A Visit from Elizabeth Crowens

I'm so excited today to welcome author Elizabeth Crowens with a peek at the work an author does AFTER their book has been published. Elizabeth just released the third book in her Golden Age of Hollywood Mystery series: Round Up the Unusual Suspects. You can check out my review next week but for now, here's Elizabeth (don't miss a book giveaway and a special offer from Elizabeth at the end of her guest post).

Emotional Survival as an Author

Every year, I attend a handful of writing conferences. Each one is different with various rules, schedules, and attendees, which includes both authors and readers. With the exception of ThrillerFest, which is always in my home base of New York City, invariably they are all out of town, and often not in the same location from year to year.

Considering I’ve been attending writing conventions since 2012, I’ve gotten a fairly good

travel routine down, despite always packing too much. Whenever an important thought or

reminder pops into my head, I rely on my iCal or digital Apple Calendar. Often, I start readying swag, postcards, and must-haves weeks before my actual departure date. Using credit cards that accumulate frequent flyer miles are exceptionally helpful, because expenses add up. Being a hotel rewards member will score you free internet and occasionally bail you out if you plan on extending your stay past the discount hotel block for your venue.

The last two weeks before one of these trips are always the most stressful. That’s when

you want to make sure you renew all your prescriptions and do last-minute runs to get your hair done, make those doctor’s appointments—you name it. But this time around, while I’ve been getting ready for Left Coast Crime in San Francisco, I’ve been more frazzled than usual. First of all, drumroll please, Book 2 in my Golden Age of Hollywood Mystery series, Bye Bye Blackbird, is up for a Lefty Award for Best Humorous Mystery. I’m over the moon! [Check out Jodi's review of Bye Bye Blackbird HERE.] This is a big deal, because my agent and her boss will also be attending, and I’ll be competing against a handful of talented, but more established writers who get nominated year after year. I’m hoping the attendees will vote for me, the underdog, and hope that someone new deserves the prize.

Being all excited about my nomination, I decided to co-sponsor a table at the awards

banquet and needed a non-competing partner, hopefully one who has written a few more books than me and already has a strong following. I found my match, but just a few days ago she had a family emergency and had to cancel attending the convention. Since there is a rule that an author can’t host a table alone, I needed a quick last-minute replacement.

I went into panic mode. Nearly everyone I knew had already committed to working with

someone else. When I was just about to throw in the towel, someone came through. Adding to the stress, I was dealing with an unauthorized charge on one of my credit cards and worried that I wouldn’t get my replacement in time for my trip. I was also nervous about seeing my agent. I’ve wanted to pin her down, in person, and get her opinion on a few projects going forward.

Aye caramba! Finally, I just had to take a deep breath and meditate. I had to tell myself:

Everything is going to be fine. It’ll all work out.

Wish me luck at the Lefty Awards banquet. Can’t wait to explore San Francisco. I’m still

waiting for a reasonably priced event to take place in Alaska and Hawaii, both on my bucket list.

Check out my books at www.elizabethcrowens.com. If you sign up for my free monthly

newsletter, you’ll receive a free ebook of Best of the Caption Contests, based on a popular post I have on Facebook.

Want to Win?

Double your chances with TWO winners. Enter to win a $25 Bookshop.org gift card to winners in the US by April 20. Enter the giveaway HERE