Give them some love...

A lot of people have asked me what they can do to help support my book. First and foremost, if you've read it, PLEASE leave a review—especially on Amazon. (Goodreads is great too!) Reviews help other readers discover the book and, maybe even more importantly, give someone who's considering it a reason to take a chance on an author they may never have heard of.

You can also share my posts, forward them to friends, repost them... it all helps. More than you probably realize.

On another note, I owe some people an apology for my own ignorance.

This past weekend I appeared at the Western North Carolina Renaissance Festival as the featured author. It was a great success for me. I met some wonderful people, made some new friends, and had an incredible experience.

BUT...

I truly never realized or appreciated just how hard the vendors at these events work. The organizers work incredibly hard, but the vendors work that much harder.

I went for one weekend. Three days. It was incredibly rewarding, but it was also exhausting. Set up, tear down, extreme heat, rain chasing away customers, a multitude of tire kickers saying "I'll stop back before I leave." (they usually don't) and honestly, so much more.

And for me, it was just a one time appearance that beat the shit out of me.

Unlike this one-time appearance, there are some amazing people who actually do this for a living. This is how they feed their kids and pay their bills. When one event is over, they pack everything up, load their vehicles, and get ready to start all over again somewhere else.

Travel. Expenses. Weather. Broken-down vehicles. Sleeping in crappy motels. Long days setting up and tearing down. And maybe hardest of all, time away from their homes and their families. And most if not all of their income dependent on how that particular crowd responds on that particular weekend.

It's a humbling commitment to their passion.

I truly had no idea just how hard it really is, or how tough and resilient these artisans are.

So the next time you walk through a Renaissance Faire, art festival, craft show, winter festival, etc. or anything similar, take a moment to appreciate just how much work went into those booths, the work itself, the displays and the people standing behind them.

Spend a few—or many—dollars if you can. Buy something handmade. Tell them you appreciate their work. Have some kind words for them.

They deserve it.