This was a busy weekend at MeadowView in Kingsport. Three events kept me at the convention center the first of which was already blogged with The Technology Council. My colleagues were setting up the convention center floors to prepare for the 2005 Women’s Expo and as a part of those events was a dinner with a unique gathering of individuals who were appearing at the weekend show.
Dan and Tracy invited me to attend a dinner with the regional romance authors who were a part of the show. My library includes virtually no romantic fiction unless you can count Ovid in that pantheon of writers, but it was enjoyable to discuss the business with Sally Painter and her husband. Sally writes gothic romance fiction and hosts an Internet radio show on the Paranormal. Here husband and I spent a good part of the evening talking geek talk and about their career paths. It’s always a treat to meet new people and our dinner conversation was delightful.
The dining room was unfortunately free of any wine, so I spent a good part of the night meeting the travelers at the bar with a couple of glasses of Shiraz to close out a busy week.
On Saturday, I met Keith Wilson, Times-News publisher and Earl Carter, sports photographer for breakfast the next day at MeadowView and was amazed to watch all of the women flock into the convention center for the beginning of the Women’s Expo. Hundreds of vendors and thousands of event goers (estimates total near 9,000) were swirling around booths, fragrances and over excited women gathered together for the ultimate social for the weekend.