Exploring the author’s world.

When I set out to write a book I really had no idea what I was in for in the long run. I approached it as a challenge that I wanted - no, needed - to tackle during a hard time in my life. I was in a place where I needed an outlet for creativity when day-to-day life was itself a monotonous challenge. It wasn’t until I had actually finished writing my first novel that I started to look at the rest of what goes on as an author. I knew the basics of needing to publish and market the book, but not any of the details of how it was done in the author world. I looked for opportunities to learn more and found tons of events, conferences, websites, YouTube channels and more. Because life was still a bit challenging, I stuck with virtual learning (YouTube and virtual conferences) initially but knew I wanted to get out and do in-person events.

This year I finally did!

First, I attended the Chuckanut Writers Conference here in NW Washington. It was a great, relatively small event. A chance to connect with other authors and learn from their wisdom. A perfect way to ease into author events! A comfortable and familiar format (like other work-related conferences I’ve attended) with breakout sessions, plenary sessions, and networking time.

The second event I attended was brand new to me - a Readers and Writers event. I had never heard of them until earlier this year when the largest event of this type in Denver had some issues that caused a firestorm on social media. It made me curious. What are these events that bring these two groups of individuals together? I looked around and discovered the Seattle Readers and Writers event was happening in July. Simple enough! A day trip to Seattle to check it out - sounded like a great opportunity!

Before going I could see the list of authors attending, but chose not to spend time learning more about them. My goal was to see what the event was about and get a chance to talk to authors - from their perspective not the marketing blurbs that go along with their book descriptions.

When I arrived, I noticed an energy of excitement and fun. From the quirky and cute way all the volunteers dressed, to the bags and sometimes rolling carts people brought, many already filled with books! The authors were in on that energy too, from the cheerful greetings and smiles to the miles of swag they brought to share.

Wandering around amongst the crowd of readers, their excitement to meet authors they admire was palpable. Some even had t-shirts with their favorite authors’ books or cover models! I had no idea there were such events dedicated to this kind of full-spirited enthusiasm for fangirling (because it was 98% female and 99% Romance books!) on the authors.

The organizers for this event did a great job. It was easy to navigate amongst the tables and plenty of room to sit and just absorb all the goodies. They even had a scavenger hunt to encourage visiting all of the tables to see what hidden clue was at the table!

As a reader of a few of the authors there, it was fun to be able to see them and chat about their books. It was also great to get a chance to meet new authors and find some encouragement to try new genre’s (or tropes) that normally I don’t read, simply because I enjoyed a conversation with the author.

As an author (although not a participating one this time), it seems like great way to meet fans of the books and chat about their characters (something most authors LOVE to do!) Once I have a few more books published I’ll be ready to give it a go.

Here are a few of the new authors I found:

Time-traveling MM Romance with paranormal elements. Normally I’m not an MM or Paranormal romance reader.

Paranormal MC Novella (I normally don’t do novella - or paranormal!)

Okay, this one has some BDSM - something I’m really not into (even after Shades of Grey popularity!) but I like political romance.

Cowboy romances are not my thing either, but I connected with this author over Northern Idaho adventures where the Huckleberry’s grow!

I loved the covers of this author! They were just gorgeous pieces of art. She was also the most “new” author I met there, having only been writing for a few years.

Overall, it was a fun experience. One I would definitely do again but take a few friends with me as it’s definitely a girl’s day out kind of thing!