Last year, I had the pleasure of becoming friends with another MM romance author relatively local to me, Rory Maxwell. Our friendship has been fantastic for writing support, both virtual and in-person working dates. And it’s a good thing we hit it off so well because we promptly planned a ton of events together! We will both be author guests at the upcoming Rainbow Readers Cruise (August) and Northern Rainbow Romance Retreat (October). I’ll also be at RomantiConn (July) as Rory’s PA/emotional support human.

Before all those shenanigans, however, we were fortunate enough to snag tickets to two highly anticipated romance book signings (and by fortunate, I mean Rory has the magic touch when it comes to battling the online ticket process). We attended both events as readers and had an absolute blast. Last fall, we attended Indies Invade Philly, and this past weekend, we visited DC’s National Harbor for the day-long massive signing event that is part of ApollyCon.

Saturday

I stayed up way too late on Friday night working on a book proof, but that’s because the book was so good and I was extra hyped to meet the author the very next day. With giant coffee in hand, I left my house before 6 AM, picked up Rory at her place, and then we headed down to DC.

For how enormous this event was, I was thoroughly impressed by the organization and logistics that went into ensuring a smooth process for all involved. We waited in line for maybe 10 minutes to pick up our wristbands–and promptly broke the registration volunteer’s brain when we declined our ticketed numbers to get books signed by Jennifer L. Armentrout or Rebecca Yarros. Confession time: I’ve read nothing by either of them and still only have a vague idea of what Armentrout has written.

As queer romance fans, Rory joked we would be the least busy people at this event…and she wasn’t wrong. We needed less than 20 minutes to pick up our pre-orders and have them signed by three authors in the first room, then enjoyed the rest of our morning leisurely checking out the rest of the space. We met a few more MM authors, had a lovely chat with Kitty Berry (organizer of RomantiConn), and I only spent a bit more money on books and swag than I meant to!

Meeting Kate Hawthorne in person was the highlight of my day. She’s been an incredible support to me as I launch my romance career in self-publishing, and I’m honored that she trusts me to proofread early copies of her amazing work. Kate and her PA Amy are as lovely in person as they are online, and of course, I also had to get a selfie with Grayson, my favorite Trophy Dom.

with Sierra Simone (top left), Kate Hawthorne (top right), M.A. Wardell (bottom left), and Grayson

We even cleared out of the room long before our 4 hours were up and chilled in another area of the hotel for the rest of the morning before meeting up with author Hailey Turner and her PA for lunch. Rory has been friends with both of them for ages, and I was only a little starstruck to be meeting one of my favorite science-fiction authors.

After a delicious lunch of tacos, we returned to the hotel for our afternoon session in the second signing space. We had a few more pre-orders to pick up there, and I was thrilled to meet more authors and PAs in person, such as J.R. Gray, Onley James, Layla Reyne, and NOLAKim, all of whom I’ve had the pleasure of working with as a proofreader or ARC reader.

with Hailey Turner (left) and J.R. Gray (right)

As a bonus, I also got to hug two people I know from grad school! Rory and I chatted about self-publishing with Priscilla Oliveras, and I was thrilled to reconnect with the lovely Maria V. Snyder, who was an early supporter and reader of my fantasy series.

We already had dinner plans with Hailey and her PA Kelly again, and in true author fashion, we also scooped up author Theresa Kay/Tessa Kane and her PA to join us. (I’m definitely moving Tessa’s book up my queue because I learned she’s already read Earth and Water!) If Rory and I were tired from wandering, the poor authors were exhausted from being “on” all day, on top of another signing the evening before. Dinner was fun, but we didn’t linger too long before heading home. After all, the day off meant I had writing to make up, and we had plans to meet the next day to do just that!

I’m not sure that’ll attend ApollyCon again as a reader, but I’m glad that I took advantage of the opportunity when Rory was able to get us tickets. Now, I’m excited to look forward and gear up for all the events I’ve already got scheduled in 2024 (and 2025!) as an author, and before that… I have another book to finish writing.

Final Haul

  • Iced Out (Leighton U #1) by C.E. Ricci
  • Mistletoe and Mishigas (Teachers in Love #2) by M.A. Wardell
  • The Other Half of the Grave by Jeaniene Frost
  • The Other Princess by Denny S. Bryce
  • All In (Trophy Doms New York #1) and Relentless (Room for Love #6) by Kate Hawthorne + bookmark
  • Unnatural Fate and King Consort by J.R. Gray + bookmark, stickers, and magnet
  • Metahuman Files series (In the Wreckage, In the Ruins, In the Shadows, In the Blood, In the Requiem, and In the Solace) by Hailey Turner + pin

One thought on “Con Report: ApollyCon 2024”

  1. Pingback: April Wrap-Up & May Goals | J.L. Gribble, Author, Editor, Worldbuilder

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