Sunday, April 22, 2018 will forever be remembered as my first ever Signing Event at the Festival of Books. Just over three weeks following the release of my first book, Shelter From the Storm, I was signing the book for new readers (and hopefully, new long-term fans).
The day started at 10 a.m. at the Sisters in Crime/LA Booth, where I signed alongside fellow authors Anne Louise Bannon, A.J. Llewellyn and my dear friend Sheila Lowe. Sheila has been incredibly supportive of me and my work over the years, and now on my new publishing journey. Thank you so much, Sheila.
So . . . fueled by coffee and plain bagel, I was ready.
It was amazing meeting new people, talking about my book, selling absolute strangers on my work, convincing them to take a chance on an unknown author. Each time another person said Yes I felt a high that grew to a point where I thought I might weep with joy. I'm starting to reach a larger audience. And that is what makes writing an awesome experience for me.
At 12:00 p.m., I shuffled around the corner (the back side of the tent) to sign for an hour with Mystery Writers of America. Now I was signing with Sheila Lowe and NY Times Bestselling Author T. Jefferson Parker. I had actually met Jeff a few years back, but this was our first opportunity to actually chat a bit.
It was pretty awesome talking about our projects and other aspects of our writing. Comparing notes and thoughts about what we look for as readers, and what we try to accomplish as writers.
I loved hearing about Jeff's new character, a Private Investigator (former cop) named Roland Ford who appears in Jeff's latest book The Room of White Fire, and why he wanted to write this character. I personally gravitate toward books written by writers whom I look up to and admire, and whom I believe I can learn from. Jeff is definitely one of those writers. He's the real deal ... awesome writer and amazingly nice man.
Example: Of course, being a bestseller since the 80s, Jeff was going to have a constant flow of fans buying his books and wanting to talk with him. And each and every person who came up to talk with him, he then turned their attention my way and introduced me and explained that I had written my first book and that they should take a look at it. How cool is that?
So ... thank you to Jeff and Sheila and all the excellent writers I got to hang out with at my very first Festival of Books signing. And a HUGE thank you to all the new friends I made who took a chance on an unknown author and bought my book. Stephen King refers to his individual fans as Constant Reader. I like that. I need to figure out something like that myself. Because ... while I love to write ... it is you ... each and every one of my readers, new and old, who make this all real for me.
I can't forget to mention my good friend, Eduardo Daniel Victoria, who came out on a very rare day off from his busy schedule to support me and buy my book. Thanks, man! It was great seeing you and I can't wait to get your feedback.
And, last but not least ... thank you to each and every one of you who took the time from your busy day to read my first-ever blog. This stuff is all pretty new to me, so bear with me. My plan is to post something new roughly once a week. Although, depending on schedule or developments, it might be a little more or less frequent than that.
Signing off ... until next time.
PS