What’s better than going to an event where you come across a few authors promoting their awesome books?
Going to an event where you bump into literally dozens of authors promoting their awesome books!
This past weekend, I had the privilege of attending Riveting Reads 2017: a special all-weekend author event organised by MI Bookshelf and hosted at the Mecure Hotel in the heart of Brisbane, Australia. The event launched Friday night with a special cocktail party, and ran all the way through to Sunday evening.
While I have done bookstore signings, school presentations, and pop culture conventions, this was my first time attending an author-exclusive event. And though I was only able to take part during the Saturday, I still had a fantastic time!
Yours Truly at the Imaginarium 2.0 Booth
Thanks to my amazing Australian distributor, Imaginarium 2.0, I was able to come along and help out at the Imaginarium booth without expense. A delicious lunch of salads, sandwiches and lamb shanks was provided (yes, lamb shanks! Cue sparkly eyes and watering mouth), as well as morning and afternoon tea. And I—being used to getting by on bitter coffees and sugary snacks during such outings—felt quite pampered! 😀
The venue space was filled with rows of tables stocked with a colourful array of books and banners and eye-catching swag goodies. The tables were perhaps a little too small (especially for our Imaginarium 2.0 booth, where several authors’ works were on display), but at least the hotel provided comfy chairs; trust me, I have been to events where the chairs are less-than-friendly to the derriere, and it seriously makes a big difference!
Photo taken by Catherine Davenport
One thing that stood out to me—differing from other events I have attended—was the sheer volume of romance books being represented. I am aware of how popular the genre is, but I was actually taken aback by the number of authors from the different branches of romance (historical, paranormal, erotica etc.) in attendance.
Like … SO much Romance!
And the number of covers with rippling pectorals and shiny abs … I must say, for those who love that particular cup of tea, it would have been like moths to flames!
And for those like me:
Ah-hem, anyway.
What did that bode for me and my upper middle-grade light epic fantasy books?
Well, let’s just say, where there are romance novels, there are crowds of mother and grandmother readers. And what do such wonderful ladies have in common? Children/ Grand Children!
Turns out, my books were the best-sellers for Imaginarium 2.0 over the weekend!
Wow, that definitely boosted my Happy Metre.
Cue Happy Dance
It really made my day to learn my books were so well received, and at an event where they had to compete with hundreds of other exciting and interesting books! I believe my presence there on the Saturday helped (books are likely to get more attention if the actual author is there to engage with curious readers), but I have to give a shout-out to the incredible efforts of Catherine Davenport, who worked the booth the whole weekend, including set-up and pack-down, and helped to make my Saturday all the more enjoyable with her morale and good conversation.
So, I had a great time and experienced something new (including signing carry bags and t-shirts for the first time! … I had no idea that was a popular thing for readers to do at author events).
Will I attend similar events in the future? Of course! Why not! Not only is it a good opportunity to gain exposure as an author, but you get to meet so many other interesting and colourful people from the same profession (and you get to ogle books!).
Thanks again, Imaginarium 2.0, for the opportunity. I’m looking forward to the next event!
And now, I need to get back to writing Book 4 of the Dragon Calling series!
Whims from Valadae 