2016 Romantic Times Booklovers Convention and Las Vegas

I've just spent the last few days having fun in Las Vegas, Nevada. My daughter, Amye, traveled with me to keep me company, to perform Sherpa duties, and to show me the ropes and a good time( aka: keep me out of trouble. Lol).  Eight years ago, I went there with her and her husband and really did the town up right (I was much younger). This time we stayed close to our own hotel, Harrah's, and the Rio, where the convention was held.

Romantic Times Booklovers Convention was held there in all its glam and glory. If you've never been, Kathryn Falk and her staff always manage to out-do themselves from the year before. There are authors, cover models and wonderful readers.

The halls and elevators are decorated with author pics and their covers. Enthusiastic attendees dress up in costume, to meet their favorite author and join in the fanfare. There is a huge book signing held both Saturday and Sunday giving fans the opportunity to meet authors and cover models. Did I say HUGE?







The most fun I had this year was an event I attended with many of my friends. We belong to an awesome Facebook group of authors and readers of Western Historical Romance, called Pioneer Hearts. It is a place to find out about favorite authors latest releases, discuss favorite books and join exclusive contests, but it is so much more. The people are warm, loving, giving, readers and authors alike, and it feels like home! We held a readers event, Pioneer Hearts Hoedown to meet and greet our friends. There were contests, giveaways, and author swag.



 Here are some pics from a wonderful time.

Meeting my cover artist, Charlene Raddon

Me with a fan talking about Pioneer Hearts

If you'd like to belong to a fantastic group of readers and writers of Western Historical Romance, please check out the Pioneer Hearts Group, You'll be glad you did!

Next year's 2017 Romantic Times Booklovers Convention will be held in Atlanta. I'll be there again for a wonderful time and I'll be looking for you!.

Hugs to all,
Carra

Carra's Amazon Author Page

WOMEN IN TEXAS HISTORY

I'm a little late for Women's History month, but it's never really too late to talk about women in history is it? Whether they get mentioned or not, women have always played a part in Texas History. A lot of times, as used to be typical, a woman was the wind beneath a man's wings. I'm not particularly fond of that, but it is what it is. In truth, women played a prominent role in Texas history and here a few.  

Sarah Cockrell (1819-1892), a business woman who built the first iron bridge over the Trinity River in Dallas in 1872. She thought big and invested wisely and set up her own corporations. When she died in 1892, her properties were so extensive that her will had to be published in pamphlet form.


Molly Goodnight (1839-1926) established the first ranch household in the Texas Panhandle in 1877. She rescued orphaned buffaloes, had her own cattle brand, the Flying T and helped establish the Goodnight College in 1898.

Mollie Goodnight

Elizabet Ney

Elizabet Ney (1833-1907) was a renowned sculptor from Bavaria. She
moved to Texas with her husband in 1872. She secured a commission to create statues of Stephen F. Austin and Sam Houston for the Chicago World's Fair in 1893. She became the outspoken advocate of the teaching of fine arts in the state's schools and was instrumental in the founding of the Texas Fine Arts Association.

Minnie Fisher Cunningham

Minnie Fisher Cunningham (1882-1964) was President of the Texas Equal Suffrage Association from 1915 to 1920 and became the first executive secretary of the National League of Women Voters. She was an important leader in the campaign for votes for women on the state and national levels. Graduating in 1901, she was one of the first women in Texas to receive a pharmacy degree from the University of Texas medical school. She ran for but lost races for the U.S. Senate in 1928 and for governor in 1944.

Sarah T. Hughes

Sarah T. Hughes was an attorney, legislator, women's rights activist, United Nations supporter, and Texas' first female state and federal judge. A member of a Dallas law firm from 1923 to 1935. she was elected to her first term in the Texas House of Representatives as a Democrat on 1930 and voted "Most Valuable Member" her second term. In 1935, she became Texas' first female district judge and was reelected seven times. She was Dallas County co-chair of the Kennedy-Johnson campaign in 1960, and in the following year, President John F. Kennedy appointed her Texas' first female federal judge. After Kennedy's assassination in 1963, she administered the Presidential oath of office to Lyndon B. Johnson.


These are but a few of the many women who have influenced me and I hope by reading about these women, you'll be inspired to read more about them or look up other influential women in our state of Texas and other states in our great nation.

Thank you for stopping by today. I love seeing y'all here.

Hugs, Carra

  Carra Copelin Website