My Time at the St. George Book Expo

Over the weekend I was down in St. George (southern Utah) at the St. George Book Festival. There was a day of workshops, of which I taught one on Writing in Multiple Genres, and then the expo was the next day where myself and about sixty other authors sold their books. 

          

All the JFP Authors who attended. From left to right: Lehua Parker, Teri Harman,
 Johnny Worthen, Yours Truly, and Berk Washburn (of The Brothers' Washburn)

It was great! The workshops were enlightening. My own presentation went well--I got a few compliments on it--even if it did run about ten minutes too short. 

My awesome dad, who came to keep me company,
do the heavy lifting, the driving, and learn some
stuff himself. We had a blast! Love you, Dad! :D

Dean Hughes was the keynote speaker. I thought he was great. Very entertaining and also insightful. I haven't read his books myself but he's one of my brother's favorite authors. My brother is always telling me I should read Children of the Promise.

Dean Hughes, Keynote Speaker

The expo itself on Saturday, was a bit more disappointing. Everyone promised it would be well-attended, but we were tucked away on the third floor of the children's museum and I don't think people knew where to find us. Most of us only sold a handful of books. 

But, that's okay. I got to network with other authors a lot and I handed out almost one hundred bookmarks. I'd call that a day well spent! :D

The beautiful St. George temple, set against the earthy
tones of southern Utah.

How was everyone else's weekend?

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2014 St. George Book Festival and Other Announcements

Happy Monday, Everyone! 

I hope you're all gearing up for a productive and prosperous week. 

For today, I'm just doing some announcements. The fall, as always, will be a busy one for me, as I'll be attending plenty of conferences and bookish events.

August 30 I have an author signing at the Hastings in Harrisville, Utah. It's a modest little place, but the Hastings company is always willing to support local authors, so I do my best to help them out in return.

September 12-13 is the League of Utah Writers' annual conference. As of right now, I'm not presenting that I know of. Just going to socialize, network, and learn lots of new things from some phenomenal presenters. It's being held in Layton, Utah this year, which is like ten minutes from my house. (Yea!)

October 4 is an author signing event also hosted by Hastings, but it will be a whole slew of local authors coming together for the same event. More details to come as it gets closer.

October 24-25 is the 2014 St. George Book Festival. I'll be attending as a Keynote/Guest Author and running one of the workshops on the 24th. Very excited for this one as I've never attended before.

So, if you're anywhere in or around Utah and can possibly make it to any of the events, I'd love to meet you! Of course I'll post reminders as the fall draws near. Have a great week, Everyone! Get out there and take steps toward your own success!

What events do you have lined up for the fall?

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Successful Launch Party!!!

Saturday was the launch party for Citadels of Fire, and it was a smash success! Lots of friends, family, and colleagues from all over came to support me. I think I had thirty or forty people there. Most of them bought copies (some more than one *squee*) and I had quite a few customers who were simply shopping around in Barnes and Noble come up and talk to me about the book and buy copies as well.

I didn't ever do a reading--the flow of things was more open house than captive audience--but I didn't mind that. I was constantly talking to different people about the book, and the time just flew by. My wonderful publicist Marissa from Jolly Fish Press stopped by, which was great because I'd never met her in person before. We just correspond via email. It was great to finally put a face to a name. 

And of course, a couple of my fellow JFP authors came out to support me as well, which I very much appreciated. Thanks Johnny and Elsie! :D

Overall, I thought it was a great success. Below are a few pictures. (Now if I can only master the art of selling a million copies! Hmm...)

Me and my 3-year old niece Cheveya, who
was much more interested in running around
the store and finding books of her own to
read than she was about my 

Me at my Citadels of Fire launch party.

Me and Author Johnny Worthen.
As you can see, he'smaking me laugh.
See his page HERE.

Me and my teenage brothers, who all put on
Facebook that their sister was a celebrity
and they were proud of her. *heart melts*

Any tips for things I could have done to make it an even bigger success?

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Citadels of Fire Launch Day!!!

Today's the day you all (or at least I) have been waiting for!

Citadels of Fire is available for purchase today at all major retailers! 

Get it on Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and most other major retailers, and let me know what you think!

In a world where danger hides in plain sight and no one aspires to more than what they were born to, Inga must find the courage to break the oppressive chains she’s been bound with since birth.  

As a maid in the infamous Kremlin, life in 16th-century Russia is bleak and treacherous. That is, until Taras arrives. Convinced that his mother’s death when he was a boy was no mere accident, he returned from England to discover what really happened. While there, he gains favor from the Tsar later known as Ivan the Terrible, the most brutal and notorious ruler ever to sit upon the throne of Russia. Ivan allows him to take a servant, and to save Inga from a brutal boyar intent on raping her, Taras requests Inga to stay in his chambers.  

Up against the social confines of the time, the shadowy conspiracies that cloak their history, and the sexual politics of the Russian Imperial court, Inga and Taras must discover their past, plan for their future, and survive the brutality that permeates life within the four walls that tower over them all, or they may end up like so many citizens of ancient Russia: nothing but flesh and bone mortar for the stones of the Kremlin wall.

If you're in the area, the official launch party will be held in the Layton, Utah Barnes and Noble this Saturday, the 31st, at 1:00 pm. I'd love to meet you!

Are you into historical fiction? Does Citadels of Fire interest you? 

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Write for the Heights Literary Fair II

Just a quick note for your Saturday morning! I'm presenting at a literary fair today! I'll be putting on a workshop at 10:30 am. I really should have started telling people about this a week ago, but what can I say? I'm terrible about telling people about my own events in advance.

So, if anyone's in the South Salt Lake area today, drop by! It's a free event at the Whitmore Library. My topic is, "The Big Opening." As in, the first scene of your story as well as keeping the reader turning pages until the end.

Wish me luck! And happy Saturday! :D

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