miracle I hoped for. lol Still, I went to Macy's and took a pic of the sign. Alas it was closing, so I never made it inside.

Wandering around on my own might have kept me safely and sensibly in my hotel room, but even at midnight there are thousands of people on Broadway, the location of my hotel. Yes, Times Square! It's incredibly bright and well-policed. People of all sorts out all night. "The city that never sleeps" is accurate. Over the next week, I was out at 11pm and 1 a.m. (don't tell my mom; she's a worrier) and I didn't think it any more dangerous than walking in my hometown. Maybe less. I visited the Met, I partied at both the Algonquin and the Waldorf-Astoria hotels, and I was planning to eat my breakfast when a concert broke out! Alicia Keys appeared on the Good Morning America show, singing "Streets of New York" in New York, right outside my hotel. How cool is that? :D I was roughly four people back from the performers, which being short, means I was thrilled she wore a green dress so I could find her over everyone's heads.

So what captured my heart in particular? The lights? The people? The amazing food -- oh, don't get me started on the food!! The history? The sights? Yes, yes, yes, yes and yes. The energy of the place is incredible. For a small town girl, being in a huge city like Manhattan, and only several blocks of it at that, should have been overwhelming. All I can say is I wouldn't have believed it if I hadn't experienced it. So, like all the amazing cities in America, I suggest you visit and discover its wonders for yourself. You never know if you'll like it until you've been there. Next time, I'll take my husband and we'll see a show.

What's the most surprising place you've visited? I'll add it to my list of "must sees." Megan

Megan Kelly
www.megankellybooks.com

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HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY!!!

Seeing the world afresh

My recent project, in the minuscule amount of spare time
between writing my latest Harlequin American medical romance and teaching
writing, has been reissuing my Regencies, mysteries and older romantic comedies
in digital editions. This has been a learning experience, fraught with errors.
But while I did figure I’d learn a lot, I never imagined I’d be seeing the
world in a new light.

Here’s how this latest twist came about: I was delighted
when one of my friends, Golden Heart-winning author Debra Holland (who has
self-published her wonderful sweet historical Wild Montana Sky), read my
Regency A Lady of Letters and posted a five-star review on Amazon, which
helps readers find the book. But while I appreciated her enthusiasm for the
story, I was bummed to learn that the scanned text contained annoying hyphens that
didn’t show up in my Word documents.

She wasn’t crazy about my homemade cover, either.

I figured out how to un-hide the hyphens, which I’ve learned
sometimes result when copy is scanned from printed text. After deleting them
and re-posting all my Regencies on Amazon (for the Kindle ereader) and Barnes
and Noble (for Nook), I decided to cope with my covers. Wiser folk suggested
hiring designers at $50-$75 a cover, which is certainly reasonable. But I’m stubborn, and besides, that’s a
lot of money, since I’ll be posting at least 20 books and maybe more before I’m
done.

So I gathered my courage and decided to tackle a truly scary
(to me) computer program: Photoshop Elements 9.

Right now, I’m about a third of the way through the book
that describes how to use it. While I haven’t actually begun to work on my
covers, something strange has happened.

Although it’s possible to buy stock images online, I started
seeing things around me in a different way. I grow a lot of flowers—roses,
lilies, and so on. I’ve begun taking photographs of flowers and thinking about
how they’ll look on covers. At my mother-in-law’s historic home, I noticed
fascinating details of windows and antiques. In my head, I began figuring how I
might use these, too.

Did I mention how much more I appreciate morning light? Or
how aware I’ve become of shapes, angles and composition?

Stay tuned. One of these days I’ll make and post an actual
cover to share with you!

Or run screaming into the hills. But if I do, I’ll
take my camera.