Finally back on the grid!

I really do believe this is the longest I’ve ever gone without updating my Blog.  It’s also possibly the longest I’ve gone without getting much writing in…at all.  It’s not a feeling I like very much and I completely look forward to the month of August when things will get back to normal.

Even so, I have to say the month of July has been an experience.  Not only did I take part in a 5-day event where I promoted my name, my book and the soon-to-be published second book in the series, I was also able to go on a family road trip for the first time in much too long.  I really needed a vacation but if you know me and the way our family takes vacations, I usually need a vacation after the vacation because we never have figured out how to actually rest while on our family trips.

Playing in Lake Pend Oreille

 

Oh well…to each their own.  Maybe our next vacation will include a relaxing week on the beach (but honestly, after two days, I’d be ready to take off for some real sightseeing!).

It’s hard to believe almost two weeks have gone by since I was anxiously preparing for Lakefair, as I wondered how the week would go, worried about whether I had enough books or if I had too many, concerned whether I had enough flyers and bookmarks to hand out over the whole 5-day period, preoccupied with how much time I’d be taking off work (not only for Lakefair but also due to vacation)…and trying my best to stay optimistic rather than let the pessimism take control. 

And that’s a really hard thing to do.

Thankfully, I had my husband with me the whole time.  He was the positive force which struck down any negative thoughts and he stayed with me during the whole event.  He’s the best salesman anyone could ever hope to have and because he’s my biggest fan, he’s even that much better.  There’s something about writers…we can be social but overall, I think we’d prefer to hide behind our books, our computer, our thoughts and our imagination.  We’d much prefer to let someone else talk about us, promote us, and encourage others to take a chance on us. 

So how would I describe the results of the event? 

It was, overall, a good experience.  What I did learn was that there is no easy way to prepare for this sort of event.  It can go really well, it can be somewhat successful or it can be a complete flop.  There really is no way to know so you have to hope for the best and prepare for the worst.  For me, I’d say it was right between really well and somewhat successful but I’m still watching the results from the aftermath…as readers buy my paperback or the eBook on line and as I watch my author ranking fluctuate on Amazon.  It is an amazing thing to see when something you did causes the Amazon author ranking graph to suddenly shoot upwards from where it was only two days before.

Something else I really hadn’t been prepared for was how much fun it was going to be to take part in this sort of event with other vendors.  These vendors are in the same situation, only with different products, but they are your neighbors for at least 9 to 10 hours a day, five days straight.  It’s hard not to form at least some sort of temporary bond during the time you’re all working so hard to make the event a positive experience.

Another treat were all the dogs…wow!  I’m not sure I’ve seen so many different kinds of dogs.  It only made me miss my own. 


Sweet Newfoundland

And finally, what I especially enjoyed was how much fun it was to meet so many terrific people.  They would stop by to chat, ask questions and even share a few laughs.  There weren’t many who didn’t buy a book (if they didn’t already have one) before moving on which, of course, I thoroughly loved.  In return, they all gave me great conversation, a smile or a laugh and it made each day that much better. 

That’s all I can share right now without writing a book but I’ll be back in a few days to share more about some of the people I met during the event, along with a few tidbits and stories I’d like to share…including the good, the bad and the amusing.