Realm Makers 2019 Recap

That’s how it is each year for the annual Realm Makers conference for me. From July 18-20 a few hundred of my friends converged on a chalet-like hotel in St. Louis to  celebrate faith, fiction, and fandom at this writing collective.

I’m the grizzled veteran for Realm Makers now, having gone to five of seven conferences. But every time there’s magic when we gather to enjoy old and new friends, sit under fantastic teaching for the craft, lifestyle, and business of writing, see writers pitch to agents and editor, learn from mentors, and celebrate the best in speculative fiction from Christian writers.conference for me. From July 18-20 a few hundred of my friends converged on a chalet-like hotel in St. Louis to celebrate faith, fiction, and fandom at this writing collective.

This year we returned to the same hotel as last year, so veterans had a comfort level with the location. The hallways spilled over with excited writers, from grey-haired folks to teens in the youth track. I love reconnecting with old friends and making new ones the most. I’ve heard a lot of great teaching, and I know there’s plenty for me to learn, but making connections with others who love fiction and faith like I do? That’s priceless.

I’m part of the staff, so I had some volunteer responsibilities. I’ve found writer conferences more enjoyable when I go with the attitude of “how can I serve?” There’s always comparison that a writer battles. When will my book get picked? Then when your book is picked, you see someone else sell more books. Or they win that award. But when I go to see how I can help others, then I get my eyes off my hang-ups and work to bless people.

Speaking of awards: Realm Makers has a unique awards banquet, in that it’s a costume dinner. There are so many creative people! From original characters to steampunk DC villains to a bevy of Doctors who aim their sonic screwdrivers at photographers, there’s always something to gawk at wandering the banquet. My friends went as the Avengers. I thought about going as Fat Thor from Endgame, but I was up for two awards this time, so my vanity got the best of me.

It was very exciting to win the Realm Award for Best Debut Novel. But I cheered harder for my friend Lindsay Franklin, who won Best YA and Book of the Year.

Winning the award was special. Yet I found more rewarding was people coming up to me to say how much they enjoyed Launch. It released right before Realm Makers 2018, so I was able to sell it there. This year I got good feedback from folks. When a grandfather said the first sentence sucked him in, and he was so happy to have a clean, exciting book to pass on to his grandkids—that made my day right there.

Alas, Realm Makers comes and goes too quickly. Before I knew it, my roommates (brothers in arm) had put away the Superfight card game and said goodbye. Now I’m in real life mode, and the days scream by so fast.

Even though the brilliant RM 2019 is in the past, I’m already excited for RM 2020. Atlantic City, are you ready for an invasion of Realmies?

Maybe I’ll see y’all there.