Realm Makers 2018- A Personal Summary- Part 1 of 2 (maybe)

This was my third time going to Realm Makers. For those who do not know, this is a conference intended for Christian authors of speculative fiction. It attracts authors like Jill Williamson, Nadine Brandes, and this year's keynote speaker, Mary Weber.

Me (left), Kendall (right)

It seems like I am only ever able to attend every other year (so we will see what happens next year), but this time I really didn't want to go alone as I had in the past. 

Cue finding out that my younger sister is wanting to get into writing and illustrating graphic novels (you can check out her instagram here). And Realm Makers just so happened to have a class on graphic novels this year! So, I convinced my sister (I really should call her by her actual name, which is Kendall by the way) to come with me.

It didn't take much convincing once I told her about the graphic novel class, as well as the costume dinner.

Beyond having someone to go with me, this year was so different from every other. First, I have taken a job since the last RM I attended, which requires me to travel a lot. So now I am used to driving 9+ hrs every couple of weeks (by myself) and know exactly how often I need to stop and what things I need to take with me. I've also gotten a lot better at following my GPS, though I did have to make a U-Turn once in the middle of St. Louis.

But this time, I had also been to St. Louis before and, since Kendall and I were arriving a day early, I knew cool places to visit on Thursday before the Keynote. And that meant stopping for BBQ at Bogart's Smoke House and then visiting Cahokia, the largest Indian burial mound in the US. It was an exciting visit for me because it is an amazing example of the kind of work I do (I'm an archaeologist, to clarify) and I got to share that with my sister, along with the conference, which is a great example of the writing community which I love. And honestly, sharing that with her was the best part of this trip.

Us with the main Cahokia mound in the background.

Thursday afternoon, we enjoyed Weber's keynote as well as the Splickety Session. Nadine Brandes sat down five seats away from me at the Keynote, so as soon as it was over, I got her to sign my copy of Fawkes!

Friday, after waking up and driving back to the conference (we stayed at a cheaper hotel about five minutes down the road), we enjoyed our first full day sitting in classes and getting to know people. For me, the highlight of that day was Sharon Hinck's continuing session on Faith-Infused and Faith-Fueled Fiction. It was great to hear her stories of faith and explanations as to why she wrote the books she did, novels which I have been reading since I was in middle school even though I wasn't exactly the readership in mind for a tale about a stay-at-home-mom who saves the world. 

For Kendall, the best part of Friday was the costume dinner, where she wore her Edward Elric from Full Metal Alchemist costume for the first time. I came as woman with blue color power, a Fawkes cosplay. But Kendall certainly didn't care what I was dressed as (she hasn't read the book), she only cared about the two people who came dressed as characters from her absolute favorite anime (which of course I don't remember the name of). And to those two people, I say thank you, because you made her day.

However, I just now realize that I have way more to say about this event that I had previously thought. And I know that you guys probably don't want to read through it all at once, so I will leave you for now and come back with Part 2 next week. See you then!

Have you attended Realm Makers this year or any other? If so, what was your favorite part? And if not, what is you favorite book related memory?