More on this bag in a moment. (It’s one of the kindest, most inspirational gifts I’ve ever received, and it’ll help me get through the last few chapters of Misfit Caravan.)
Now, let me flood this page with dozens of thank yous now that ConCarolinas is behind me. Though it doesn’t feel behind me yet, since I’m still on cloud fucking nine. It was just an exceptional weekend. I am so full of love, contentment, gratitude, and motivation.
The biggest thank you goes to all my reader-friends who showed up. There were so many people I’ve come to cherish after years of ConCarolinas fun. There were so many new faces that I hope will show up again and again. I don’t know how I got this lucky, to be surrounded by so many people filled with love & welcome for each other. This just doesn’t happen often in the world we live in, and I am humbled by it.
A massive thank you to ConCarolinas and its leadership, Jessica Reid (program director), John Hartness and Falstaff Books…. I’m particularly grateful that they are so consistently welcoming to LGBT+ audiences, especially given the advent of Pride Month, and especially considering we’re in North Carolina. This year, they gave us our biggest room yet for a queer celebration panel — and we packed that room to the fucking rafters with joy and pride and celebration.
And a big thank you to the convention panelists. They never fail to impress me with their thoughts and professionalism and collegiality. (And a very special shout-out to Sarah J. Sover, who I got to hug and thank this year for the neurodivergence advice she gave me last year, which put me on a path to a therapist for the first time ever, which helped change my life. Sarah is a wonderful person – check out her site here: https://www.sarahjsover.com/author.)
And an even bigger thank you for my first-ever ConCarolinas fan panel. I wore a costume (!!!), and we ended up getting kicked out of the room after going 30 minutes over. So, so, so many thanks to Egg, Justyna and everyone who turned it into a costume and tea party; and to Shawn for always being there to take photos when I need them; and to Brenda, my moderator and also a reader. She did an AMAZING job pulling questions together. I may have let one little-big twist slip, too, because of it….
ConCarolinas also had some of the best vendors ever. I cannot stop talking about the stained glass stand, or the booth that created custom notebooks. (I got a “howling in the void” notebook. If you’ve heard me talk before, I’ve mentioned nights I call “howling in the void”, when I don’t have a notebook near me and lose ideas while sitting on the porch.) Plus the dice! The DICE!!! Look at this stuff.
And I want to deeply thank Aubrey Spivey, my PRcana from Inkslinger PR, for being abso-fucking-lutely indispensable. I don’t know how I would have pulled any of this off without her. Also, many thanks to Crowded Shelf, a phenomenal resource and ally for indie authors. I cannot wait to do more with them. Check out their website if you want to learn more: https://crowdedshelf.com/.
And a thank you to Justyna Chłopecka for creating so many brilliant, talented, clever items as giveaways. I can’t believe how lucky I am to have Justyna in my life. LOOK AT THIS STUFF!!!! I posted about the amazing candles the other day, but look at all of this stuff she did!!!! (And thank you again, Frost/Jacqui, for the stickers; I mentioned those on Patreon the other day. I freaking love all of the ones I got, and there were so many more in the album.)
A massive thank you to AK!!!! I got to meet fellow writer AK Faulkner, who flew in from overseas. I am LOVING Jack of Thorns, the first in the Inheritance series. And I got to start the weekend with a one-on-one author discussion with AK (we’ll post that soon!). AK really approaches writing like me, with long book arcs and a shitload of hidden bread crumbs and easter eggs – it was such a fun conversation. Check out AK’s books here: https://ravenswordpress.com/. The following image is from Ravensword’s site.
Also, so much love to Marcus and Meghan for helping arrange the filmed interview with me and AK. I am so lucky to have amazing friends like them who constantly help, promote & inspire me. (I hope ConCarolinas saw what a treasure Marcus is, too. He is REALLY talented at filming Dragon Con clips, and ConCarolinas could use some of that awesome material.)
And thank you to….well, food. So much shared food. Gingerbread from Qiulin, my favorite wine from Renae, the evening Saturday Salon set up by Shawn (what would I do without Shawn?) and Renae, and most of all the shared breakfast every morning. We’re a fucking army in the morning! Much love to Kylie, for buying Friday breakfast; and to Lisa and everyone else who donated to cover Saturday. It really is my favorite part of the day.
I’m sure I’ve forgotten so many thank yous. My heart is just so full. Which leads me back to the bag – which my reader-friends at ConCarolinas gave me during my fan panel. It’s filled with a bunch of folded notes, and I’ve been told to pull a note out whenever I need motivation, understanding, or support. Knowing what I know about my readers, I suspect there’s a lot more on each note than the typical office birthday card. I suspect a lot of these notes are going to be something I keep and re-read for the rest of my life. I never, ever take for granted the stories people share with me about my books, or our friendship, or their own lives.
I’m going to start pulling notes out of that bag tomorrow, by the way – because tomorrow I begin the final stretch of writing The Misfit Caravan. It’s time. I’m ready. Only about 4 or 5 chapters to go, and I am ready.
I went to ConCarolinas for a hundred different reasons – these people, this welcoming support, the laughter and bread breaking – but also, in my heart of hearts, I needed that support to begin the final bit of Misfit Caravan. It’s been a bizarre 12 months since I used a job layoff to start making the jump into full-time writing, and all of the pieces have finally fallen into place. I am happy. I am supported. I am overflowing with sheer determination.
Thank you all.
And Happy FUCKING Pride!!!!!
KD