Ten years ago today (my, time flies), I was in Washington DC for the RWA conference. It was the first and only time I’d been to Washington, and I was having a marvelous time.
Nancy the Cat Slayer had come along just for the heck of it, and I was meeting up with Anne Gracie for the first time. It was also the first time I met Jane Porter, and it was the last time I got to see Grace Green before she retired from writing.
I had two books (count ‘em!) up for the RITA in the short contemporary category — the Desire, The Stardust Cowboy, and the Presents, Gibson’s Girl. It was a pretty amazing time.
The day the RITAs were being announced, my husband rang me from home to say that something more momentous was about to happy — our daughter, who was expecting a baby in late August, had jumped the gun. Or the baby had. It was on its way.
“Call her,” he said. “She’s already at the hospital.”
So I called. Cool, calm and collected me. I called and they said she wasn’t there.
What???? Not there?
Had they mislaid her? Good grief! This was not a large town. There was only one hospital in this particular place in Kansas. Still is. I paced and I fumed and I called my husband back and said, “Are you sure?”
And he said, “Yes, I’m sure. Call again.”
I stopped and thought before I called — and then I realized that they hadn’t mislaid her, I’d forgotten her name!
She goes by her middle name — which I’d used. And she is married, using her married name, which I forgot. So I asked for her by her middle name and her maiden name — neither of which was on the hospital record. Sigh.
I called back. Indeed, she was there. In labor, quite busy. I only talked to her for a moment. “I’ll call you,” she promised. “After.”
I went to the RITAs in a daze. Amazingly, The Stardust Cowboy, won.
As thrilled as I was, it was only the second most wonderful thing that happened that day.
An hour and a half later, Stephanie Alyce was born.
She was the best. Pretty much still is.
We called her Glowbaby because she was jaundiced and got to wear a cool suit that glowed. She looked like a caterpillar about to come out of a cocoon when she was wrapped in it.
Now, occasionally, I still call her Glowkid. It’s still true — most of the time, she just glows.
Today she’s off to see Joseph and His Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat with her mom, her other grandma and one of her aunts. I’m off to San Francisco for a wedding.
There is another RITA finalist this year, but I’ll be at the wedding celebrating so I won’t know if One Night Mistress…Convenient Wife won or not. No doubt someone will tell me one way or the other. I’ll cross my fingers for it, but there are lots of wonderful b
ooks up for the RITA. If it wins, I’ll be thrilled.
But no more thrilled than ten years ago when The Stardust Cowboy won — and Glowkid made her first appearance.
Happy birthday, Steph!
That’s a great nickname and a gorgeous picture! Happy birthday Stephanie!
I can’t believe it’s 10 years! I remember that night so well — I remember you nearly weren’t going to stay for the RITA, but in the end you did, and then the announcement came that you won it. You went on stage and made a great speech, then came down, dumped the RITA statue in my lap and went outside to phone to see how your daughter was.
I sat there, holding that beautiful golden lady and wondering if I could slip away with it and catch the first plane out of there. LOL
And now the glowbaby is a beautiful, clever glowchild. Happy birthday Stephanie!
Thanks, Lacey! Stephanie says thanks for the birthday good wishes.
Ditto to you, Anne! It was a wonderful night. I wouldn’t have minded if you’d wandered off with Miss RITA, though I’m very happy to have her at my house. You are well-deserving of your own!