What a lovely surprise to discover a display in the library, showing me and my book, to promote WAM Fest happening next week.
WAM Fest is a celebration of Women in Arts and Music. I’ll be attending on Saturday. I will have a stall and be on the lunchtime jam panel with other authors.
You do need a ticket to attend this event. These can be bought from the WAM Fest website.
Here is a Bookshop.org list I created of the books of some authors from this YA Lit Fest, arranged as part of the Foreword Book Festival, at the Stowmarket Library. These are affiliate links and support local high street bookshops.
I read these books for free. Let me tell you how. 😍
A few Christmases ago, I got a Kindle. We have a Prime account and with Prime you can borrow books to read for free (and then return to borrow more). In the Prime library was Cruel Prince.
Book two, The Wicked King, was not available on Prime. I checked to see if I could borrow it with my library card and found I could! It was available on the Libby app. Using my library card, I borrowed the ebook, and they had Queen of Nothing, so I borrowed that straight after.
I also used my library card on Borrow Box (audio books to borrow using my library card) to listen to The King of Elfhame, which is a prequel to this series.
I loved these books so much I wanted them for my shelves. I requested them as gifts for my birthday, Christmas and Mother’s Day. They only cost £10 for the paperback boxset from The Works, but alas, I did not get them.
My kids often get book tokens as gifts but I always forget to have them with me and end up using my own money to buy their books. So, I decided it was time to pay myself back and get the hardback editions from Bookshop.org an online shop that gives back to high street shops. As I had the book tokens, it cost me less than £5 for all three books.
I love my new books. They look beautiful next to my stunning Hunger Games hardbacks, which I got from Dial Lane Bookshop, Ipswich, as a gift from my hubby for my birthday.
Follow my bookshop affiliate link to get your hardback copies of:
Here is a collection of the books of authors mentioned in my Hert Book Fest 2024 series that I could find on Bookshop.org. These are affiliate links that support local bookshops on the high street.
I think the biggest highlight of 2023 was author events. I got to meet YA Fantasy readers and chat about my books. I got to meet fellow authors and make new friends. I’ve learned so much and surprised myself.
Highlights:
💛 Dial Lane Books, Ipswich where I signed copies of Ocean Heart & the owner displayed a copy in the front window.
💛 Herts Book Festival, Hertfordshire was my first book festival. I had so much fun, I was buzzing! Was like an author getaway, meeting up with two of my long time author friends.
💛 Felixstowe Book Festival, Let’s Talk Fantasy – This was a long time dream of mine coming true & made a new friend that I shared the event with. 🥰
💛 Legends Comic Con, Stonham Barns where I got to befriend the Bury & Beyond Writers thanks to an intro by author Rachel Churcher. I’m looking forward to doing more with this bunch.
💛 MK Lit Fest, Milton Keynes was another excuse to meet up with some author buddies and we got interviewed about our books.
As a shy person, my dreams of being an author involve hiding in a cupboard to write with no peopling. I definitely did not want to make any public appearances! But, the author community is so welcoming and supportive, they gave me the confidence to get out there. Moving into 2024, high on my plans is to do more events. With each one, I get more confident and look forward to the next.
For 2024, I am already booked to do the Foreword Festival on 11 February in Bury St Edmunds’s. And, looking at another Comic Con in the Summer. Please come along and meet the authors. There’s such a good vibe, it’s infectious.