Every year, May 8th celebrates Make a Book Day. It challenges people to ‘channel their inner author’.
Well, five years ago I did just that. I had no idea what would happen when I began setting down my idea for a genre-crossing, off-trend urban fantasy/sci-fi trilogy. But nothing is ever gained without trying, and during the first lockdowns in 2020 I began with the words that had been in my head for a long time:
“Do you think you know me? I promise you, you don’t.”
The words of narrator Romy Ussher, recounting her wild journey from unsuspecting professional archivist to a creature who might bathe the galaxy in death – you’ll have to read the final book in the trilogy, Out of Time, to find out whether she can hold on to her humanity or not.
It’s been an epic journey for me as the author, and what better way to celebrate the completion of this part of the Chaos Roads saga (while the trilogy is finished, there will be more stories coming out of the strange town of Llithfaen) than to launch the finale at a huge local event. On May 30th I’ll be standing in my very dramatic booth, with two of my friends as helpers, along with my all-purpose creator and roadie hubby, as more than 30,000 people begin to mill through in search of fun.
Quite a few people have asked if I’ll be in costume, and as much as I love dressing up for Halloween, at Comic Con I have three long days on the floor, so comfort is my highest priority. And my novels aren’t well-enough known to produce a recognizable costume. I can tell you, though, that I’ll be a very cool author. A wise fellow author recommended wearing your brand at appearances, and so far that’s worked very well for me, but I’ll kick it up a notch for the convention. Think: a little glam mixed with slightly goth. I will post photos post-event 😊
So there’s a section of my closet set aside for specific outfits for each day. And the lower level of our house has become the storage space for all my supplies.
We have two portable power generators so that we don’t have to depend on an external supply (it can be arranged at this venue, but not at all of my appearances, so it feels good to be self-reliant.
There are two gel floor mats rolled up in a box for me and my helpers to stand on for up to ten hours in a day. A 19” monitor will play a couple of messages, one for the draw prize and one to introduce a small game I’ve created. Cash box with a float, and a Square reader for electronic payments. Various stands to hold books and other things. Tablecloths, a branded table runner, a table-top sign, signs for pricing, cables and cords… It’s a long list.
I have a tableful of decorations for my booth, and a couple of surprises. My dark, moody booth décor has gone over very well in single-table iterations at recent book signings, and one family said they’re really looking forward to seeing the entire booth at the Con.
And there are piles of merchandise – two boxes of my new mugs (very cool, I have to say), a stack of boxes of books (including Book 3 – very exciting!), a container of e-reader charms (both USB-C and Lightning plug-ins), a box of bookmarks, one of business cards, a shipment of Roads Troublemaker t-shirts on the way, and a companion Journal in the proofing stage.
Based on a very smart suggestion on another author blog, I’ve created an inventory spreadsheet of all the things we need to make sure we transport to Niagara Falls. They’re all critical, both to arrive at the Convention Centre and to come back home with us at the end of the event (except all the merchandise we hope will sell out, of course 😉)
Thursday, May 29th is “Load-In” Day, when my hubby and I, along with around 200 other exhibitors, will be manhandling our way from the loading docks to our booth. I haven’t received my booth number yet, so check my Instagram feed for that info, hopefully coming soon.
Yup, it’s a lot, far more than I’d really anticipated, but we’re having great fun pulling it all together (although my hubby claims I’ve turned our home into a sweatshop where he works for no wages 😀
It’s not a cheap undertaking, either, but we consider it an investment. Last year the convention had over 30,000 visitors – hard to beat that for better exposure to my novels. (Hence the heightened booth setup and activities to attract as much attention as possible.)
We’re getting down to the wire now – just roughly three weeks to go! May is very much a literary month – May 3rd was Wordsmith Day, May 8th is Make a Book Day, May 22nd is Sherlock Holmes Day – so it seems like the perfect time to launch the grand finale to my trilogy. I’m very excited, and I hope to see some of you at Niagara Falls Comic Con to celebrate with me!