Setting Up an Art Booth

So I talk a lot here about setting up an author booth in my Author Vending series. But I also get experience being a helper at shows too. My sister is an artist, and her work is actually the reason we started going to festivals and shows to begin with.

Much of the practice we’ve had with display, booth traffic flow, air flow, etc. we’ve gotten through the art shows because usually they’re outdoors and you get full control of the look and feel of your area. It’s great to have that freedom, even though it does mean a lot of physical work at times.

I wanted to share a video from one of her recent setup videos at the Grant Park Summer Shade Festival, located beside Zoo Atlanta. We both watched a ton of setup videos for authors and artists before we started attending our own festivals, so I always recommend that to people getting started. The good part is that once you get materials, you can use them again and again, though the first year is usually your biggest investment.

Check out the video below, and make sure you check out her website at MorbidSmile.com and her Youtube channel. You get to see how much we struggled with the tent this time too haha! Though the end result is definitely worth it!

One Full Calendar!

It’s over halfway through 2019, and my event calendar is filling up fast! From horror conventions to brand new author conventions, my sister and I (MorbidSmile) will be traveling quite a bit over the next few months. Even the next few weekends really.

I admit, sometimes it’s difficult to keep up with all the schedule changes, all the confirmations, all the travel plans that come up so quickly. However I try to always list out the events I’m attending on my Facebook Author Page. Just click on the Events tab on the left to see all the Facebook events for the festivals I’m planning to attend.

You can also see all my events coming up on my newly updated Appearances page!

Story Time with Robert Frost

It’s amazing the kinds of things that happen as a kid that end up impacting you for years to come. Whether it’s being up on stage for the first time or getting to meet a celebrity in the flesh, those moments can leave a lasting impression that can mold us down the road.

This week I’m over on my Youtube channel talking about a unique experience I had with poetry when I was little. It was both exciting and nerve-wracking at the same time, and I thought it would be fun to share! I’ve been posting up a lot of tutorials for the past few weeks, and I wanted to do something a little different.

I hope you all enjoy this! Maybe I should do more story time videos in the future? What do you think?

Scrivener Tutorials: Keywords and Compiling

It’s really been a crazy week for me at the day job, and I just didn’t have the time to post my video on Scrivener keywords. So this Saturday you get a two tutorials in one post!

Keywords are perhaps the most powerful feature of Scrivener, and Compiling a manuscript is perhaps one of the most challenging ones. These two videos close out my tutorial series, but I’m now looking at other websites and software that I’ve used that might be helpful for other authors.

Take a look at the end of Part 7 to see some that I’m looking at tackling. If you have one you’re curious about, leave me a comment below!

Scrivener Tutorial: Part 5: Keywords

I love finding tools or features that make my writing life easier.

When I was in junior high, we had to use notecards to keep everything organized. We created a code for our organization system, and that’s what we used for any kind of research paper. It was drilled into our heads how to keep track of references and quotes. In the creative writing world, however, we have to keep track of characters and themes.

That’s where Keywords come into play, one of the most powerful features of Scrivener that I’ve found, simply because it is so flexible and can be used for so many different things. It can help keep track of characters, locations, themes, missing scenes, and even a murder weapon for your mystery novel.

Watch my latest tutorial on Keywords to see how useful this organization tool can be.