Despite a busy spring I still had a few events I wanted to squeeze into my packed calendar. I may not be a social butterfly, but there is a certain fun getting in front of crowd and chat about topics near and dear to my heart. But it’s more than that.

For the solitary writer doing events reminds you, you are not alone. That there are people out there eager and interested in your stories and their also authors going through the same thing as you. While you can see this online,  meeting people in person adds a whole new level to it.

While I’ve gotten to do a number of events over the years, I still get the pangs of FOMO when I can’t make it to an event, especially when it’s a big one, like Imaginarium in DC. It was the first book event I did in person and I have loved watching it evolve over the years. I was there last year, but couldn’t make it for this year, and never have I met FOMO so strongly. This year I even had had few events that I had to pull out of due to other commitments that overlapped. 

These days doing in-person events feels like a good way to make connections. With algorithms and all the noise of the day, it’s hard to know if your words are getting out there or even if you’re getting the right sort of engagement. Doing an event whether it’s a book festival, meet and greet, giving a talk, or even tabling at a convention, raises the odds you’ll make connections you might not otherwise. You get valuable face time and 

I find that doing events brings me to spaces where I usually don’t go, and I get to meet all sorts of people I might not have met otherwise.  It’s because of those chance encounters, those passing conversations, and much more, that where’s the FOMO comes. The possibilities of something happening that can’t precisely occur online. Because meeting new people at these events leads to lasting inspirations that both supercharges my writing as well as all my other endeavors.

Questions I Consider for Events

• Have I done this event before?
• How easy it is to get there? Do I want to do a day trip or stay a night or two?
• Is the event in city I’m interested in visiting (or returning to)?
• Who else is scheduled to be there? Is it someone I know or people I wanted to meet?
• Will the timing of the event work given my other commitments?
• How much time do I want to commit? How much money? Will I get paid or not?
• What will I be doing for the event?

I did a lot of fun events this spring!  In March I was at the Virginia Festival of the Book, where I chatted historical mysteries and later, I got to moderate a panel all about historical fantasy. (And not to brag, lots of people said it was the best panel of the event!)

April brought me to Florida for Broward County’s Literary Feast.  Between events I squeezed in some sightseeing around Fort Lauderdale for dollops of inspiration, and was wowed by the Bonnet House.

May had me in South Carolina, where I got to do a school visit at a high school and later dropped by All Good Books as a guest at their book club where I had a custom drink made in my honor, aptly named “The Starseeker”

I ended May with a stop at Suffolk Library’s, IconiCon. It’s a pretty big one with lots of kids in costumes, fun activities, and even a tea house!

I spent most of this past spring working on edits for Death by Christmas Cake. I’m in the last proofreading stages and early review copies will be coming soon, so keep your eyes peeled for news!

Upcoming Events

I got a few events coming up this summer.

Look for me in NYC on June 20th for this year’s Bronx Book Festival. 

 And then on July 11 & 12 I’ll be in Ohio for the Columbus Book Festival.

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