As I mentioned before, this past Saturday, the So Cal Bloggers got together again. We drank, we ate, we made merry..especially in the parking garage where we exchanged books at the end of the afternoon.

We met in Century City (a crappy 3 hour drive for me…So Cal Bloggers may rock, but So Cal Traffic sucks big donkey balls) at noon at – where else – Borders. I had a short list of books I needed to pick up:

The Madness of Lord Ian Mackenzie by Jennifer Ashely
Undercover by Lauren Dane
Relentless by Lauren Dane

I somehow managed to misplace my original copies of the Dane books (did I loan them out? Did a thief sneak in and steal them? I just don’t know) so those were replacements. Unlike the rest of the known universe, I didn’t read the Ashley when it came out (I have issues with books that get too much buzz) but I received an ARC of her upcoming release, Lady Isabella’s Scandalous Marriage, and thought it sounded intriguing (plus, she’ll be visiting the blog in July), so I decided to pick up the first book.

After Borders we had lunch at an awesome Brazilian restaurant, Ummba Grill. When I made the reservations they said we could have the “lounge” area to ourselves, which sounded grand to me. The last few times we’ve gotten together we sat at a large table and it wasn’t very conducive to talking with everyone. I loved the lounge setting here. It was a series of couches that formed a square – though there was quite a bit of space in between – so it was easy to get up and move around, which gave us a chance to talk to everyone. Though that part was awesome, I hated that we didn’t have tables to sit at to eat. I am not coordinated enough to not spill food all over myself. heh

Oddly enough, we didn’t do a lot of book gabbing. Oh sure, we did some, but a lot of talk centered around girl stuff (yes, that kind of girl stuff), robot and zombie sex (the consensus: Eww, they’re not even really real or even alive..Especially the zombies. What if it fell off inside you? we probably spent more time than we should have pondering that..and the conversation you’d have with the ER doc afterward), Lori’s son’s Bar Miztvah and kid/husband news. That’s not to say we didn’t talk books, because we totally did. We just didn’t talk only books.

After lunch we split up for dessert – some of us went for ice cream while others went for coffee (I’m a coffee girl myself). We then converged in the parking garage for the infamous Parking Lot Swap. We all pulled out our boxes/bags of books and descended en mass…I brought 3 full bags (1 was Costco size) and a full box. Lori had at least 3 boxes, Rowena had 2…you get the idea.

Unfortunately it was hot as Hades in that parking garage. We didn’t end up spending as much time as we normally do..though we still picked everything over good.

Here’s what I brought home:

Never Love a Lawman by Jo Goodman (replacement)
Blackthorne’s Bride by Shana Galen
Angel in My Bed by Melody Thomas
Do you take This Cop by Beth Andrews
Traitor’s Kiss and Lover’s Kiss by Mary Blayney
All That Matters by Stef Ann Holm
Turbulent Sea by Christine Feehan (replacement)
Chosen by Desire by Kate Perry
Lucy Gets Her Life Back by Stef Ann Holm
The Most Wicked of Sins by Kathryn Caskie
One Good Man by Alison Kent
A Woman’s Innocence by Gayle Callen
From London with Love by Jenna Petersen
Sex, Lies and Online Dating by Rachel Gibson (replacement)
The Secret Mistress Arrangement by Kimberly Lang

Books for Review
Seven Secrets of Seduction by Anne Mallory
Tempted by His Kiss by Tracy Anne Warren
When Marrying a Scoundrel by Kathryn Smith
Last Night’s Scandal by Loretta Chase

A total of 23. Eep! Of course, 7 of those don’t count because I bought them and/or was given them for review (hey, I can use whatever logic I want)

Pictures

Everyone started trickling out pretty quick, considering the heat. In the end, just Lori, Renee and I were left. We stuck it out long enough for Rosie to come back from shopping, then braved the nasty LA traffic and headed home. It took me just over 3.5 hours. Did I mention So Cal Traffic sucks donkey balls?

