A warm welcome to Katey Hawthorne who stops by on Love Bytes with her GRL featured blog post 🙂
GRL, You Are My People
Readers and authors—it seems to me, anyhow—are often an introverted brood, taking their energy from alone-time rather than people-time. A lot of us have social anxiety issues, occasionally cleverly masked when in public, but for me at least, the masking takes a lot out of you.
That’s why last year, I didn’t try to get an author slot at GRL Atlanta. Although I’d had friends go the year before to New Orleans, I was really nervous, and had already committed to do another con that year. I thought, man, with my anxiety, there’s just no way I can handle two of these, even if GRL is the awesome non-stop party everyone says it is. I need to be on top of things, I need to be at my best, I need to give everything I can—and that’ll take a lot out of me. Because anxiety sucks.
Then I attended as a reader (which I am—oh, so much) and I realized: no. I mean, yes. Yes, it is hard work, but it’s not scary, because it’s a safe place. It’s a place where, unlike most conventions, LGBTQ fiction and people aren’t in the minority—which immediately negates the need for that defensive posture we often take on in the rest of the world. It’s a place where, for example, discussions of a need for positive bisexual representation (kind of my thing) will be treated seriously from the get-go. Where discussions of non-binary and trans representation abound, spontaneously. And where I can comment on wanting to snog the face off HG Wells from Warehouse 13 and there are no dirty looks to deal with.
Did I mention there are also a lot of out and proud nerds at GRL, too? Yeah, we totally represent.
I don’t mean to say that I resent all of the above, but they are situations that tend to dampen the good time, if you know what I mean. And I wanted to have a good time with my fellow readers, no matter what last year. Man, did I ever.
But this year, I decided to go as an author, too. Which doesn’t mean I won’t be fangirling other authors (obviously, since I am incapable of not fangirling…), but it does mean I get to have a reading of my own. And I’m not even nervous, because I’ll be among my people. Can’t wait to see you all there!
Sounds intriguing/ Would love to read this one.
Thank you for the giveaway the book sounds really good.
Love the blurb and the cover. Wishing you a wonderful experience as an author at GRL!
Thank you so much! I really cannot wait for it. 😀
I love the premise (and yay, another art history grad)! Have an amazing time at GRL!
Thank you so much! Also, *art history grad fistbump*
I gotta say, as a former avid reader of comic books, I’m a sucker for super hero (or villain) stories. This one sounds cool, so I’ll need to pick it up.
Best of luck with this and see you at GRL
-AQG
Oh yay! See you there, Andrew!
And yes, I still read far too many comics for my bank accounts health. Oh man. It’s a problem.
please count me in
Have fun at GRL. It would be so nice to go somewhere to talk about my favorite books. Maybe some day. 🙂
That’s totally why it’s heaven, Barbara. Hope to see you there, someday <3
Have fun at GRL! Thank you for the giveaway =) It sounds so good.
It cannot come fast enough for me, HB. Thank you!
thanks for the chance
Sounds different but very good.
Have a great time at GRL, wishing that I could attend. Thanks for the giveaway.
Thank you so much, Ardent! I wish you could come, but hey, maybe next year!
I hope you have fun fangirling for all of us that cannot attend the GRL 🙂 Maybe one day I will be able to attend, but I am sure I will be to shy and quietly overcome by all my favourite authors and bloggers attending 🙂
Thank you for a chance to win this book, here goes a nice fangirl nerdy moment, I love the Superpowered series so far but could not say which was my favourite so far and I would really love a sequel to By the River 🙂
Omg Sula that is so kind of you. I completely understand your shyness thing, because I get like that too. It’s a really good place to start out with that kind of thing, though.
And there will be a very, very short sequel to By the River someday! Probably right before I manage to get the “air” book together for my editor. (That one was “water”, air is up next)! So hopefully soonish, as I think that’s my next project after the one I’m finishing up now. <3
Congrats Sula !