Los Angeles Times Festival of Books Recap

Last week I wrote about the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books when it was upcoming.  I did as I'd said and attended it on Saturday, where I sat at the three booths where I was scheduled: Los Angeles Romance Authors, Mystery Writers of America and Sisters in Crime.

All were fun! 

Did I sell a lot of books?  Well, I wouldn't say a lot, but some.  And I had a lot of fun, both chatting with readers who visited me at the booths and discussing my work with them, and interacting with the other authors who sat there with me.

Plus, I wound up getting invited to an upcoming event at a bookstore after seeing one of its representatives there, and that'll be enjoyable, too.

So what else?  Well, on my way there via the LA Metro I noticed a family where the two young boys were wearing USC T-shirts, and since the LATFOB was being held at the University of Southern California I said hi.  Yes, they were heading to the same place I was, and I tried to help them get on the right Metro cars since we had to change trains.  However, things had changed on the Metro from the way they had been the last few years so I don't think I was much help since I had to figure out the new system, too.  But they were a very sweet family and even emailed me some photos they took with the sons and me together as I held up one of my books!

At the Festival, I did take the opportunity to visit a lot of booths, or at least check them out.  And no, I didn't pop in to any of the talks--no time.

The weather was windy and it got hot in the sun, but fortunately there was a lot of shade, so that worked out fine. 

Plus, I was able to say hi to a lot of people who brought their dogs to the event.

But as I said, I only went on Saturday because of deadlines for copyedit reviews for two books as well as my upcoming mystery deadline.  Did I get as much accomplished as I hoped for on Sunday?  No, but I did get enough done to make me feel relieved I didn't hit the festival again.

Next year's?  I'll look forward to it!