Monday, September 24, 2012

Big Fun at the West Texas Book Festival! by Diane Kelly

One of my favorite things to do is to meet other writers and readers.  This past weekend, I was a featured author at the West Texas Book Festival in Abilene.  I had a heck of a time!

Glenn Dromgoole, the New York Times bestselling author of What Dogs Teach Us and many other great books, was the originator and co-chair of the event. That's Glenn at the head of the table, with his lovely wife on the right.  Check out Glenn's books at: Glenn's Books.  

Next is the also-lovely wife of Dr. Steven Berk, who is seated next to yours truly.  Dr. Berk was kidnapped at gunpoint and lived to write about it.  Check out Dr. Berk's book, Anatomy of a Kidnapping, at: Dr. Berk's Book.

Also at the festival was John Erickson, the author of the popular humorous Hank the Cowdog series. You can find his books at John R. Erickson's books.
 
The other co-chair of the festival was Rhonda Bolt.  She's pictured here with her husband, who just happens to be a CPA. He and I had a lot of fun talking shop over dinner.

The Hardin Simmons University Cowboy Band kicked off the Saturday lunch with a rousing round of western-themed music and vocals.  What an entertaining group!

After lunch, we had a book signing and I had the chance to connect with readers, which is always so much fun!  And before I left town, I made a stop by the Texas Star Trading Co., a fun Texas-themed gift shop.  I definitely recommend checking it out if you happen to find yourself in Abilene.  Info here: Texas Star Trading Co.
Tell us about your favorite book-related events.  Have you attended a local, regional, or state-wide book festival?  Is there a fun annual event at your library?  Maybe a bookstore that hosts interesting book events?  What type of author or reader events do you enjoy the most?  Any special memories relating to books or authors? 

One lucky person who posts a comment today will win a copy of my upcoming electronic novella, Death, Taxes, and a Sequined Clutch, which releases on October 30th!  Check back around 9:00 PM central time to see if you've won.

Thanks for visiting us here at Killer Fiction!

Diane Kelly is the author of the humorous IRS Special Agent Tara Holloway romantic mystery series.  Visit Diane at www.dianekelly.com.






4 comments:

Mo said...

I have been going to the New England Crime Bake convention ( http://www.crimebake.org/about_us.htm ) for the past 5 years. The focus is on authors from and books set in New England. It is small convention and that is part of the fun. There are interesting classes and panels for both readers and writers. The Saturday night banquet is a costume ball and is always a blast. And yes, most attendees do dress up. A bonus for me is that it is only 1 one hour drive from my home.

Love your Tara books!

Diane Kelly said...

Thanks, Mo!

The Crime Bake convention sounds like fun! I love dressing up in costumes.

Brandy said...

Too late to enter, but that's okay!

Our state has a book festival every Summer. I've attended before and met my all-time favorite author. Our local county library hosts a kids book festival every Spring. It's so much fun with games and free books as prizes and a few authors attend.

Diane Kelly said...

You win the book, Mo! Please email me at diane@dianekelly.com to claim your prize!