Hello!
This past weekend, I was in Salt Lake City for Dragonsteel. What can I say except: Wow!
What a way to end my convention season for the year. The entire experience was mind-blowingly phenomenal!
Here's a quick recap by day:
- Saturday night (the 29th), we packed up the trailer and got some sleep.
- Sunday we got up at 6AM and were on the road by 7. Spent all day in the car.
- Monday we spent most of the day in the car, arriving around 6PM or so. We then went to get dinner and called it a night.
- Tuesday we headed Moon's Rare Books and got to not only see a signed first edition copy of The Return of the King, but hold is as well. It's like the holy grail of books! We also got to see a first edition of Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone signed by Daniel Radcliffe.
- Wednesday we loaded in to the event and set up our booth. During setup, Brandon Sanderson was wandering the hall to visit with the vendors and we got to meet the legend and shake his hand. So cool!
- Thursday the event started, and we sold books from 10-7. It was a long day, but fun. That night, Brandon's executive assistant messaged all of the vendors to ask for some tassels. They needed them for a special event for Brandon's publishers, etc., and their order kept getting cancelled from various places. My author pal Ben Meeks saved the day because he sells bookmarks and lets people pick their tassel color. He was then referred to as The Hero of Dragonsteel by me and our other author pal AJ (Alfred Muller).
- Friday we sold books again from 10-7, and afterward we went out to dinner with dozen or so other author friends that were at the show, including Rachel Rener, Andy Peloquin, Brady Hunsaker, Michael Michel, Robert Zangari, JC Kang, and a few others that I didn't know.
- Saturday was once again from 10-7, and I got to meet Brandon Sanderson again during Lightning Signing. It's basically where people line up in rows and he goes down the line signing one item per person. He signed a couple hundred items within 45 minutes. It was insanely fast. But let me back up, because earlier in the day, I'd gotten word that Christopher Paolini was doing impromptu signings at the Wraithmarked booth. I know Bryce O'Connor, the owner, and asked if he'd be there at all Sunday. No one was certain, but my friend Intisar Khanani (another author pal) said she would let me know because she was volunteering at his booth. Sure enough, he came back and she texted me when he did. I immediately left my booth and made a mad dash over there. And then ensued my favorite moment of the entire convention:
I met the man himself, and I can't even put into words how cool this moment was. Eragon inspired me to write my own dragon rider books, and here I am in 2025 getting to meet the person who was instrumental in my writing life.
Wow. Just wow.
Back to itinerary, we finished out the day, packed up, and loaded out. We had dinner and called it a night.
Sunday morning we headed out at 7AM. We drove through a snowy mountain pass at 20 MPH due to some sketchy parts on the road, and then while we were driving through the valley, we saw a herd of about 20 mule deer. And just ahead of them, another herd. Only this herd was about to cross the road. I was driving, and I tried to swerve aside, but you can't just jerk the wheel when you're hauling a trailer, so we clipped the deer.
It smashed the passenger side mirror off the car, dented the car door, and the wheel frame of the trailer. Definitely not ideal, but it could have been so much worse. Thankfully, aside from the damage to the car, nobody was hurt (minus Ben's feelings because it's his car). The rest of the trip was uneventful, and I arrived home on Monday night around 6:30.
Dragonsteel was a fantastic show, and it was also quite a way to end the year on a high note. I'm still soaking it all in.
Here are some of the pictures from my trip:
Friday night author dinner
Me holding The Return of the King
Tolkien's Signature
Harry Potter first edition
Daniel Radcliffe's Signature
One of the letter props from the Harry Potter movie
Me and Robert Zangari, with our friends Matt Dinniman and Ben Meeks in the background
The damaged mirror from the deer strike
Some of the rare books in the bookstore
The vibrant sky in Colorado. Pictures don't do it justice, but the sky is much bluer than here in Georgia
Until the next newsletter!
Below you'll find a giveaway and a free ebook promotion!
What I’m reading: I've paused my reread of Dragons of Autumn Twilight to read Reckoning by Michael R Miller. I've been waiting on this one and didn't realize it was out already!
What I’m watching: I watched the new episodes of Stranger Things before leaving for Salt Lake City. The first one started a little slow, but by the end, holy cow! It was good stuff!
What are you reading/watching?
As always, a huge thank you for the support!
Richard
Over 144 books to choose from until the end of the month!
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