It’s so much fun to hang out with my romance writer friends and meet new readers every year. My good friend, Love Inspired author Renee Ryan, led the First Timers Orientation this year and she had a really fun analogy for a writer’s first time at RWA. She talked about the conference at large as the cool sorority and the other first timers were your pledge class. That each year you attend RWA, you look for your sisters who rushed along with you, cheering on their successes and commiserating on the bumps in the road. You share your journey with those folks, and it’s all the more fun for having a few BFFs around. Together, you become the cool sorority, squealing in the halls to see each other once a year at your personal summer camp. I loved that idea. To me, RWA is exactly like that.

Renee, for example, was in my pledge class. So was SIM author Beth Cornelison and Desire author Catherine Mann, my critique partner. Other classes close to me included Tanya Michaels, Winnie Griggs and Anna DeStefano, friends I seek out faithfully every year.

And we do more than just gab it up. We sign books to raise money that supports a literacy initiative. We teach workshops for aspiring writers to share what we know and attend workshops to learn from our peers. Oh, and we dance.

Summer camp isn’t summer camp without a glitzy party after all. The RITA and Golden Heart ceremony is our fun excuse to dress up and the publisher parties provide our opportunity to shake our collective groove thing. I’ve discovered Blaze authors Wendy Etherington and Jacquie D’Alessandro are just as committed to the dance floor as me, so I like to hunt them down once the music starts hopping.

I think every woman should have a summer camp – your personalized version of the sorority reunion. Whether it’s a handful of high school friends or the crowd from your book club, you owe yourself a retreat weekend to celebrate friendship and a common interest. Don’t have a big budget? You can tent it down by the lake for a night and share a few bottles of cheap champagne. I guarantee you’ll come home happier!

**You know what I’m talking about…. girlfriends speak a different language than our significant others! What’s been one of your favorite friend-dates? Ladies’ poker night? Neighborhood bunco? Chat with me on the boards today about fav ways to hang out with friends and I’ll give one random poster a signed copy of my August relese, Double Play.

The thing is, I love clothes and I like to plan for all contingencies. The Romance Writers of America Conference is my next trip. I’ll have meetings with agents, editors and other writers. There will be lunches and dinner. And parties. Hello, lots of parties. And I need shoes, accessories and clothes for all of these events. I also have straight irons, curling irons, and I like my creature comforts like candles and perfume. So all of these things must go with me.

Not long after I return from the conference in Washington, D.C., I’m heading out to Los Angeles for the Television Critics Associate Press Tour. That’s where I interview actors, writers and producers every day. Attend parties for the shows/networks at night, and gather a multitude of stories for the coming months.

Again, I usually need at least two outfits for each day. The event is a little over two weeks, so you see my dilemma. In January when I went to Hollywood, I ran into a friend of mine at the airport. We decided to share a taxi, and when he saw my luggage he laughed out loud. “Are you moving in for a month?” I forgave him because he’s a man.

I used to feel a little guilty about my luggage. That was before I found out a friend of mine (I won’t out her here.) traveled with two suitcases too, but one of hers was filled with nothing but shoes. I take pride in the fact that at least I’m not that bad.

Another friend of mine can travel to Europe for weeks on end with a small carry-on suitcase, and she always manages to look wonderful. Though, she does wear black exclusively, she only takes things that need no ironing and she doesn’t wear makeup or worry about her short hair. I admire her, but I’m a little more high maintenance.

So how about you? What’s the one thing you never leave home without? Are you a light traveler or a heavy packer?

And I have a new book out this month, “Dragons Prefer Blondes” (July 7). By commenting here (ONLY TODAY ON THIS POST) you are automatically entered into a contest to win an Amazon gift certificate and other prizes. I’m also running a treasure hunt and you can find all the details at www.candacehavens.com.