1. It’s a great way to meet your favorite writers. Writers tend to be a bunch of recluses. With the decline of physical books and brick-and-mortar bookstores–where readers used to attend new release signings–most reader-author interaction has shifted to online forums. As convenient and wonderful as Facebook and Twitter can be, they don’t replace the joy of face-to-face meetings. AAD provides the rare opportunity to chat in person with authors whose work you love. A smaller venue than giant conventions like RT, AAD provides lots of opportunities to meet and spend time with your favorites: panels, mixers, dinners, the ball. You won’t wait in line for hours to just snag a few seconds of a writer’s time for a quick autograph; you’ll get to drink and party with her (or him) all evening long. How cool is that? This convention is designed to maximize your time with the authors.
2. It’s the perfect way to discover new authors. Reviewer/blogger disputes, sock puppet shenanigans, the shift from traditional to indie publishing. Hundreds of new authors flood the digital book market with thousands of new romances every year. How do readers choose what (or who) is worth reading? AAD has invited a select group of authors who meet its criteria for quality fiction in the romance and erotica genres. Most of the writers are up-and-coming hybrid authors. They published both traditionally (which essentially vets their work) and independently. Some are indie writers who you might never discover except through a progressive convention like AAD. Many of the authors have only been publishing for a few years. As a whole, they’re innovative risk-takers, shaking up reader expectations and re-energizing the whole genre. They’re breaking down fiction’s boundaries, stirring up its potential, spreading its love. Imagine being the one to introduce all your friends to the next big author in romance! You’ll be able to say, “I read her work before anyone else…”
3. It’s a giant book club meeting hosted by your favorite authors, one in which people have actually read the book(s) in advance. The only thing better than reading a great book is having someone to talk to about it. If you’ve shared my experience, few book clubs successfully, reliably discuss the pre-selected book at every meeting (even on Goodreads, this is hit and miss). While members begin with the best intentions, follow through is…well…most of us are familiar with the path to hell. Even if everyone has read the book (rare), conversation frequently and rapidly declines into chatty gossip about things other than books. If you arrive to the monthly book club meeting dying to discuss the book, you may find yourself returning home unsatisfied. That won’t happen at AAD. With 100 authors and four times that number in readers attending, you’re bound to talk yourself hoarse discussing your favorite books and authors by the end of the event.
4. These people are your people. There’s no need to apologize for what you read at AAD. You can be yourself. No need to hide the cover/content of your latest read on a digital device. This conference is a love fest about love fiction. Romance, erotica, passion, sex. In the real world, most people snub this wonderful genre. But romance readers know that some of the best-written books every year are composed by talented, professional authors who consider the archetypal story of two people meeting and falling in love to be the one superior story worth writing and reading. We’re all here to worship the same goddess, Aphrodite.
5. You deserve a holiday to recover from your summer vacation. Wonderful and memorable as the family vacation will be in June or July, these traditional getaways are generally hectic and stressful. In fact, you’re probably the one who will take care of everyone else during it: the kids, the husband, Grandma and Grandpa, doing most of the cooking, the clean-up, the negotiating, the counseling, the compromising. AAD can be your earned reward. You can focus on YOU instead of being someone’s mother, or wife (or husband), or daughter, or maid or cook. Let out your inner goddess, your rebellious bad girl, your flirty sorority sister, your disco dancing demon, your wicked-tongued vixen. Don’t act your age. Don’t be terribly responsible. Laugh, wear sexy clothes, drink cocktails, shake your bootie at the ball. It’s all fun and fantasy. And, after AAD, when you return home relaxed (with your engines revved for intimacy), your partner will be happy s/he sent you. Fretting about the cost? With all the free books and swag you’ll be taking home, you’ll probably save yourself the equivalent money on books in the long run.

Come on! What’s stopping you? Register today!

AAD 2014