Is it time to buck yet? PBR Uncasville!

I’m back from the Authors After Dark Romance Convention and 2 days later, finally out from under the backlog of work that accumulated while I was off having fun. It was a hell of an event and I loved speaking on the panels, hanging with the readers and my fellow authors, making new friends, seeing old ones, and getting to know the book bloggers, booksellers, publishers–everyone!! Too much fun, too little sleep, but it was a great time.

Cat Johnson AAD 2010 Signing
Me and Eliza Gayle at the AAD signing

And now back to reality…as surreal as my personal reality is. I started this month with my live reading at Lady Jane’s Salon in New York City, I spent the middle of this month at AAD a stone’s throw from Newark, NJ, and I’ll end this month in bucolic Connecticut attending the PBR bull riding competition in the arena inside the Mohegan Sun Casino.ย Talk about surreal–try walking through the slot machines, past the 5-star restaurants, martini bars and high-priced stores, only to stumble through the doors of the indoor arena to find a dirt floor and pens packed full of live, very large bulls. Not to mention all those cowboys!

So that’s where I’ll be October 1, 2 and 3 (Friday through Sunday). If any of you happen to be attending this event, or even if you’re just local enough to drive to Mohegan Sun for the day, join me! I plan on planting myself near the arena entrance (probably at the bar!) before the doors open for each of the three events and I’ll have my promo with me–namely my LET’S BUCK stickers (modeled below by some of my Oklahoma fans). The word is these stickers are the hit of the Oklahoma rodeo scene and are being worn by the bull riders on their hats, helmets, vests and trucks… oh, and slings!

Let's Buck sticker on sling

Let's Buck sticker on Booty

So stop by Mohegan Sun, say hi to me, get a sticker for your car, or booty, or whatever. And you never know, I may even have copies of ROUGH STOCK and UNRIDDEN with me and could probably be persuaded to sell and sign one or two!

Authors After Dark

Heard at my house at oh-dark-thirty (specificially 4:30 a.m. this morning).

Husband: “What’s this scary looking blonde wig doing here?”

Me: “That’s for Eliza Gayle’s costume for AAD.”

Husband: “I thought some strange new cat had crawled in.”

Even in my sleep deprived state, or perhaps because of it, I broke out into hysterical laughter–the kind that keeps creeping back up on you out of nowhere even after you think it’s done.

So yes, the point of this post is that the Authors After Dark Reader Convention in New Jersey is only next week, which means there is a flurry of activity as I plan outfits both for the day panels I’ll be speaking on and the public book signing as well as for the nighttime literary figure costume party, gather swag and promo items, books and booze and everything else we’ll need.

I still have to hack a foot or so off the bottom of my own costume because though my 35-25-35 hourglass figure fit in the ballgown right off the rack, the fact I’m barely 5 feet tall means nearly everything is too long on me.

It’s going to be a hell of a weekend. Combine a bunch of readers, authors, editors/agents/publishers, vendors, a psychic, some alcohol AND an on-site tattoo artist, dump them all together in a hotel in New Jersey for a few days and who knows what can happen!

Of course I’ll post pictures…

Cat

Labor Day Weekend Cat News

JACK is holding as the #1 best seller at My Bookstore and More for the 3rd straight day (YAY! Thank you, readers!)

THAT is exciting enough in itself, but on top of that, tomorrowย UNRIDDEN releases in print and tonight is my live reading atย Lady Jane’s Salon in NYC (at Madame X’s on W Houston St).

UNRIDDEN PAPERBACK ATย AMAZON.COM

And finally, the amateur bull rider I sponsor, Alvin Morris, took 2nd place at Drumright this weekend. Even better, no stitches required this week. Congrats to Alvin! (he’s the one pictured in the middle but this was taken before he received his good luck, official Cat Johnson LET’S BUCK riding shirt)