After spending the past two weeks promoting my debut novel, FATHER OF CONTENTION, I’ve come to a decisive conclusion…Thunder Bay, you have a giant heart! Although I haven’t coined the slogan, I definitely experienced its relevance in the response I received at both Chapters and Thundercon 2018. Even if people weren’t interested in the genre of my book, they still stopped by my table to offer warm words of encouragement and support at both venues. And when you are a new author, just in the beginning throes of launching your first book and feeling moments of uncertainty, those words had more value to me than gold. So, a heartfelt thanks to you all!
Here’s a succinct review of my experiences at both Chapters and Thundercon last month.
Chapters Book Signing
It was a bustling Saturday afternoon when I set up my table at the front entrance of Chapters in Thunder Bay on October 20th, 2018. It was frigid 
weather outdoors, so people were actively seeking the warm atmosphere of the bookstore and the promise of a decadent Starbucks 
beverage, much to my pleasure. More people, means more exposure for my book.
Book sales were consistent, from both friends, acquaintances and new individuals I was blessed to meet. It was my first real book signing, besides my book launch that I had in August, so I felt a little nervous at first, but I was quickly distracted from my anxiety. It was a whirlwind three hours, filled with enlightening conversations, answering questions about my novel and the writing process, and listening to all the positive feedback that the patrons had to give. It was an awesome experience, and I’d like to thank Chapters for giving me the opportunity to promote my book. As always, the staff was great! (I used to be part of their staff, so perhaps I’m a little biased, but they were totally awesome!) The event was a constant reminder of how supportive our town is for local talent. Much appreciated!
Thundercon 2018
It all began on Saturday, Oct. 27th at 10:00am and was completed by Sunday, October 28th at 5:00pm, but the time in between flew by too quickly, in my opinion. You know what they say, there’s a sense of time distortion when you’re having fun, so the weekend zipped by in a flash, leaving me with memories of fun, laughter and 
great sales!
As always, the costumes were phenomenal! Comic book and video game characters, celebrity impersonators, and fantastical beasts…there was always someone interesting passing by my table. And, as promised, I too donned a costume of one of my favourite video game characters, Ezio from Assassin’s Creed – girl version, of course.
Thundercon festivities included “How to Train Your Klingon”, the Qorus K-Pop/J-Pop Dance troupe, a KiDZ Zone and Game Zone and much, much more. There were even celebrity guests flown in for the event: master sculptor and film artist Brian Muir, Paul McGillion from Stargate: Atlantis, award winning writer and playwright Gary Jones, and Mindy Sterling, from the well-known Austin Powers franchise. And how can I forget, my favourite star of Thundercon, DR Stevil, whose Dr. Evil impersonation was spot on and had us all in tears! And who also graciously posed for a photo with me.
There was so much to do and see. I had a blast! You can bet on one thing…I will definitely be attending Thundercon 2019!
What’s next on the agenda? More book promotions, including an online blog tour. I will list the details on my events page once I have them banged out. Until then, keep reading!
💋 Lanie Mores
