My First Book Signing + Nebula Conference this summer!💖⚙️📚

Plus, more bookish events coming soon!

Hello!

Happy Thursday! I’m running a little late with this week’s newsletter since my boys are off for spring break. Last Saturday, I had my first book signing at Barnes and Noble for Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast. I’m still blown away by how well it went!

When I arrived, one of the book sellers created this gorgeous sign for me:

I almost cried. I never expected anything like this. I love it so much!

Amy, the store manager, did an incredible job of making me feel welcome and set my table up in a fantastic location near the front of the store.

I’m going to be vulnerable for a moment: I wasn’t sure what to expect out of my first solo book signing. While I’ve done events like steampunk conferences and book fairs, it’s always been with other authors and vendors attending. This was the first time a signing was just for me. I kept wondering if the huge box of books I brought was too much, but I decided that if all else fails, I’d have fun pictures and my boys would get a chance to see me at work. (My parents took my sons, ages 6 and 9, to come visit my table and it was absolutely adorable.)

Reader, I sold out of all of my hardcovers before the signing was over. I met so many new-to-me readers who were excited about my story! Barnes and Noble took my last three paperback copies for their shelves. I had to order more print copies of Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast for the Chicago Steampunk Expo because I’m completely out of stock!

Pics from the Barnes and Noble book signing

My sister, Chandra, brought my niece and one of my nephews to visit me, too. It was so sweet but also hilarious as my sister and I get mixed up often. When she was checking out, the book sellers thought for a moment she was me. Chandra is an author as well, making it even funnier. We joked that some day we’ll do a joint book signing and if we get confused, we’ll sign each other’s books as “Not Chandra Snicker” and “Not Kelsey Josephson.” 😂

I recorded a short video here with the rest of my thoughts about the signing. I’m so grateful that it went well and I hope to do more in the future!

If you’re local to central Iowa and missed the event, the Jordan Creek Barnes and Noble has signed copies. Both Beaverdale Books and Dog-Eared Books also stock Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast as well. Those copies are not signed, but I’ll be doing more local events this spring, including DemiCon in May.

In June, I’ll be attending the Nebula Conference in Pasadena, California. I just finished registering before the price goes up tomorrow. This is the one professional development conference I try to attend yearly because it's always been worth it. Last year was the first time I got to attend in person and I'm so thankful I get to go again! If you’re a writer of sci-fi or fantasy, I highly recommend it!

Before I get back to building Lego sets with my sons (and hopefully drafting later), I had one other really cool thing happen: a middle school teacher wants to use "Something Happened on the Way to the World's Fair" for a unit because she read my Strange Happenings stories and loved them. I'm deeply flattered and surprised! 🤯 I don't write with children in mind, but the story is fine for teenagers.

In an age when book bannings are happening far too often, I'm honored that this teacher chose my subversive alternate history story for her class. I wrote the Strange Happenings stories from a place of feminine rage and isolation during 2020. I turned my hurt into stories about found family, unlikely relationships, and hope for a better tomorrow. (And yeah, the monsters are fun, too!) 💖⚙️📚

Happy reading!

Kelsey Josephson