tiffanyshearn

Soccer and a Giveaway

It has been a while since I blogged. I feel as though I am finding my feet again to be able to step in the right direction. While my chest still feels tight, straining against the weight I imagine on my shoulders, there are moments and days I can take for myself now.

Soccer Week

Last Sunday, I had a booth at the Wizard’s School put on by Wizards of Washington. The charity organization does a wonderful job supporting local authors, so I was one of around eight authors offering my books. I went straight from the event to the OL Reign game that evening, so I did not have time to change. While only one person commented on my Renaissance attire, I’m sure other soccer fans wondered what drove my strange garb.

I mixed up a couple of boxes, and my partner had to make a trip home and back to bring copies of Hidden Promise. Oops!

Friday was another Reign game and a special event for many soccer fans. Megan Rapinoe announced her retirement earlier this year, and Friday’s game was her final home match of her final NWSL season. I envy her confidence and self-assurance in the face of controversy and opposition. A record-breaking crowd turned out to see her off and thank her for her contributions to US women’s soccer and other social issues.

Finally, Saturday was fan appreciation night for the Sounders. After over a decade, I have still yet to win any of the big screen giveaways, but my sister and I got a lunch box they were offering out front and some championship trinkets. Both weekend games were exciting, despite ending up as draws.

Upcoming Giveaway!

I teased this on Facebook yesterday, and there will be more posts about it in the coming days. In celebration of reaching the fifty-review mark for Hidden Memory on Amazon (thank you all!), I’m giving away another paperback copy of one of my books!

The entry process will be similar to last time, where I will receive entries via replies to the October newsletter. If you signed up for my newsletter at the faire this summer, I will add all those emails this week. If you don’t see a welcome email by Friday, I recommend signing up on the website.

This event will be open to all, but I’m capping shipping at $25. If you are outside the USA and win, I would ask that you cover the difference in shipping or it would go to another person randomly selected.

If you win, you will be able to pick the Hidden Series book you want to receive. So, if you have the first three already, I’ll hold your win until Hidden Strength comes out and send you that one if it is your selection. Your reviews mean the world to me, and I am so excited to send another signed copy of my book to another recipient.

Back to Reading

Last year, I read over a book a week, and this year, I’m closer to about one a month. Since reading is one of my relaxation habits, the lack has potentially contributed to my stress levels. That clearly means I need to invest more time delving into my various fantasy worlds.

One of my go-to authors when feeling down is K. M. Shea. She writes primarily clean, YA fantasy romance. Her stories are fun, humorous, and generally uplifting, which is a welcome break from the stress of everyday life. I’ll probably start with rereading one of her series, but I’m always looking for recommendations.

What are some of your comfort reads and why?

Not Alright

The last month or so has been a significant struggle for me. I have felt overwhelmed, depressed, and at a loss for how to move forward. Many factors have contributed to the situation, and not all are entirely negative. The combination has driven me to the point where my emotional cup is full and every additional trigger sends it overflowing.

I’m working through the challenges. My husband has been an immense pillar of support, taking on more in the home and providing administrative support for the business. He and my sister were also extremely helpful with the Renaissance Faire over the last three weekends. I would not be where I am today without their help and support.

My blog posts and social media have not been as reliably regular as in the past. The timing will continue to be a bit sparse for a while longer. Something has to give while I recover my time, but it will not last forever.

To shift my focus, I want to highlight a few of the good things that have happened recently.

The Renaissance Faire was an immense success. I met many wonderful people and received overwhelmingly positive feedback on my books. On top of the faire, I have also received five more reviews on Amazon, hitting the fifty mark, and more people are reading through the series.
My business is going well in most areas. While I have felt back at square one, it is well beyond that point with potential upside remaining.
I took some time last weekend for myself. I went to a family lunch, watched TV, sat with my cats, and made some jam.

I will continue to push forward, focus on the positive, and take my counselor’s advice to apply the skills for emotional management. One day at a time, I will work to get back on track and find my balance. In the meantime, everyone please give my alpha readers some encouragement as they work through the draft of Hidden Strength.

