Author Life Highlights of 2023

Published on YouTube on 7th January 2024

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.

It’s another IG LIVE!

I had the most fabulous live chat with author Lyndell Williams (on Instagram as @laylawriteslove).

Meeting Author Lyndell Williams

She recently had some mobile woes and took the plunge to get a new phone. It wasn’t as straight forward as just popping to the shops to get it and she had to wait F O R E V E R for her new handset to come in. She this on Instagram and I offered a few words of support. We got messaging and she asked if I’d help her test out her new mobile with an IG live.

As you know, I am trying to get braver in front of the camera My inner introvert was screaming “Say no!” but to get more experience on camera, I said Yes. And, I am so glad I did. Layla was so lovely to speak to.

Going Live on Instagram with @laylawriteslove

We agreed a date & time for the Instagram Live, and both connected without any issues. Yay!

We mostly discussed writing and reading romance. I discovered her novels are steamy, and her series features around diverse characters. Her readers demanded more stories about her side characters, so she wrote some novellas. You can discover more about her book here.

She also shared tips with me on plotting. And, we covered writing in different point of views and making believable characters. She is a developmental editor and we both discussed how valuable they are. She has five novels and uses a developmental editor too. You can find out more about her services here.

Check Out Our Live

[kofi]

If you enjoyed this, you will like:

Author & Me Show

Check out my Live Stream Team

Technical Difficulties

Book Review: Agent Undone by Cassidy Reyne