The Group:

Lori, Nikki, , Rosie, Judith, Rowena, Pearl, Holly, Rachel Jameson, Tracy, Sabrina Darby, Wendy, Christa Paige, Zoe Archer, Danielle Yockman, Renee, Netta Ferguson

Anyway, it was a great visit. I was thrilled to see everyone again and meet Pearl. I’m bummed that so many couldn’t make it (Tessa Dare, HelenKay Dimon, Eden Bradley, KC and K-Kahn from Smokin’ Hot Books, Blanche, Cara Wallace, KB Alan, Vivenne Westlake – did I miss anyone?), though. Next time!

And remember, if you’re planning to visit So Cal, let us know. We’re always looking for excuses to get together.

I was Tweeting while we were visiting (and I think others were, too). If you’re interested, we tagged it #SoCalBloggers. Renee, Tracy, Lori and Wendy have already blogged about it, too. Go check them out if you want more details!

A couple of years ago a few of us So Cal Bloggers decided, since we lived close enough, we should meet.  It started with Rosie, Wendy and me. And then at the very last minute I got a migraine and couldn’t make it. So it was just Rosie and Wendy.

The next time we planned a meeting more of us showed up:

Me
Rowena
Daphne
Wendy
Rosie
Lori
Nikki

Then we added:

Tracy
Renee
Blanche
Alys
and
Lisabea as an honorary member when she came to visit from somewhere that is decidedly NOT So.Cal.

We usually meet at a book store, then have lunch together. Then comes the much lauded Parking Lot Swap. All of us bring books we’re willing to part with – extra copies, books we loved we want to share, books we hated we want to get rid of, etc – and at the end of the day we pop our trunks open in the parking lot/garage where ever we happen to be, and swap books. Right there in the parking lot. This is the best time of our get together if you ask me. You don’t really know someone until you’ve seen how they act when there’s a book they want – especially if someone else happens to want it too. heh

Two times ago when we got together, Nath was visiting from Canada. During that visit I was tweeting about being there and HelenKay Dimon said she lived in So Cal. I suggested she come hang out with us, she said she would love to and that started off a huge explosion for our next meeting.

We met and had lunch at the Yard House, then went book shopping, then did the Parking Lot Swap. Only this time it wasn’t just bloggers and readers, it was authors, too (who, incidentally, are still Readers, but you know what I mean). Lisabea was back visiting (she was the reason for our meeting in the first place) and it was a much larger group this time:

Renee
Wendy
Me
Tracy
Rosie
Rowena
Tessa Dare
Danielle Yockman
HelenKay Dimon
KC (Smokin Hot Books)
Kristin (Smokin Hot Books)
Rachel Jameson
KB Alan
Vivienne Westlake
Eden Bradley
Sabrina Darby
Nikki (@nikireads)
Lori
Lisabea/LB Gregg

Such a fabulous group! I had such a blast with them (well, other than getting a flat tire at the end of the night..but still).

On Saturday (June 19), we’re getting together again.  I don’t think everyone from our meet can make it, but most of us will be there. If you live in Southern California and are up for a day of fun, laughter and GIRL TIME, you should think about joining. We’re meeting in the LA area, but there are people coming from all over So. Cal, so if you want to carpool we can probably work something out.

Don’t be scared! I promise we don’t bite..much.  If you’re interested, email me at holly @ thebookbinge . com (no spaces) and I’ll give you the details. Even if you can’t make it this time, let me know you’d like to come and we’ll include you for the next meet.

Also, if you’re from somewhere other than So Cal and you think you’re going to be in town, let us know. We’ll plan a special get together just for you. (no really, ask Nath and Lisabea!)

ETA: I’m such a goose, I forgot to tell you the reason for our visit this time. Pearl from Pearl’s World of Romance is visiting! Since she isn’t from around here, who knows when you’ll get the opportunity to meet her next. Now’s your chance…. 😀

If you want to read more about our adventures, you can do so here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.