Book 'Em NC 2015 was a hit!

Before the doors opened to
the public. More pics on
Facebook.

Well, I did it! I made it home from my annual trip to Lumberton, NC for the Book 'Em NC Conference & Book Fair. There were more than 3,000 people in attendance, and my sales showed it. Yay!

Before I left, I was painfully close to running out of books. Eek! You might think that's a good thing, but it's actually very scary when you still have time to sell even more. I guess the only time you should run out is the last minute, right before the doors close. Now that would be perfect!

I met new friends, new readers, and excitedly caught up with old friends and fans. It was a lot of fun. I even did something I'd never done before.... a panel talk!  O...M...G. I thought I'd pass out from nerves before 2 P.M. arrived. Thankfully I didn't, and once I got in there and the discussion started the time flew by. I was shocked when the moderator said we only had 2 minutes left of our 45 minute session. And we actually went over by 5 minutes. The topic was "Creating Other Worlds" and I had a lot of fun answering both the moderator's questions and questions from the audience.

Overall, it was a great weekend, but I'm glad to be back home... until the next one.

I have two books planned for 2015, the first of which will be the start of a new series. I already have several notes and snippets written for this books, but now it's time to jump straight into the writing, feet first. Later in the year will be the 7th book in the Liz Baker series. I'm excited to see these two come to life and find homes with my fans/readers. I hope you'll enjoy the new series as much (or more) as the Liz series. I think it'll be a fun one to write.

Now I'll get back to putting my house in order after the kids had it to themselves for nearly three days. Ugh. And they claimed they cleaned, too.  Uh-huh, whatever you say. Teenagers! LOL.

Book 'Em 2014 was a blast!

Last weekend I attended the 2014 Book 'Em NC Authors Conference & Book Fair. This was my third year attending and I'm already signed up for next year. I had a great time.

Friday night was the author meet & greet. I meet up with old friends, and met a few new ones. I missed some authors who weren't able to make it this year, too. Overall, it was a fun evening with lots of food, drinks, and conversation.

The next morning we were up and at 'em early. The fair didn't open to the public until 9:30am, but all the authors filed in early to set up our tables, browse, and chit-chat with others. Here's a pic of my table set-up. I was supposed to share a table with my best author friend, Robin Renee Ray, but she wasn't able to make it all the way from New Mexico. Therefore, I ended up with a table to all to myself (and with 5 books to sell it was needed).

By the end of the day I had shaken so many hands, told so many people about my vampires, sold several books to new readers (and a few to old fans), and even turned down the offer of a new publisher. I was exhausted! It was a blast, but I'm always glad when it's over and I can get back home to my own bed, and back to writing the next book.

Here are a couple more pictures from the big day. Thank you to everyone who stopped by, said hello, and/or purchased a Liz Baker book. I hope to see you all next year!

My self-proclaimed #1 NC fan, Geri Turner. <3

Fun Times at Book 'Em

Left to Right: P.M. Terrell, Christie Silvers,
Pamela J. Kimmell, Judy Walter

It's been over a week since I attended the Book 'Em NC 2013 conference and book fair, so I suppose it's time to finally write a blog entry about it. LOL. Can you tell I'm slacking on my blog lately? Oops!

Anyway, the trip from Georgia to North Carolina was fairly uneventful (thankfully). Especially considering how nasty the drive up was last year. Those darn rain storms can cause all sorts of havoc. Luckily, we left a little later this year and managed to arrive at the hotel on time for check-in instead of early like last year. No waiting around for our room to be cleaned this time. :)

 

We arrived in Lumberton, NC with a few hours to rest before having to head out to the Author Meet-n-Greet at The Village Station. I talked it up with a few new people and many that I knew from last year. I especially enjoyed talking to P.M. Terrell, Pamela J. Kimmell, and Bonnie Watson. All these ladies are wonderful people and authors. Not to mention Trish (P.M.) was our hostess and event coordinator (how she does it all, I'll never know!).

The next morning we were up early and went straight to Robeson Community College where Book 'Em is held. This year I shared a table at the event with Karen McCullough. We hadn't met last year, but after almost 7 hours together that day we certainly got to know each other. :) I had fun talking to her about our books, publishing, candies, and giveaway goodies.

Anyone who has seen me at an event like this knows that I'm a major candy pusher. This year was no different. Last year it was cinnamon disks; this year it was Dove milk chocolates. Talk about a great way to get people to your table! I begged, pleaded, guilted, and pretty much threw chocolate at everyone who walked by. And Karen has peppermint, so we were commenting on how well chocolate and peppermint goes together. LOL! It was a fun time. I ended up giving away almost three bags of chocolates, and still had one bag that I HAD to bring back home. Not that I'm complaining about my chocolate stash, or anything. ;)

The best part of the day happened about an hour before the event was over........

