Hi everyone! Well a week later and I am finally almost back to normal after my extended trip to San Diego for vacation and GRL. As always, I had an amazing time. GRL may not be for everyone, but for me it has always been an amazing experience and my favorite romance event of the year.

So as you may know, I spent Thursday through Tuesday at the conference hotel with my hubby who came in  for a little vacation. We got to go to the zoo, La Jolla, Coronado, the beach, and tour the USS Midway while he was there. A lot of GRLers came in early and so it was nice to get a chance to introduce him to folks who he has heard me talk about over the years.

I really had an amazing time at GRL this year. People often ask me which was my favorite (this is my fourth time) and I always say that each one is different. Between the locations, the people, and the activities, every GRL had a different vibe. For me things were surprisingly low key this year, despite the fact that I was running around from morning until way past midnight pretty much every day. Maybe it is the southern California vibe, but it was just a lot of good relaxing fun. As always, it was wonderful to see so many friends who I speak to all the time online but rarely see in real life. I got to room with my wonderful friend Leigh who I met at my very first GRL in Albuquerque and though sheer luck lives near enough to me that I get to see her throughout the year. And I had a wonderful time with my other friends, old and new. Every year I come back meeting new people and having new experiences. I truly love this community and really enjoy getting to spend so much time with everyone!

I tried to be really good this year and keep in touch via social media so if you follow me on FB, Twitter, or Instagram you may have seen my pictures. I also tried to do daily recaps on FB with lots of pictures of all the goings on. I can’t find any way to link to the posts, but if you scroll through my feed, things start on October 8th. We may need to be FB friends for you to see them, so please feel free to friend me at https://www.facebook.com/joyfully.jay if you want to check them out. You can also see my pictures here: https://www.facebook.com/joyfully.jay/photos. Most of them are tagged so that should help if you don’t want to go scrolling through my timeline.

And just for fun, here are a few I’ll post here:

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With my hubby in La Jolla. So gorgeous there!

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Hanging out in Devon, TA, and Jared’s room with Leigh and the hubbies

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Lunch on the rooftop deck with Lindsey and Leigh. I love this picture!

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Love these guys! They made the week so much fun! (Kyle, Lindsey, Jared, and Leigh)

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Last day! We are all misty eyed!


Giveaway

And yay, to add to the GRL fun, I have a giveaway for you guys! I had two authors offer up some books for me to give away to you all, so hurray! Here is the deal. I have two prizes to give out. First, paperback copies of A Life Without You and Absolutely Eric donated by Erika Pike. And second, paperbacks of Gay for Pay and Fame and Fortune by TM Smith. Unfortunately I can only send these to US folks due to the high shipping costs. However, if I pick an international winner I will give a $5 ebook store gift certificate. (Please indicate on your entry whether you are US or International.)

 

To enter, leave a comment below. The contest closes on Friday, October 30th at 11:59 pm EST.

  • By entering the giveaway, you’re confirming that you are at least 18 years old.
  • Winners will be selected by random number. No purchase necessary to win.  The number of eligible entries received determines the odds of winning.
  • If you win, you must respond to my email within 48 hours or another winner may be chosen. Please make sure that your spam filter allows email from Joyfully Jay.
  • Winners may be announced on the blog following the contest. By entering the contest you are agreeing to allow your name to be posted and promoted as the contest winner by Joyfully Jay.
  • Prizes will be distributed following the giveaway either by Joyfully Jay or the person/organization donating the prize.
  • All book prizes are in electronic format unless otherwise specified.
  • By entering you are agreeing to hold Joyfully Jay harmless if the prize or giveaway in some way negatively impacts the winner.
  • Readers may only enter once for each contest.  Duplicate entries for the same giveaway will be ignored. In the event of technical problems with the blog during the contest, every effort will be made to extend the contest deadline to allow for additional entries.
  • Void where prohibited by law.
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