Denise’s Rambling About her Time in the Nevada

Yes, that title was added after the post was written

RT 18 was the third RT BookLovers Larry and I have attending, a bit smaller than the prior ones and hosted at the beautiful Peppermill Resort in Reno, Nevada.

We arrived Tuesday after a long day of travel, enjoying a wonderful dinner at the onsite steakhouse and getting settled for the upcoming events.

Wednesday morning after breakfast in bed, nope not to be super romantic but so Larry could be on the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention‘s National Board Meeting conference call, we made our way to his presentation “Write Your Financial Future.”

Wednesday afternoon and evening allowed us time to enjoy those in for the conference as the Peppermill was small enough that everyone was in close proximity; sadly I forgot to take  a lot of photos. I then spent Wednesday night cheering on the Vegas Golden Knights at one of the small bars where the bartender was kind enough to put the game on for me with sound!

Thursday, Thursday, was the day I put on a smile and spent the day sharing our family’s story; the story of Keith Milano, my brother and only sibling lost to suicide in 2004.  Since Keith’s death we have spoke openly of his struggle with bipolar disorder in an effort to raise awareness and funds for mental health and suicide prevention. After over 6 years of our story being embraced by this community I may need to get a thesaurus to find ways to say THANK YOU!  May 2018 has the Keith Milano Fund hosting the 6th Annual Mental Health Awareness Book Fundraiser. Beyond the money that will be raised (which is amazing) is the conversations this event is starting, the dialogue being opening up… that..that is how we effect change and start to turn the tide on mental illness.

Continuing with that theme of opening up a conversation, I was privileged for the second time to moderator a panel titled “Mental Health in Fiction.” Because this panel is driven by the authors on the panel this year’s was different that last years, as Ginger Scott, Amy Lane and Heidi Cullinan shared their deeply personal narratives as they spoke of the mental health elements woven into their stories.

I hope you will take the time to watch to:

“Mental Health and Fiction” presented at RT 18 on Thursday May 17, 2018.

Later that evening the Keith Milano Memorial Fund hosted Martinis, Dessert and Authors!

This was our third time hosting a cocktail mingle featuring authors who has supported mental health awareness and for the third year we were blown AWAY by the support for the cause.  On the surface you would think people come for the authors and the personal time…ok and the martinis and super yummy cookies from Sweets by Steph but I was humbled by the number of people who approached us to Thank US….. can you believe it to Thank Us for speaking about mental health. Between the personal stories, the hugs and the people simply handing us donations as they just wanted to help, I was overwhelmed by the support. As people shared stories, smiles and enjoyed their drinks, Keith’s name was kept alive and his struggle with bipolar disorder was honored but beyond that so many knew they weren’t alone in their struggles or experiences.

I must take a moment to Thank the amazing volunteers many of whose have helped the event for each of the three years we hosted, amazing people who this year we made sure to take a photo with! Kathy a huge thank you for taking this event on as your own and to your team for wanting everything to be just right!

Larry and I looking forward to seeing Jo Carol Jones and her amazing team at

BookLovers Con in New Orleans in May 2019!

Friday… Friday…. Larry and I departed the conference a bit early leaving Reno Friday morning… boarding a plane for Las Vegas…..You see my Mother’s Day gift was tickets to see the Vegas Golden Knights play in the Western Conference Finals at T-Mobile arena!  And since this post has already made me teary eyed, I might as well go with it..

A Huge Thank You to my husband for the epic amazing awesome and indulgent gift!

 If you LOVE a Cinderella story so compelling that if an author wrote it readers would say that could never happen…

Grab your Vegas Golden Knights Gear and Join Me is cheering Go Knights Go!

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