Last year’s Nerd Party was my first-ever book signing event, so the annual mini-fair has a special place in my heart. It initially surprised me how many people showed up and wandered through the shops and displays. This year looked to be even bigger. There were more artists, more authors, added special guests, and still the same displays that were such a draw last time. Even with the pending inclement weather, it did not disappoint.
I did not get an opportunity to wander around the different stores, so I can only tell you about and share pictures from my little area. I was between two other local authors I have had the pleasure of booth-buddying with previously: J. P. Barnett and Maria Giakoumatos. We work well together as we are all in the fantasy realm, but fit into different sub-niches to suit any fantasy book tastes. The former has a series about two college girls hunting monsters instead of going to class. The latter has a spooky fantasy series involving vampires, demons, and other occult themes.
Mr. J. P. Barnett took to calling our area in the back of the comic shop the “author and artist cave” because, with the three of us, there were two artists as well (Maria has art in addition to her books too!). You can see their info in the picture here to check out their work.
Tori drew the frog (I love frogs!) while at the event.
How did I do? Well, I exceeded my goal for the evening. I think most people attended early, as it slowed down after the first couple of hours. The threat of snow kept some visitors away this year, but we heard they are shifting the Nerd Party to a warmer month in 2024. Hopefully, more people will be able to attend then. To anyone reading this who bought something from one of us in the author and artist cave, thank you for your support!
I’m now off to the Sounders’ season openers, so…until next year, fellow nerds!
This afternoon, 9/24/22, I will be back in my Renaissance garb to chat about my books to anyone who will stop to listen. The idea fills me with both dread and anticipation. I always have to psyche myself up for a lot of human interaction. It is not where my energy comes from, and I continue to battle fits of shyness.
My excitement comes from all the people I have had the opportunity to chat with at other events this year. In February, I met my first fantasy fan excited to “meet the author.” Last month, people stopped by my tent to hear about my stories and ask about the world I created. The overwhelmingly positive and supportive response makes the next live event a little easier to approach.
The Fall Festi-Con Fair is hosted by the local independent bookstore, Page Turner Books, in Kent, Washington. More than a half-dozen authors across multiple genres and a local artist or two will be there. One of the authors will be giving a talk over at the bakery across the street. I will be there with a table at either the bookstore or comic shop right next door.
Deal of the Day
If you are in the area, stop by between 2- 7 pm. You can pick up both books together for a bundle discount. I will also be offering to honor the bundle pricing on the second book for anyone who picked up just the first at the Renaissance Faire. To get the Ren Faire deal, make sure to have your copy of the first book in hand!
Call to Action
For readers who have already read through one or both books and enjoyed them, I ask that you consider going onto Amazon to leave a rating/review. Reviews are a critical factor in new authors gaining promotions, generating interest, and eventually being able to offer additional formats like audiobooks. Reviews are a simple, yet powerful way to support the authors of works you have enjoyed.
If you have the time and inclination, I’ve included the links below. You would go to the book’s page, scroll to the reviews, and click on “write a review.” It might be necessary to log in, so if you don’t have an Amazon account, Goodreads and Bookbub are additional review locations!
Final reminder: when I reach 40 total Amazon reviews, I will be adding a deleted chapter from Hidden Sanctuary to the website. I have a new webpage and some revisions in-work to get it out there. Fingers crossed that it functions as expected, but I need those ratings from you before I start the test!
The renaissance faire was an awesome experience this weekend. Despite breathing in a pound of dirt, sweating in the hot sun, and wearing my poor feet out, I loved meeting so many wonderful vendors and fairgoers. I was floored by the reception to my book. Thank you to everyone who stopped by my tent to hear a little about me and my work.
First, I want to say another thank you to my sister and husband for working my tent with me this weekend. They showed me the ropes learned from last weekend and stuck around in the blazing sun to help make the event a success. We easily found our rhythm, and their passion for my books matches mine. Without a doubt, I could not have managed without your support.
Impressions and Surprises
The biggest surprise for me was how the day flowed. Nine hours of standing around plus two of set-up and prep sounds like it would drag on endlessly, but you move quickly through the day. An hour of unpacking and set-up, and then you have an hour to relax. Other merchants would often come over to chat with us, or we would roam around chatting ourselves. Before you knew it, the gates were opening.
Showing off my book from in front of my tiny tent!
During the first hour or so, most people were drifting around scoping out the offerings or heading to the first show at eleven. We saved our voices for later, mostly nodding to people and showing off the book. The handful of early customers helped us warm up our book summary skills and gain energy from chatting about something we all enjoy.
Chatting about books!
Signing books!
The joust would let out, and a wave of people made their way through the aisles. It was always fun to see someone perk up when they heard my husband shout out about “fantasy books.” That would be me passing by and hearing someone call out to the reader in me. I immediately had something in common with everyone talking to us, which was a relatively new experience.
From there, it was a flurry of activity and trading off lunch breaks until around two in the afternoon. The late-lunch-lull allowed us to trade another round of short breaks and reapply our sunscreen. Things would pick up again between four and five. We caught our breath then, until the final rush in the hour before closing. Then, it was time to pack up again.
With short breaks and talking about books all day, the time flew by much faster than I expected. Based on this experience, I 100% want to come back next year. I now have this dream of standing at my tiny tent in 2023 and having someone call out, “Oh good! You did get a tent again this year!” #authorgoals
Closing down and packing up after a wonderful weekend!
After Hours
I have still never been to the evening events the fair also offers at the taverns on Saturdays. Instead of attending, we joined the cast and crew D&D session Cleric Games hosted after hours. They ran a little two-hour session for people who wanted to join.
I played a barbarian for the first time. Before this, my paladin was my favorite. My style is to “run in and hit things,” so melee works for me. Barbarian might be my new favorite. I would have to give it more than two hours of play before I make that decision, but raging is very “Tiffany.”
Final Note
Welcome to any new readers checking out and signing up for my blog here after meeting me at the ren faire. If you are here because we talked about my publishing journey, click on the “publishing” tag (by the little tag symbol) below and start with the oldest posts.
If you are here because you loved the books and want to keep in touch, I encourage you to follow my blog by subscribing at the bottom of this page for weekly posts, my newsletter by subscribing on the homepage, or any of my social media accounts. You can find those via the links at the bottom of the page.
As always, thank you all for your support, and I hope to continue sharing more books with you all in the future!
Tiffany Shearn 
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