Glorious Stories

REALM MAKERS: MY 2025 EXPERIENCE

As many of you know, I tried something new this year–I tabled for the first time at a writer’s expo.

The Realm Makers conference is something I’ve wanted to attend for years, ever since hearing about it from my friends from the old Elves of the Underground forums. A place where Christian lovers of fantasy and sci-fi could gather and learn about their favorite works or improve their craft? I was sold!

For a long time I wasn’t able to go, for various reasons. But this last year or so I’ve been purposing to put more time and effort into my writing–and by that I mean, not just the actual writing of books, but the rest of Author Life: the marketing, the networking, the shows, etc… there’s a lot that goes into being an author, and I’ve been pretty lax in my journey in the past.

So this last winter, as people began to gear up for the Realm Makers conference, I decided to take a risk and reserve a booth for the first time. As it happens, this is also the year that Realm Makers debuting their new expanded operation, the Realm Makers Expo–a fair dedicated to the same themes happening congruously with the classic conference.

Once I found out I had the table, I was thrilled–and then also just slightly frantic as I made the list of everything I would need to make that work!

But to summarize the months of preparation, it all worked out in the end. I was able to secure everything I needed, and off I went to Michigan.

I was fortunate enough to have the help of my dear friend Tara on this trip. I don’t think I could have done it without her. She’s a writer herself, though as of yet unpublished, and it was great to see her experiencing the encouragement and inspiration that our fellow creators offered while she was there! I hope someday to have the honor of introducing you to her work–she’s got the bug for publishing now!

Tara and I didn’t stay in the official hotel that Realm Makers had blocked for attendees, but we spent a good bit of time in their lobby enjoying our Americanos and cheese danishes… it was very fancy, and we felt lovely there.

We met up with some old friends of mine–Sarah Pennington , H.S.J Williams, and Wyn Estelle Owens! I say old, which is true, because we’ve known each other for around 15 years, but this is the first time we’ve actually met in person. Sarah and H.S.J. are former members of the Underground, like me, and Wyn I met through our blogging experience back in our teens. We all clicked immediately, which was a real pleasure. The first thing we did was go out and enjoy some delicious bibimbap and nerd out about Tolkien’s writings. Classic fantasy geek stuff.

There were so many cool people–creators and consumers alike–that I got to meet! That was probably the best part of the whole experience, just spending time talking to all the people who crossed my path.

I acquired a lot of books to take home with me. Tara and I were like two little crows, flitting around from shop to shop and gathering treasures for ourselves! My To-Read stack is huge now (what’s new?), but I’m pleased to line my nest with such nice shiny books. And not just books! There were some excellent jewelry makers there, and I was given a lovely sword necklace that is now my favorite necklace.

In my down-time, I had the chance to work on some more art for Thief, Witch, & Liar, so you can look for that on my Instagram account soon. 😉 If you haven’t been following me lately, I’ve been doing scenes from my latest novel in the form of slideshows. You should definitely check them out!

Overall, this conference and expo were exactly the kind of experience I’ve been looking for. I’m honored to have gone and to have sold books alongside so many talented creators, and I’m looking forward to the possibility of doing it again someday.

So, what’s next? What other stories and art projects am I working on behind the scenes? You can tune in next time to find out, when I spend a whole blog-post talking about my current works in progress and creating pressure for myself to finish. ;D

Until then,

–Emmarayn