Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone who came out for Romance Con. I know that I was not the author that many (…any) of you had even heard of or expected to see this past weekend, but you were all so lovely, kind, respectful, and more than a few of you humored me with sales of not just my books but also my experiment into Beard Balm with my little sister’s small business, Lace & Jade Crafts.
Through the end of the month, you can still save 20% on ebooks when you buy directly from my PayHip shop with code LUVMKE. And (because I can’t make custom amounts and codes…), you can save 25% from Smashwords using code: YE8G7
(If you really want a lecture on why buying direct is better…I’m willing to do that, but ultimately: You do you!)
This weekend highlighted a lot of wonderful authors that I had never heard of, and while I was disappointed to not get to meet any of the “big names” that were slated to come (Lookin’ at you, Rachel Reid! –although, It’s probably best for the both of us if we never meet…just saying!), the community that wanted this event to happen and be a good time for all came together and made that happen. I am SO grateful for the opprotunity that was given to me this weekend –especially as a small, indie, non-binary, LGBTQ+ author who does not make a living off my writing. I felt so very seen and appreciated. I can’t wait to do this again!
I also learned a lot about being at this kind of event and look forward to being a (confirmed!) author at Queer in the Middle (Moline, IL, June 19-21, 2026) and Books By the Arch (St. Louis, MO, Oct 2026). I have some feelers out at a couple of other events as early as May of next year, as well as Booked Eau Claire 2026, which is my “home metro”, so I’d love to be there!
I am also making a pledge to try and be more active on not just my socials like the Facebook page and my Instagram, but also my website and blog. I have been SO SPORADIC about posting here, and I definitely need to work on that since I choose not to do a newsletter. I’ll probably kick that off with a fun little short/flash fiction Harper/Pietr story that began percolating while at Home Goods this morning when my Aunt and I stopped in Delafield, WI. I can’t wait to share it.
(And yes, this was edited to cross-post from Facebook!)
Sam LaRose, Author 