I just came back from vacation and I am so tired still.
But I regret nothing.
Last year, my sister got me a ticket to Steamy Lit Con. A convention dedicated to celebrating diversity in the Romance genre. After meticulous planning, packing, and copious amounts of anxiety, we were on our way to sunny California on Sunday, July 28.
And of course, on our first Barnes & Noble stop, I bought books. (Didn’t buy pens then, and arguably only bought a set of new mildliners that I can’t wait to show you all.)
The con was Thursday(registration) and it was only Sunday. LOL.
I did manage to contain myself and only bought one other book before the convention, Ana Huang’s King of Sloth, Target edition because it had art. Target doesn’t exist in Puerto Rico, so that felt like a fair trade off.
It also took a few stops, but I did finally find a version of Ateez’s Golden Hour, buying a HJ edition because I couldn’t find a Mingi edition.
Back to the matter at hand, the convention.
Registration was easy, and the swag bag came with three free books along with some other goodies. I absolutely was blown away by the selection, including an ARC.
I got to meet Karelia on the first day of the con and have them sign my book as well, which was great! I even got to meet their partner, who happily signed my sister’s copy of Second Night Stand which they wrote together.
I’m normally socially awkward and it’s hard for me to meet people, but everyone was super welcoming. Registration was simple enough, and the few vendors that were going to be available at the con were all set up and open to get early pickings. As weary as I am about Ali Hazelwood(I did not enjoy Love Hypothesis), I wanted to get the Steamy Lit Edition of Bride because of the illustrations made by Leni Kauffman. My sister and I are both obsessed with her art so I heavily considered it on Thursday before the con went into full steam on Friday.
The universe made the decision for me because by Friday morning’s breakfast, the book was sold out. 🤣
I did get Regina Black’s The Art of Scandal because the special edition dust jacket was over the original one, and it’s still a Leni cover. I’m obsessed with it and I can’t wait to read the book myself. (Not sponsored by Steamy Lit, just showing you all where to get it if interested.)
After breakfast and the keynote panel, I ended up resting in the area and people watching. After spending most of the week walking around many different places in the area of Los Angeles, San Diego, and Disneyland, I was absolutely wrecked and needed time to recover before the first autograph session opened on Friday.
Once the signing session opened, I was tempted to make a mad dash to take a wristband of Ana Huang because I had my Indigo edition of King of Pride with me, but chickened out. Decided to focus on my favorite romance monster author, Clio, and spent some coin on their booth right the fuck away. I regret nothing. I even got some freebies from them! After taking care of that, I browsed around the floor, picking up a pre-order that I’d placed with Adriana Herrera before the con.
After that pickup, I spent some time walking around the floor to get Amor Actually signed by all of the authors that were currently at Steamy Lit. Got almost everyone. Only missing Alexis Daria and Diana Muñoz Stewart. Hopefully I’ll be able to meet them and have that book signed by every author in it. It’s honestly one of my favorite anthologies I’ve ever read and I will never stop raving about it.
Also, that cover for The Bootlegger’s Bounty? Gorgeous. Can’t wait to dive into it.
Once I got my fill of the day, including copious amounts of freebie stickers, I headed back to the hotel to rest.
Saturday was more of the same and ended up buying two more Clio books before walking around with my sister and having a great time. I tried again to meet Ana but she’d reached her max number of wristbands the day before, so no autograph for me.
I’d made my peace with it on Friday, considering how popular she’s grown since that one TikTok I saw back in 2021 when she was first promoting Twisted Love. I still don’t remember when I preordered it, all I remember is seeing the book on my Kindle app and being surprised with myself that I’d apparently bought it. Twisted Games is still my favorite from her so far.
Overall, the convention was great. I got to see and meet so many people and lovely authors. For it’s second year, it’s definitely got more potential for growth. I aspire to be an attending author one day.
Thanks for reading my rambles and see you on the next post!
Michi's World 