I SOLD OUT!!

Well, technically, I sold out of all my copies of Time for Death (Liz Baker, book 1). But hey, that's still a thrilling moment for me. I got listed in the Book 'Em newsletter as one of the four authors who sold out this year. And next year... I'll be seated on the Bestsellers Hall!  Woohoo!!

Here are a few more pictures from Book 'Em NC 2013. I look forward to this even in 2014!

 

Left: Karen McCullough & Christie Silvers
Right: Tim & Christie Silvers
 

Heading to Lumberton, NC

As many of you already know, I'll be an attending author at the Book 'Em NC Writers Conference & Book Fair on Saturday in Lumberton, North Carolina. Since I live in Georgia, it'll take almost 7 hours to get there. Sooooo, I'm leaving in the morning and will arrive at my hotel around 3pm - 4pm tomorrow afternoon.

Friday evening there will be an author meet and greet. They'll feed us, give us drinks, and in turn all of us (and our guests) will chat it up and have a good ole time seeing old friends and making new ones. At least that's how it was last year. ;)  I had a great time in a room full of like-minded folk.

Then on Saturday morning we'll head to the college hosting the conference to set up our tables, chit-chat some more, and wait for the doors to open to the public at 9:30am. For the next 6 1/2 hours I'll meet lots of old, new, and potential readers, while doing my best to ply them with chocolates, bookmarks, business cards, and autographed copies of the Liz Baker series.

Since I know many of my readers can't or aren't able to attend, be on the look out next week for one of my goodie giveaways. I don't like people to feel left out.  :D  *Smooches*

If you're able to visit us in Lumberton be sure to stop by my table and say hello. I'll be on the 1st floor. 

WHEN: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2013
9:30 AM - 4:00 PM
WHERE: ROBESON COMMUNITY COLLEGE
LUMBERTON, NORTH CAROLINA
FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!
http://www.bookemnc.org/

Just two weeks away.

Two weeks from Friday I'll be heading out of town and toward Lumberton, North Carolina to attend the Book 'Em NC conference / book fair. I'm very excited--albeit ravaged by an army of butterflies--as this is my first out-of-state event.

Since it's quite a drive from my north Georgia home to Lumberton, NC, we'll be heading out Friday morning, even though the event isn't until Saturday. I'll make into town just in time to catch a short rest break in the hotel room before sprucing up and going to the Author Meet-and-Greet Friday evening. I can't wait to meet all the lovey people I've been chatting with online. Especially the lovely Trish and cheerful Katie. :)

Up above, I took a quick snapshot of the books and some of the goodies I'll be taking with me. Let me just tell you that it's a good thing the hubby is going with me because those books are HEAVY. He'll be doing all the heavy-lifting. :D

The red vase will be full of candies for anyone that stops by my table. I'll have bookmarks for all the Liz Baker books, business cards (with 2012 calendars on back), and whatever else I think to bring along. All in all, I'm expecting to have a lot of fun meeting new people and enjoying being at the conference.

Now if I could figure out how to listen to some of the lectures that interest me without leaving my table unattended. Alas, if only I'd learned to clone myself.

If you will be in the Lumberton, NC area on February 25th, please stop by the Robeson College for a day of books and the authors who wrote them. Attendance is free to the public!

For more information visit: http://www.bookemnc.org .

New Time for Death, Second Edition

Good morning, everyone. I hope the week is treating you kindly. I'm currently working on the Liz Baker short story, Death Reflected, and waiting on my Federal tax refund to show up. We'll be working on home improvements over the next few weeks with that money. As well as knocking some away into savings.

Speaking of improvements, I'm releasing a second edition of Time for Death (Liz Baker, book 1) just in time for the Book 'Em NC Conference & Book Fair. Something eye-catching and up to date with books 2 and 3.

This new cover looks even more gorgeous in print than it does on the computer screen. Once again, due to the incredible talents of my cover designer Kelly Shorten. Thank you, Kelly!

The first edition of Time for Death is on the road to retirement and over the next several weeks will be replaced in book databases by this new edition. I know the Kindle, Nook, and Smashwords editions are already up-dated, but it will take a bit longer for the print copies to change over.

And as always, if you want a signed copy for yourself, or for gift giving, they are always available straight from me via ChristieSilvers.com.

Now I'm off to do the whole wife/mother thing with laundry, dishes, housecleaning, before jumping into today's writing. Have a good one!