Introvert at a book fair

It's been a while since I updated as my life has been hectic. I've barely had any time to sit down as of late. One good thing that came out of it, though: I attended a book fair last Saturday and promoted my books.

Me pimping out my books :)

It was my first book fair with both books. It was a great experience; I got my name out there, I scared a few people with the premise of my book, and I made a few connections.

When I say that I'm an introvert to some people, they get so confused because I can be quite outgoing in the right conditions. Get me around a group of nerds and I joke that I'm a nerd geisha because I know enough about most fandoms to carry on a knowledgeable conversation for hours.

Around "normal" people, though? That's a different animal. I get super awkward about people who don't speak nerd language. I don't know a lot about stereotypical girly stuff--I don't get my hair, nails, or eyebrows done; I don't care about designer brands; I shop at Ross, Gabes, and other discount stores when I do have to buy clothes; I don't watch many TV shows outside of the sci-fi and dystopian genres; and my wardrobe primarily consists of various nerdy t-shirts. While I do occasionally wear dressy clothes and do my makeup, small talk for me is limited as I am simply not knowledgeable about many popular topics. Depending on who I'm around and what the topic of conversation is, there's a chance I'll shut down pretty fast--even faster if I'm in a crowded place. Sometimes I'll have to find a quiet corner and hide for a while if it's too packed so that I don't go into a full-blown panic attack. That kind of behavior isn't going to help promote my book if I'm out in public, though.

Book fairs are hit or miss, in my experience, because people aren't there with the same genre in mind. While I wonder how I'd do in a dystopian-fiction-specific book fair with all that competition, in a general "come look at all the books" scenario, you never know how many people are going to show up specifically looking for a book with your theme. Maybe that book fair has a lot of visitors looking for romance, or maybe they're looking for murder mysteries, or perhaps they're interested in books about local history. So once someone comes up to my booth, I'll let them know the theme without knowing if they'd even be interested. Some people just nod and move on, which is fine; I know that my novels are in a bit of a niche market. I do love when people get into it, though, and I get to geek out with them about the plausibility of the scenario. If I'm really lucky, they're a nature enthusiast or a prepper and I get to get even more in-depth.

My books right now are a little scary to some with everything going on thanks to Hurricanes Harvey, Irma, and Maria. Someone asked me, after telling them about the premise, if I was a prophet. I playfully said, "we'll see." I mean, I really don't want to end up being right, because that would suck for all of us.

When I'm out and about on business, I do well with talking to people and being engaging. Maybe it's thanks to my years working in customer service, but I have a knack for pushing my fear away and doing what must be done. Once I'm done with said duties, though, I am completely and utterly drained. It mentally and physically exhausts me to be bubbly and outgoing for hours on end. It's not my usual state of mind when I'm out in the general public. I guess I should feel fortunate I'm able to suck it up and get the job done, though; it's advanced both my author presence and my career in my day job.

I actually took today as a couch day to hide from people and decompress. It's been great for several reasons: I finally feel like I can breathe, I just sat here and listened to music and didn't have to engage with anyone but my pets, and I actually got writing done. Lots of writing. More writing than I've gotten done in months. The words have been pouring out like an open faucet. It's a relief; my characters have been stuck at the end of a driveway for months just standing there. Now they're finally getting out there and getting the job done, just like I did last week. They can go travel around all they want; I'll just stay here on my couch for a little while longer. :)