My event. My first author event. It’s already this Saturday!
I’d almost forgotten just how much time and energy goes into event planning.
Almost.
The last major events I planned were my wedding and the various business meetings I oversaw during my executive assistant days. I’m happy to say that planning my first author event has been a far more enjoyable process than either, but there’s been a lot of grunt work that’s inevitably gone into it too. Yet, the grunt work is exactly why the planning process for this event has been fun.
The beauty of being indie is that I have total creative control and the freedom to do whatever I want with anything related to my books, and that includes book events. I’ve been having a blast doing everything from creating my very first merch (so crazy to think I actually have merch now!) to brainstorming giveaway prizes. As the creator of the Flowering, I can use every part of this event to showcase something fun about my world and characters, and I’m genuinely excited to show you guys what I’ve cooked up. It may not be as grandiose or Insta-friendly as something with a huge budget, but you’ll be able to see personal touches that only the creator of this book can bring to the table. I think there’s a real fun element to seeing the creator’s mind whirring away in the background, especially because in this day and age, everything from mass production to AI so often threaten to drown out the beauty of the human mind and choke the ability to appreciate small details and human effort. Indie gives creators the ability to be that much more vulnerable, to share truly intimate moments with their audience. Audiences, in turn, get to enjoy more unique, personalized, and meaningful experiences.
I’ll be honest, though. At times, it can be a struggle not to feel jealous of other authors who have more. More marketing power, more publishing power. More money, basically. And time. The type of resources and publicity money and time can buy make my eyes sparkle as if I were walking through the Market for the first time. But then I remember how all the times in my life when I had less, in some ways, I also had more because when you’re forced onto ground zero, that’s when the pressure is really on to get creative. There’s no other way to build when you have little to nothing. Sometimes, the best parts of the creative mind can only be accessed under the pressure of humble means. It’s so easy for creativity to atrophy or even go entirely unused when money and time allow the mind the wake up on silk sheets every morning. Monty Python and the Holy Grail wouldn’t have used its iconic coconuts for horses if it hadn’t been on a dirt-poor budget. Mad Max wouldn’t have used an at-the-time nobody actor like Mel Gibson if it had had a major Hollywood budget. I suspect Koyoharu Gotoge, the creator of the hit manga/anime, Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba, which so often focuses on humanizing those with less, wouldn’t have been able to create his world and characters at all if he’d been born into a comfortable life instead of a poorer one. Sometimes, the darkness of having little is the fertile soil that’s needed to cultivate something truly astounding.
I’d be lying if I said that I don’t care about the turnout. I do. I hope a lot of people come to this event, especially because it’s my first one. But whatever the turnout is like, I’m grateful that I get an opportunity to have an event at all and to be able to share such a meaningful milestone in my life with loved ones and supporters.
First Book Signing and Author Meet & Greet for Eye in the Blue Box!
- When: Saturday, April 18th @ 4PM
- Duration: 1 hour to 1.5 hours
- Where: Mira Mesa Library, Community Room
- What: Author talk and book reading, Q&A with audience, giveaways, book signing. This is a free event.
- Note: If you'd like a book signed, please bring it with you! Books will not be sold during this event.
- Also note: Please be on time! Like Crew Blue, we have a time restriction. (In other words, we have a time limit on the room reservation so we need to start on time.)