Returning From Utah Winter Faire

Posted by Rampant Coyote on December 5, 2016

I arrived back in town on Thursday night, just in time to run off to Utah Winter Faire the next day. No break for me. *Sigh*. At least it was totally worth it.

Utah Winter Faire is kind of like a Christmas-themed Renaissance / Fantasy / Steampunk Fair. It’s (almost) all indoor events, so no jousting. But you have stuff like the Armored Combat League fighting with real steel and armor, which is pretty dang hardcore. Plus lots of performance arts, and lots of vendors. If you wanted to get a friend or family member some unique home-made soap, a Tardis pendant, a Hogwarts uniform, or a set of chainmail, it’s the place to go! Or, of course, a great speculative fiction book!

For me, Utah Winter Faire was a blast. It usually is. There were lots of fun things going on, and some great costumes. I danced with Clockwork & Gears Vintage Dancing, as usual. We got to perform a few numbers, including an unannounced “flash mob” presentation (that apparently people really liked!), and we also taught people to perform some simple, fun vintage dances.

Our Xchyler Author booth was busy, especially Saturday. Maybe it was the variety, but I’ve never sold as many books at an event as I did this weekend. I think I did 2x better than usual. I actually sold out of my copies of several books, and had almost nothing to take home (except copies of Cirsova 4… my “years’ supply” had barely arrived the day before). Not that I had a massive supply to begin with… I hadn’t re-supplied prior to the faire, but I definitely need to buy some more copies before my next event.

But really, the best part was meeting with people who have actually *gasp* read and enjoyed some of my stories. That’s tremendous. It’s the part that makes it all worthwhile. Same as games. It’s really easy to get stuck in your own head-space, and in both writing and making games, you are taking stuff that exists only in your imagination, and translating it (never as well as you’d like) into a real-world form. The point being, of course, that this way other people can experience it. But as a creator, particularly a relatively unknown one, you don’t get much feedback from the audience. But then you get an event like this, and you get to talk about shared experiences in a world that you still kind of think of as your private little world in your head. It’s like, “WOW! You’ve been there, too! Tell me what you thought!”

That, and it’s just a lot of fun to meet people. I’m not exactly extroverted, but I do enjoy meeting and talking with people 1-on-1.

Anyway… a very cool party. I am glad I went.

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