Signing at Loveletter Convention
To put it simply – readers’ conferences are great ways to
meet other like minded people and to really learn more about something you are
passionately interested in. It is a chance to meet the authors who create the
books but also to discuss with other people about the genre and the books you
love. And it doesn’t matter if you don’t
really know the language, the common currency is the love of the books.
Readers at the signing, patiently waiting.
Recently I went to the 2nd Loveletter Convention
in Berlin, Germany. My German is
practically nonexistent. Luckily the vast majority of the people attending were
kind and could speak some English. The
readers who attended were not just from Germany, Austria and the German-speaking part of Switzerland but
from around Europe including some from Denmark, and Croatia. But there were
contingents from Belgium and the Netherlands as well. And everyone attending
was passionate about books and in particular romance books.
The atmosphere was incredible. Because it was my second
time, a number of people remembered me from last year. I am now officially the
Author in the Red Shoes. Luckily I wore them again as I couldn’t find another
pair of shoes that I loved as much and was as comfortable. Several people were lovely and had brought
gift bags as a thank you to authors for
attending the conference and for giving them such pleasure. I was really
touched.
Annie Burrows and Michelle Styles in Regency costume.
My favourite part of the conference had to be the Blind
Dates where I had the chance to meet with a random group of readers. Last year
it was about 7- 10 readers. This year, just before we started, I discovered
that we would be rotating tables. Cue a
quick downstairs for me to retrieve more books as I figured the best way to
break the ice was to give away books as there was no guarantee that the readers
had ever heard of me. Everyone was enthusiastic.
Later at the signing, I was surprised by the number of
people who wanted English books, rather than the very lovely reprint of
Gladiator’s Honour in German which I was signing. I absolutely loved the cover of the German version. My daughter now has the poster that Cora (German Harlequin) let me take.
Many people do prefer to read
in English because then they can read the author’s words, rather than the
translator’s interpretation of those words. Also with the advent of The Book
Depository which has free worldwide shipping and ebooks, it has come to savvy readers’
attention that the English mass market
paperbacks cost about one third
of the German. And then there is the time factor, dedicated readers want to
read the latest offering wherever it comes out.
I
German reprint of Gladiator's Honour
which was made into a poster for the event
by Cora
did several workshops including one with Annie Burrows
where we dressed up in order to explain a bit more about the Regency. I played
a nouveau riche Mama who was desperate for her daughter to marry well but to
marry for love. Annie played a Dowager Countess who wanted to remain in London
for the Season for her own highly private reasons.
We had a great deal of fun. And that is what I think a
successful conference is about – fun. The main difference between a writer’s
conference and reader’s conference is that when you go to a writer’s conference
you are meeting fellow writers who may
or may not be your rivals and when you go to a readers’ conference you are
connecting with readers who are just passionate about books and the genre. Once again I was made to feel like a Rock
star.
Michelle Styles writes warm witty and intimate historical romance in
a wide range of time periods for Harlequin Historical, Her next book with be published in November 2013 Paying the Viking's Price. To learn more about Michelle and her books visit www.michellestyles.co.uk