One Down, Four to Go

Another blog!!?? A new month??? Is this consistency??! applauds for myself

Yes! Yes it is! I promised this year I would blog  more. And here’s my effort to complete it. Today we have a reflection piece. So let’s get started!

I did my first book event of 2026, Feel the Heat Book Bash in Orlando. This event will always be special to me because it was my very first in person book event. I did the one in Tampa in July of 2025. That is what sparked my love for doing in person events. Everyone was lovely as usual. I saw some familiar faces from Tampa and some readers even remembered me from Tampa and they came to see me again. (Shout out to Kim and Louise! Love you guys!) 

The event organizer Michelle remembered me as well which was super encouraging and sweet. It was wonderful and extremely well ran. It’s hard to believe that this was her second only event. Tampa was the first and this was second. (I may need to fact check this, but I think I am right.) She has plenty more scheduled for this year and I love that for her. She has built something truly special for Florida and I’m excited to watch her continue to grow with these events and I’m excited to grow with her.

Orlando was a little different for me than Tampa was. In Tampa, I did do better sales than I did in Orlando. So that was a little disappointing if I am honest. But I think it’s because I don’t have a novel with spice in it. I’ve been realizing that a lot of Disney fans that are readers, they tend to read smut and dark romance, etc. Which I completely get. So I don’t know if Orlando will be an event I would attend in the future unless I had spice. I would do Tampa again definitely and maybe next year I’ll take a chance at one of the other event locations Feel the Heat would go to.

One of my author friends reminded me that this business is a risk. You win some, you lose some. I made some sales and for that I am extremely thankful. Even though the sales weren’t what I wanted, I consider this event a success still. I learned so much and I gained so much community and confidence with this event. I learned how to use Mailerlite for my newsletter! I did my first Q&A panel and I was told by so many people that the one I was on was the best one. People told me that we had the best chemistry. (Shout out to A.N Davis, C.B Alice and Elise Gedicke for being so funny and kind. May we get to do another panel together.)

The most wonderful thing I got from this experience was the community. I’ve felt very lonely on this journey for a while. It’s hard being the only author in my family and no one has ever walked this path out for me, so this is a journey I’m paving myself. My family supports me whole heartedly but it’s hard to often explain how difficult this really is. There’s the fear and the anxiety of writing, the self criticism, and for me, my ADHD works against me at times. It’s hard to learn how to do graphic design and the marketing aspect when my patience is thin and I have low frustration tolerance. 

This event gave me community of people who understood me. People who gave me words of wisdom and encouragement. People who offered to take this baby author under their wing and introduce them to people who could help. I found connections with other authors. H.M Duval and her friend and I had dinner Sunday night and we really bonded and connected. It was like finding a kindred spirit. Elise gave me a Facebook group to join, hell Kim and Louise introduced me to Casey Morales and he mentors authors. Talking to him was eye opening for me. I made wonderful connections with influencers like Maci and Tasha and Shelby. I got to give a free book away. This event gave me people that I know and feel comfortable with reaching out to again and again. People that can grow to become friends. And if I’m honest, that heals a piece of my heart.

I never fit in growing up, I think I’ve talked about it before. Doing in person events makes me feel like I belong to a community. Like there’s people out here like me that exist and I feel normal. To be accepted in this way makes me happy. So many people being eager to support me and watch me grow on this journey is humbling and touching. There will never be enough thank yous. It’s sentimental for me because I’ve always wanted to be a writer. I’ve always dreamed of sharing my stories with the world in hopes that people would find comfort and safety in them. I get to live my dream in small pieces and spread love and joy in the world.

There’s an extremely long list of people to thank for their kindness this past weekend and I hope they see this blog and they feel my gratitude in it.

Maci and Lisa (love a mother/daughter unit. It’s like me and my mommy.) @theebookishprincess on IG

Shelby @campbellbookworms on IG

Tasha @tashalynette_reads on IG

Casey @authorcaseymorales on IG

A.N Davis @andavisauthor on IG

C.B Alice @cbaliceauthor on IG

Elise @elisegedickeauthor on IG

H.M Duval @author.h.m.duval on IG

Becca @beccalynnmathis

If I miss you please charge it to my head and not my heart. You all have a piece of my heart and I am truly grateful for you all and I am excited to grow together. 

This one was a long post so if you read this far thank you. It means the world to me that you’re here. 

Protect yourselves. Protect each other. 

With all love and hugs, 

CC