Shenanigans at the Chicago Steampunk Expo! 💖⚙️📚
Plus the Ankeny Authors Fair + a WIP Update!
Hello!
I attended the Chicago Steampunk Expo last weekend and I’m still smiling about it! This event has quickly become one of my favorites. Before I tell you about the convention and share some fun pics, I wanted to mention the upcoming Ankeny Library Authors Fair on Saturday. If you’re local to central Iowa, come say hi!
Also, last week I was so busy prepping for the Chicago Steampunk Expo that I didn’t share this as widely as I normally would have, but I was recently a guest on The Fantasy Romance Podcast hosted by Callie Chase. I had a blast talking about world-building, fairy tale retellings, fan events, favorite methods for beating writer’s block, and more! If you’re new to my work, this is a good way to learn more about my thought process and the shenanigans I get involved with at cons. 😂
You can find The Fantasy Romance Podcast here on Substack for ad-free listening. You can also find it on Spotify and Apple.
Ankeny Kirkendall Public Library
Saturday, April 20th
1:00 pm to 4:00 pm
From Ankeny Kirkendall Public Library:
Join us as we welcome 63 authors, including fiction, non-fiction, memoirs/biographies, poetry books across adult, young adult and children's genres. Connect with authors, buy books (and get them signed!)
I have so many pics to upload on Facebook and Instagram later, but I'm so thrilled with how this year's Chicago Steampunk Expo went! Even though I just returned, I’m excited to come back again next year.
A few highlights:
💖 Seeing old friends and new. I loved getting to spend time with people who get me. Connection and community are so important! 💖
📚 My books did very, very well! I need to get some more copies before my upcoming events. Forsaken Beauty and the Etherbeast was popular, but I'm down to two hardcovers of Monsters and Machines and no paperbacks for my personal stock. I'm humbled by how well my first collection does 😳
⚙️ My panel on Strange Happenings at the 1893 World's Fair was a full house! Some people had to stand in the back. I'm so glad I had the opportunity to share my research notes. I uploaded the slides from the presentation here on Substack.
💃 The Saturday night masquerade is always one of my favorite parts of the weekend. This year’s dance was even better than last year's! I'll always take any excuse to dress up and go dancing. When an amp was blown, there was an unplanned intermission and someone mentioned it was my birthday, so everyone sang to me. It was hilarious and sweet. (Here’s a clip from the masquerade that was shared to the Facebook group. The music was an excellent mix of gothic club and nerdy cult classics.)
💕 I got lots of presents and trinkets from readers, cosplayers, and vendors this year. It was very thoughtful and unexpected!
Next year’s theme for the Chicago Steampunk Expo is The 1893 Exposition & the Curse of Cthulhu. The dates are May 30th-June 1st. I can’t wait to come back next year!
Until then, I’m prepping for the Ankeny Library Authors Fair this weekend and DemiCon the first weekend of May! I’ll be paneling and vending at DemiCon as a Pro Guest. I’m excited to attend for the first time!
In writing-related news, I finished the first draft of my new WIP! I’m deep into revisions for draft two and can’t wait to share more about my new steampunk romantasy series when it’s ready. I talked about it a little bit on The Fantasy Romance Podcast.
Happy reading!
Kelsey
Those cosplayers and all the clothes!!! <3 Looks like such a blast!!