Historical Novel Society Conference

My book at the HNS bookstore!

Last month, I attended the Historical Novel Society conference in Las Vegas. The conferences happen every two years and I attended the conference in 2023 as an “aspiring author” and I attended this year as a published author! My book was in the conference bookstore along with other great historical fiction authors. I had attended previous conferences and wandered through the bookstore in awe at all the great books, and now I was among them, so that was A MOMENT.

There were many great panel topics and discussions. I attended a “Cozy Chat” with Kate Quinn, and I was fan-girling hard - I love all of her books. Her chat was very insightful and helped me see a through line in the themes I’m interested in, which are women’s voices, collapsed societies where people have to face radical re-invention, and justice.

This was my first visit to Las Vegas and I gotta say, it is EXTRA. I am a sensory sensitive person so I did struggle a bit with the lights, noise, sounds and the crowds. I did go to bed early just to mentally recover. It is always interesting to think about how people take in the world in different ways. I know for some people the lights, noise, crowds, and music are exciting and stimulating and they love it. I’m sure these same folks would be bored with my dream place, Cannon Beach in early fall when the crowds have subsided, walking along a quiet cloudy beach, having a coffee at the bakery and then hiking around Ecola State Park.