In Person Events–Love ‘Em or Not?
Recently I participated in the Central Coast Book and Author Festival held at Pismo Beach. I so looked forward to the cooler weather of the beach since it had been in the upper 90s where I live in the foothills.
Guess what? We arrived to the hottest day they’d had all summer–and it was even hotter the day of the festival.
This picture was taken before the event began, that’s me in the lower right hand corner. Fortunately my table was inside (still too warm in there, no air conditioning), but some poor authors had tables outside in the parking lot–a few with umbrellas, but many with no protection from the sun. The planners expected the typical cool overcast beach day.
My display, the banner was provided by the committee. They did everything right, but they had no control over the weather. Did it affect sales? I’m sure it did, those who browsed looked really hot.
Yes, I did sell some books, handed out many cards.
I also participated in panel which was held on the rooftop of the nearby hotel–and it was even hotter there. We did have umbrellas for shade, but it was still hot. People did come to hear what we had to say about Strong Characters.
Mara Purl was one of my fellow panelists, she’s a delight.
Despite the heat I had a great time. Many of my fellow Central Coast Sisters in Crime members were there, and the only time I get to see them is at events like this because I live about 3 hours away.
One of my Facebook friends that I’d never met in person before introduced himself and his friends–and treated me like a celebrity. That was fun.
We stayed at a lovely hotel on the beach.
We also did some sightseeing around the area. We had some delicious meals.
My latest Deputy Tempe Crabtree mystery is set in this beach area.
My answer to the title question is, I love in-person events. So much so I’ll be doing two more in October and another in November.
Marilyn
