Yay! I'm finally doing a reader/author event!!

I'm always looking for new ways to connect with readers and I'm learning that face to face is an awesome way!!

Unfortunately, my city is not very supportive of the romance genre. We get snubbed often. :( Once  I did a local book fair and oh my the looks I got! I was shocked. I never expected that kind of reception from a community that is very supportive of all art forms. I left feeling extremely defeated. I've done other events as well, with the same reactions.

So I knew I needed to look outside my community for romance novel fans. I have friends who did the Lori Foster event earlier this year and said it was fabulous! Registration for that won't open for a couple months yet. I'll have my fingers crossed that I get in. But in the meantime, I signed up to do a reader/author event in Pittsburgh in March! There will be more than 70 romance authors for an all day book fair. Then in the evening, the VIP guests get to attend a fabulous dinner with all the authors! It all sounds so fun! I can't wait!!

If you're in the Pittsburgh area, check it out! Click here!

Have you ever been to a reader/author event? Thoughts?

Book fair...book fail......

Last weekend was the Buffalo Small Press Book Fair. The event is held inside a beautiful renovated church:




This was my first local event. Last year, my promotion was concentrated on internet-based stuff- my blog, Facebook, Twitter, etc... But one of my goals for 2011 was to get myself out in my local community more. Show Buffalo that I am here and I am awesome!!!

Yeah...didn't really work so well.

The book fair is open to authors, publishers, book and paper crafters, etc... Basically if you do something and it uses paper in some way, you could participate. I had attended the event a few years ago and there were a ton of really talented people there. I couldn't wait to participate!

So I planned my table, and with my friend having to back out uncontrollably at the last minute, the table was all mine. So I decided to make it sexy. My books are sexy, so I made sure my table represented that:




And I dressed accordingly. I wore a fabulous dress and painted my nails red, and I wore a cute pair of shoes. But as the other tables around me filled up, I started to feel extremely out of place. My decor was wrong, my attire was wrong.....my book was just wrong. At one point, I was adjusting my dress (I admit, it was a little low cut) and looked up to see the woman across from my table glaring at me. She quickly looked away....but it gave me a good idea of what she was thinking. Me and my book did not belong there.

I had some people come by and say they thought my title was great...or the cover was striking, or the blurb sounded good.....but none of the comments led to sales. I did sell some books, but most were to my friends who came to support me. Only 1 book was sold to a non-friend.

But instead of letting myself get too depressed.....the St. Patty's party at a friend's house after the book fair helped...a lot!:


I told myself that this was just not the right venue for me and my work. There is nothing wrong with my work. I just need to work harder to find places where my work will be appreciated.

Hopefully what I have coming up will help. I spoke with one of my favorite little independent bookstores and we will be setting up a book signing. I did an interview last week with a small newspaper and that will run in next week's edition.

Do you care what people think of you???

Do you care about your image?

I have days where I tell myself I don't care what others think and I'm gonna do what I wanna do and to hell with everyone else.

But that is really not me. I honestly do care what others think...but not to the point where it makes me change the way I do something.

For example...whenever I know someone is coming over, I make sure my house is tidy. Unfortunately, the life of a mom and author does not lend me tons of time to just keep my home spotless all the time. If you stop by unannounced, you'll most likely find dirty dishes in the sink, toys everywhere, the dining room table littered with junk. But if someone is coming over, I clean up. It's not that I want people to think I always keep an immaculate home...I just have respect for others and want to offer them a clean and tidy place to visit.

And my appearance...I like to look good. I just do. It makes me feel good to look good. Life isn't about the clothes people wear or fancy hairdos, but taking the time to make yourself look presentable shows you respect yourself. And when people look at me, I want my appearance to say that I am organized, mature, and I know what I'm doing. And if they think I'm pretty or sexy too....well, that's quite all right with me! Can't help it...I love to feel pretty!!! I watch What Not to Wear on TLC quite frequently and it never ceases to amaze me that so many women feel unimportant and ugly. They've given up on appearance and are amazed when they do take a few minutes for themselves at how much better and confident they feel. All women should feel beautiful and have confidence.

As an author who is starting to do appearances and signings, the way I look means a lot. It matters what people think of me. A first impression says a lot, and when someone first lays eyes on you...before one word is even spoken...they can tell a lot just from your appearance.

Last summer I threw a big party at my house for the release of A Bitch Named Karma. I'd invited all my friends and family, my writers group members too. One of my writer friends told me I looked glamorous. I'd chosen a special outfit to wear for the party- a teal-colored ruffled sleeveless top, a dark pencil skirt, strappy sandals and chunky beaded jewelry. She said I looked exactly like the kind of woman she'd want to buy a romance novel from. Her statement meant a lot to me. And made me think. The way you look can even say something about your work. If I'd been dressed in a beige pair of pants, a plain shirt, no jewelry, that would have said something completely different about me. If I wore something boring like that to a signing...would I draw in as many people??

I am attending my first ever book event as an author- The Buffalo Small Press Book Fair. I'll be signing books and selling copies too. There will be many people there from our arts community. I need to look like a fabulous author!!! I need to look like I belong. I need others to look at me and think I look like someone important...someone they should get to know!