Tag Archives: darrell parry

Blog, Book Signings, Events

After Action Report: Witches Day Out & Easton Book Festival

The weekend of October 21-22 was a hectic one with back to back book events. On Saturday the 21st, I had an author table at a local family Halloween event called Witches Day Out.

This event was founded about a decade ago by a friend and former co-worker who has since passed down the torch to her daughters. I had a table at their very first show held in a small bed and breakfast in Allentown, PA. Back then, it was a one-day event. Now, it’s three Saturdays in October at the Tri-Boro Sportsmen Club in Northampton, PA.

There were vendors both inside and out selling jewelry, crafts, candles, holiday decor, baked goods, tattoos, and of course, books. I only sold about six, but catching up with my co-worker and her daughters made the day wonderful in addition to the beautiful location on the Lehigh Canal, of course!

Deep gratitude to Lynn Murphy and her daughter Megan Schroy for inviting me back. Already looking forward to next year!

Phil's Table at Witches Day Out

Phil's Table at Witches Day Out

Outside vendors at Witches Day Out

Outside vendors at Witches Day Out

Lehigh Canal near Tri-Boro Sportsmen Club

Lehigh Canal near Tri-Boro Sportsmen Club

Sunday saw me participating in the final day of the 5th annual Easton Book Festival and for me, it was the best one yet as I  reunited with old friends, made new ones, and sold a few books.

At 11AM, I moderated a wonderful panel called “Grit & Crime: The Art of Writing Noir” with Dianna Sinovic, Suzanne Mattaboni, and Albert Tucher. All of us have stories in Hard-Boiled and Loaded with Sin, the latest crime fiction anthology by Hawkshaw Press. The panel was held at Book & Puppet Company on Centre Square, one of the hubs of the festival.

Throughout the day, I dashed to and from my table at the Easton Public Market to participate in other events including “Dark & Stormy Night” book reading competition at 2PM in Book & Puppet. This is always a fun event with my fellow members of the Greater Lehigh Valley Writers Group. This time around, participants included Dianna Sinovic as scorekeeper, Charles Kiernan as timekeeper and quizmaster, John Evans as our host and inventor of the competition, and my fellow readers Michael Daigle and Suzanne Mattaboni.

All told, it was a magical weekend of fun and camaraderie. Hats off to EBF President Lynn Alexander, Vice President Darrell Parry, Festival Director Andy Laties, Secretary John Evans, and the entire committee and staff. Looking forward to next October!

Art of Writing Noir Discussion Panel
Photo credit: Andy Laties, festival director and owner of Book & Puppet Co.
Dark & Stormy Night Book Reading
Photo credit: Joseph Malham
Phil's Table at Easton Book Festival
Photo credit: Lynn Alexander, president of Easton Book Festival
Phil's Table at Easton Book Festival
Photo credit: Lynn Alexander, president of Easton Book Festival

Book Fair at Easton Book Festival

Book Fair at Easton Book Festival

Book Fair at Easton Book Festival

Blog, Conventions, Events, Writing and Publishing

Write Stuff Conference Recap

I enjoyed presenting three sessions over Zoom at the Write Stuff Writers Conference yesterday. I wasn’t feeling one-hundred percent thanks to a lingering sinus infection (and a new bout of depression and anxiety that sank its claws into me a few weeks ago), but I gave it one hundred percent as always and all three seemed to be well-received.
 
My first session of the morning, “Anatomy of a Compelling Short Story” was brand new. It covered a lot of ground and I had to rush at the end despite practice. I realized afterwards that it lacked one topic, which I added this morning for the next opportunity. Might trim out one of the other slides. We’ll see.
 
“Time Management and Self Care for Writers” was, to me, my best session of the day. It received an overhaul in the five years or so since I last presented it and now has more substance in the Time Management section. The brief self-care portion was added after COVID.
 
My final talk on self-editing was one that I’d given three times before, but for some reason (possibly due to my propensity for speaking quickly), it ended about ten minutes earlier than any previous occasion, even with the addition of three slides. That allowed more time for audience engagement, which was wonderful and inspired me to add two more brief topics to the slide deck.
 
Between and after my sessions, I attended Sara Karnish’s wonderful presentation on “Putting Research to Work in Your Writing” and all three of Lawrence Knorr’s classes on self-publishing and ebook creation, which were helpful given my future goals.
 
Overall, a fine day with my tribe. I look forward to next year when we’ll be able to gather again in person at the conference hotel and I’ll be off the hook as a presenter. 😁 Many thanks to conference chair Charles B. Kiernan for inviting me to speak!
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