Books by the Banks was Awesome!

I am back from Books by the Banks. Steven and I had an adventure of a time! Sadly, his wife and son did not go with us and I spent most of the time trying not to have a panic attack.

We walked around the author room twice, seeing people that Steven has met over the years in various instances. He lived in the same apartment complex as one of the ladies. He worked with one of the men. He knew various people from Facebook. It was very nice to meet them all.

The folks with the DIY home blog were serious hits and apparently the biggest name at the festival. They had a line that wrapped around the room! Their panel session was packed and people lined the back of the room. We didn't go to that session.

We went to the publishing session with Chuck Sambuchino. It was not as well attended as the DIY craft session, but it was very informative regardless. Steven and I sat at the back of the room and listened while various people moved around the room (a pair of ladies frequently left the room and returned a few minutes later- very distracting!). Steven asked a few questions and I tried to absorb as much of Chuck's information as possible. I tried to warn Chuck about an impostor here on Blogger that I thought was someone using his name/info and it turned out it was him! I was slightly embarrassed and quickly scampered away with the excuse that Steven left my purse sitting unattended. When we got back, I finally thought of a question to ask: When asked for the first X number pages by an agent or publisher, does that include the prologue or not?

We contemplated staying for the children's lit session but eventually decided against it and headed back. Steven was hurting a bit, my stomach was growling very loudly, I needed a cigarette break, and I had forgotten my phone at his house. I am not one that has to be glued to their phone 24/7 but I do not like not knowing where it is and I get very panic-y when I don't have a constant way of knowing the time. Weird, I know, but still- I have to know what time it is or I get a headache, I sweat a lot, my pulse races, and I generally feel like something bad is going to happen.

So we headed out and stopped by the Ohio Bookstore, a 5 story book store in downtown Cincinnati. They have a book bindery in the basement. It was really cool. We couldn't stay long though because the meter where we parked only gave us 3 minutes for 10 cents and I only had 50 cents on me. Ugh. The whole store was neat though. Wall to wall books! Heaven.

The entire event was a great way to spend an afternoon. Tons of kids in attendance and the kid room was busier than the authors' floor. A few mascots wandering around reminded me of my college days as Curious George. Chuck Sambuchino was an excellent speaker and gave off a Ryan Reynolds's Mr. D (School of Life) vibe. Yay conferences! Maybe next year or the year after, I will be one of the authors on the floor rather than walking around starry eyed and suddenly introverted.

Love is love, no matter the back story. <3 DS

Books by the Banks Part 2

I am geared up and seriously ready for tomorrow's Book by the Banks: Cincinnati USA Book Festival. As a reminder, it is 10am-4pm at the Duke Energy Center in Cincinnati and admission is FREE!

I will be wearing an "I'm a friggin' fantasy writer"-type brooch for giggles and grins. Check it out:

Rainbow Dragon Brooch

See you tomorrow!

Love is love, no matter the back story. <3

Books by the Banks Festival

On Saturday, I will be attending Books by the Banks: Cincinnati USA Books Festival. Check out the official site here.

Books by the Banks is a yearly fall festival celebrating writers and readers. It is at the Duke Energy Center this year and admission is FREE! Yup, it is free to get in. There will be local and national author tables, panel sessions, and children's events from 10am-4pm. I am looking forward to attending the 11am panel session "You've Written a Book, Now What?: Tips and Tricks for Getting Published" by Chuck Sambuchino, author of Red Dog, Blue Dog: When Pooches Get Political. Also, I'm *hopefully* going to check out the 1pm panel session "Children's Lit Chat: Writing and Illustrating Children's Books" with Derek Anderson (Walking Dragons), Mac Barnett (Danger Goes Berserk), and Rafael Rosado (Giants Beware!).

The whole event looks to be a fantastic time for everyone. If you are local, you should stop by. I mean, free admission is awesome. All you have to pay for is parking and that is $1-12 depending on where you park. That isn't a terrible price by any means! I'll be there with my editor and his family, browsing books, speaking to other writers and readers, listening to discussions, and generally enjoying the atmosphere for a few hours.

Love is love, no matter the back story. <3 DS