(If you are curious about the muffin picture, I have also treated myself to chocolate muffins.)

2023 Ren Faire Moments

The Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire is the first three weekends in August. While this might feel a bit premature to highlight some of my favorite moments, I will probably do a full Ren Faire review next week after it is all over. I’ll include any additional excitement in that one.

The Superfan

A young person working at a food stand for the fair walked past the first day just after opening. We snagged her with our stellar sales shouts, and she spared a few moments before her shift to come over and chat about my books. She was excited about them and said she would talk to her dad about getting them.

I underestimated the level of excitement, though. Over the first two days of the faire, she stopped by a few times, as did her dad. He works at the faire and wanted to make sure we would still be there other weekends or at least have enough on Sunday for them to buy a set.

He made a brief stop on Sunday and paid in advance so I could sign them for her when she came by after her shift. With her personalized books in hand, she stuck around for a while longer to chat and talk about how excited she was to read them. Sticking around could be problematic, but she did a wonderful job of letting us continue to sell and interact with other customers.

All respect for this young lady, and I hope she enjoys them even half as much as she anticipated.

On a Mission

I mentioned this one on Facebook already, so act surprised.

Having just finished a sale and signing, I turned to the next person in line holding one of my books. I thought it was the one my husband had been using to wave at the passing crowds. We tend to hold a copy of Hidden Memory so we can hand it to people for them to read the back.

“What are we doing for you?” I asked.

“Oh, I was just hoping you could sign this,” she replied, holding up a copy of Hidden Promise.

It took my brain a moment to process the sequence of events and associated possibilities. Did someone hand her the third book by accident? What did she mean by just the signature? I recovered quickly enough with a big grin.

Someone liked my books so much they did not want to wait for the faire to get the next in the series, but they still wanted the signature. That someone would bring a book to an event specifically for me to sign made me feel, for a little while, that I had made an impression.

Real-Time Feedback

During the days of weekend two, a few people who purchased books during the first stopped by to tell me how they, their friend, their child, or another person for whom they bought the book was loving it and could not put it down. A handful of people have also messaged me on social media with similar messages. One told me she regretted only picking up the first while she was at the fair, and that she already ordered book two.

Another two reviews have also already come in on Amazon, and I hope to see a few more. I’m up to 45 on Hidden Memory, which is so close to my goal for the year.

More to Come

I also got my hair braided, braved the extreme heat, and shipped a lost book to the person who bought it from me. Someone turned the book into lost and found, so that was wonderful of them. I will try to do better at getting some pictures next time, but no promises.

Stay cool out there, friends!

Renaissance Faire 2023

My blog posts are going to be a bit sporadic this month. During the week, I’m covering for some people out at work. On the weekends, I’m putting in twelve-hour days in Monroe selling books at the Washington Midsummer Renaissance Faire.

Due to a horrid confluence of logistical nightmares brought upon by the increasing popularity of the event, it moved up north to Sky Meadows Park in Snohomish this year. The location is larger, and the event will only use a portion of it this year and next with plans to grow. It has closer freeway access to simplify the in and outbound traffic. Finally, they capped ticket sales and are not selling onsite to prevent exceeding safety capacity.

There remain challenges. The walkways could use some straw laid down and dampened each morning. They have a water truck drive through in the mornings, but the dirt paths are dry again by midday and the pedestrian traffic kicks up a fair amount of dust. People are still complaining about the food lines, but there are more vendors this year, and I would estimate the lines are about the same during peak times with more downtime to take advantage of.

As of this week, all remaining days of the faire are sold out. Hopefully, there will be more capacity next year, and anyone left out this year will look to buy tickets early. I’m excited to see the coming growth and to be a part of it.

With that, it is back to work for me. I will try to get some pictures this weekend and share some moments sometime next week. Maybe I will even post my first TikTok video in nearly a year from my tent.

Huzzah!