What Can You Learn from Fellow Authors?

Where Fleur learns things from author friends and takes bad selfies

Yesterday, I was fortunate enough to spend the day up in Denver at the Green Valley Family Book Fest as an author. Usually, these library events are a bit hit or miss, depending on the weather, but it’s always nice to hang out with my favorite people (librarians and readers). This event was unexpectedly packed, despite the 70-something degree perfect weather outside. Everyone was excited to talk books.

I was also able to catch up with some Colorado author friends I hadn’t seen in a while, which is the best extra benefit of attending these events. I’ve done a few by now; in the beginning of my career, I would just chitchat and talk to readers. But I’ve since figured out that watching author friends do their author thing is the best opportunity to learn from what they do.

Side note: I made it a mission to take silly selfies this time.

I learned from Denise Vega how to keep kids engaged with a simple craft (they were all walking around with her monster hats).

I learned from Andrea Wang how a quiet book talk can have kids really engaged (they were mesmerized at her talk).

I learned from Dow Phumiruk how to display many books at your table and still make a connection with each kid (they were clustered around her table).

I learned from Beth Anderson how to be informative and engaging at the same time.

This is not a selfie, because I got a better picture of Gregory Barrington as he listened to a reader read his book aloud to him. How cool is that? I learned from him how important it is to take the time with each reader.

I made a new friend in Kwame Mbalia, who explained how he connects with each school group in a different, fun way. I was lucky enough to sit next to him and watch him talk to his readers; very inspiring.

This was the best picture of the bunch, because Kwame took it.

It was good to take a minute and learn from my fellow creative people on how to connect with fans. Yesterday made for an inspiring day for me.

Also, I’m terrible at taking selfies. And that’s okay.

Tell me: do you attend book events, as an author/illustrator, or reader? Who inspires you?

What I’m Writing

I’m back to researching my WWII Amsterdam novel, after a much-needed break. This manuscript will likely take some time, so I’m not rushing. The details are very important which suits my slow-and-steady-wins-the-race approach. Right now, I’m working on creating a historical timeline of events to keep my facts straight.

I’m also editing a short story for an anthology invite, which I’m hoping to finish this month.

What I’m Reading

I’m a big fan of Lisa Gardner and love her latest Still See You Everywhere. Such a great book to get lost in, and it reaffirmed my love for mystery. I highly recommend this one.

Where I’m Going

I’m off to San Antonio for the Texas Library Association Conference next week! If you’re there, come say howdy… These big events are so intimidating for introverts like me, and I would love to see a friendly face.

I hear it’ll get to 90 degrees (that’s about 32 Celsius for my friends overseas) in San Antonio, so I’m busting out my sandals.

Your Weekly Floof

Floof had her annual vaccination appointment with the vet. You can see how happy she was about that.