The sky turned from sunny to gray as I crossed the Mid-Delaware Bridge into Port Jervis, New York. The temperature had dipped into the low teens, a stark difference from the freezing mark three hours earlier, when I left my home near Bethlehem, Pennsylvania; the mercury was expected to keep dropping as the day wore on. My destination in Port Jervis: the R.H. Smith Mercantile building for My Bloody Valentine, a ghoulishly good book fair hosted by This Chapter Bookshop. The lineup of 30-plus horror authors included Devin Cabrera, Clay McLeod Chapman, Mona Kabbani, John Langan, Daemon Manx, Cassandra O’Sullivan Sachar, Sam Rebelein, Daniel J. Volpe, and, somehow, me. Proof of life below.

I admit to having a strange, if not mercurial, relationship with these kinds of events. I love meeting people and making connections – with readers and fellow writers alike – yet I sometimes struggle to find my footing. Although I have been writing for as long as, if not longer than, most of the folks at the tables surrounding me, I tend to feel like I don’t belong there, an imposter, a phony, an outlier; I imagine others must sense my discomfort. Then I remind myself that many, if not most, of the other folks in the room likely feel the same way, so I proceed as best I can.

Insecurities aside, My Bloody Valentine exceeded my expectations by every metric: books sold, people met, friends made, experiences had. It was, however, cold as hell by the time the after-party wrapped up; I nearly got frostbite by wheeling my unsold inventory just a few blocks to me car. I expect similar results (the good stuff, not the frostbite) from my next event: Delco Horror Haven‘s 3rd Annual Book Fair in Media, Pennsylvania, scheduled for Saturday, March 21, from noon to 6 p.m. Last year’s event was fantastic, and I’m glad to see the folks who orchestrate the book fair have been promoting it aggressively. I’ll be there peddling my quartet of novels – Find Your Way Back to Me, Only Monsters Remain, Crawl on Your Belly All the Days of Your Life, and Burn Beautiful Soul – and talking about horror with people who love the genre.

People outside the horror community might be surprised to learn how collegial it is, how helpful, and I’m happy to be a (small) part of it. Of the nearly 30 authors of horror, thrillers, and fantasy participating in the Media event, I’ve gotten to know many of them, including some favorites whose work I admire: LCW Allingham and River Eno of Speculation Publications, Chris Bauer, Besufekad Tadesse, Amanda Headlee, and Nicole Wolverton, among many others. My stitched-together network comes as a direct result from my participation in book fairs and similar events, including My Bloody Valentine. I expect to add more friendly faces to my so-called Skeleton Crew at the upcoming event in Media. If you live anywhere near the Philadelphia area, I hope to see you at the book fair on March 21.