Saturday 25 July 2015

A Chance to Sparkle

One of the innovations at the RNA Conference this year came from a group of lovely authors called the Romaniacs, who decided to film a short interview with various writers, agents and publishers over the weekend. You can view all the short videos on their website.

Called the Romaniacs Sparkle Spotlight, all authors had the opportunity to reserve a spot in advance. After much deliberation, I decided to jump in and take the chance while offered as I might never get another! Which was all very well in theory, a month or so before the actual conference, but the reality of it hit soon enough.

As it turned out, my spot was on the final Sunday morning and I hadn't slept more than an hour or two the night before because of heat and noise. However, on with the show, as they say! The ladies filming it and asking the questions were excellent; professional and welcoming and they immediately put me at ease. I declined the kind offer of a glass of Prosecco in case I either spilled it or choked on it.

Stephanie Cage

All I can say is this was a unique experience and I'm glad I took part. I don't think any of us enjoy watching ourselves or hearing our voice played back and I certainly could have looked a lot better (definitely getting more toned up)! But I don't sound as bad as I'd feared I might and I said a lot more than I remembered - obviously it goes by in a blur. Each of the finished videos features three authors and I share mine with Lynda Stacey and Stephanie Cage. I wasn't sure whether or not to post it here but the Romaniacs deserve a round of applause for a fun idea and we only live once!

Rosemary

9 comments:

Carolb said...

Congratulations, Rosemary. That was great, and you did it well. :)

Julia Thorley said...

Well done, Rosemary. I no longer get nervous when I teach, even to a big group, but the idea of anything remotely like 'public speaking' is still very scary, even when I'm just talking about myself. We don't look or sound how we think we do: and I never know what to do with my hands. I have a friend who is a writer and an actor and I'm thinking of asking him for some tips so that I can take my courage in my hands and take part in a spoken word night at one of our local pubs.

Mary Smith said...

Well done, Rosemary. You came ver well - and didn't at all look you hadn't slept the night before!

Maggie May said...

That was excellent Rosemary. I won't stand up and speak in public unless I have notes in front of me. It was good to see you in person as it were, after seeing your photo so many times. Well done.

Joanna said...

It 's so lovely to see you and hear you, Rosemary. You came across really well and your lack of sleep the night before certainly didn't show. Congratulations - you spoke with great passion and joy - and your natural warmth came through all the time. xxx

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Thanks so much for your kind comment, Carol!

Many thanks for your lovely comment, Julia. I'm used to standing on a stage giving a talk or adjudicating now and then but have never done anything like this straight to video!

Thanks a lot, Mary - glad the camera wasn't any closer!

Thank so much, Maggie - one of the best things about the conference is seeing people in real life so I guess this is the next best thing!

Thank you so much for that lovely comment, Joanna - you'll now know how different it is speaking to be filmed, though it all kind of passed in a blur!

Anonymous said...

I really enjoyed your 'performance' - you were fab! You came across as someone with a great personality, full of fun and bubbling with enthusiasm for your writing. Just need some of the above to rub off onto yours truly... Congrats from Her Indoors.

Rosemary Gemmell said...

Thanks so much for your lovely comment, Her Indoors - you've made me feel better about it all!

Wendy's Writing said...

You sound so confident. How do you do it! I was too scared to have a go.