On Sunday I skipped the last day of the Philadelphia Writers Conference to attend the BooksNJ festival in Paramus, NJ. For those of you wondering where Paramus is, it’s WAAAAY up in north Jersey. You pretty much pass New York City to get there.
Still, the hour and a half ride was pleasant, no problems at all. I got there early and found a nearby bank easily. Then I got lost coming back from the bank because even with the GPS the roads were too confusing (and poorly signed). But I eventually arrived at the Paramus Library, which hosted the event.
I should add that we were having a major heat wave that day. Temps in the 90s, and this was an outdoor festival. Luckily, we authors were under a tent, so we had shade all day, and enough of a breeze to make the weather not unbearable. The library also provided us with cold water and an air-conditioned room to retreat to if needed.
Because the festival grounds were rather large and there were panels ongoing all day, judging the crowd size was a bit hard. I talked to a good number of people who stopped at my table, gave them cards and bookmarks, and signed some bookmarks for some tweens. I got to spend the day with fellow authors J.R. Bale and Kristina Garlick, so I had good company to pass the time.
J.R., Kristina, and I were on a panel together, along with author Stephen S. Power. The topic: Worlds Beyond Reality: Fantasy and Science Fiction, moderated by Laurie Meeske. We discussed the difference between SciFi and Fantasy, why people are drawn to one or the other, what drew us to writing those worlds, and why we feel those genres are important. Although we were in the final time-slot of the day, our panel was well-attended. This was my first panel at a book event ever, and I greatly enjoyed talking with these knowledgeable and entertaining authors.
After that I packed up, sweated my way to the car, and let the miles unfurl under my tires as I headed back south. I enjoyed the day, and when the next BooksNJ festival comes along in 2019, I will certainly plan to attend.
Trippin’: Where I’ll Be When
Summer seemed to last FOREVER this year, and now all of a sudden we are halfway through September and my life is frantically book-busy. My first event has snuck up on me!
This Saturday, September 16th (weather permitting), I will be at the New Providence Book Festival, from 9 AM to 3 PM. I will have a reading and Q&A at 10:30 AM.
Then I will have a whirlwind week helping out at the Book Fair at my daughter’s school, which isn’t at all related to my personal book business, but is still a book related event and a great deal of fun.
The next Saturday, September 23rd, will see me at Eastampton Day (unless the New Providence Festival gets rained out, then I’ll be at that rain date), from 12 to 4:30 PM.
I get a bit of a break until October, when I am booked into 2 events. The first is the Collingswood Book Festival on October 7th from 10 AM to 4 PM. Hopefully it will not rain this year, as I want to experience the festival in its full outdoor glory.
The second event is River Reads on October 15th from 10 AM to 4 PM. I was at the inaugural event last year, and it was a lot of fun! This year they have added a River Reads Workshop as well, so if you are a writer, check it out!
Another event for November is in the works, but nothing has been finalized yet.
So that’s my busy book schedule so far. All these events felt so far away, and now the first of them is right on my doorstep! I thought with my daughter back in school, things would get a little less crazy for me, but it seems things are simply going to be crazy in a different way.
Any of you going to be at cool events in the next few months?