ApollyCon 2023 Recap: Day Two

Day two of ApollyCon was the most exhausting day. Why? Because it was raining outside, and that meant lugging around a bunch of books in the rain, since we were staying at a hotel across the street. My friend and I ended up using trashbags and plastic Ziploc bags to keep all of our books safe and dry in the cart. Plus, we were wearing giant green ponchos to keep ourselves dry too. We looked like weird homeless hitchhikers.

The panels started pretty early in the morning, and we didn't want to get wet by going back to the hotel in the pouring rain, so we decided to bring everything over in the morning and just stick around the Hyatt the entire day. Our first panel at 9 a.m. was Romantasy Vibes, and it had C.N. Crawford, the husband and wife duo; Olivia Wildenstein; Amanda Bouchet; Emma Hamm; Leslye Penelope; and Sarah A. Parker talking about their books. It wasn't a bad panel, but it was pretty similar to the one last year. I also think it was super early for most people to be up and talking.

The second panel we attended, (Mis)Behavior 101, was in the same room as the first panel. Actually, that's why we decided to attend it. We didn't want to lug our cart of books around and potentially lose a seat for the next panel that was in the same room, so we just decided to camp out. Crazily enough, (Mis)Behavior ended up being our favorite panel, mostly because Jillian and Liz, the 1,000 Dark Nights publisher ladies, are super funny. It was a good time. I don't think I'll read any of the authors' books anytime soon, but they are all funny. From left to right (in my horrible pic), there's Jillian and Liz, Sawyer Bennett, Helena Hunting, Dylan Allen, and Kristen Ashley is on the end. The other author who arrived late because of an elevator issue was Laura Kaye.

Panel three was Monsters, Beasts, + Paranormal Heat, and it was... interesting. I think they tried really hard to make it as funny as last year's version, but it just didn't quite hit the same, probably because only two of the same authors were there. The authors from left to right are, Maria Vale, Stacey Marie Brown, Piper J. Drake, K.F. Breene, C.M. Nacosta, and Lana Pecherczyk.

After the panels, it was time for lunch, so we decided to DoorDash from one of the places we really liked last year, Good Stuff Eatery. They have really good shakes and burgers. We also got their seasoned fries, which probably would have been amazing, but they got kind of soggy by the time that were delivered to us. But yeah, we just kind of hung out until the Titan signing started. We also figured out a cheat. There's no reason to get in line early like we did last year. Everyone is going to get inside, so it's easier just to hang out and then jump to the back of the line right as we can go in. It saved us so much foot pain. While we waited, the volunteers put an APOLLYCON balloon sign outside the doors, so we did a photo op with it.

  We went to the Ballroom level first for the start of the Titan signing. There were just more authors there that we 100% had to see and pick up preorders from. Our first stop was Chloe C. Penaranda, and she was super nice. I haven't read her books yet, but I've been wanting to get my hands on her hardcovers for a while, so one down, four or five to go. Excuse my almost-closed eyes in the photo. I have a blinking problem when it comes to pics.

Since we had good JLA tickets, we were able to go to her table next. I'm so happy we didn't have to wait until the very end like last year. It was great to get a photo where I wasn't stooped over and exhausted from carrying a bunch of books and standing in a bajillion lines. I had JLA sign my ALITF ApollyCon edition and my Origin copy, since I have the first three already signed, I figured I'd try to get all of them signed. Just two full books and one novella to go!

Then, we hopped into the JLA Shop line, which was one of my favorite parts because I bought the thing I was most excited for. But, before I get ahead of myself, while in line, my friend and I switched places to nab tickets for Charissa Weaks's signing line (we had to nab signing tickets throughout this whole thing, but I remember this one specifically because we were waiting in the JLA Shop line and it was moving pretty slowly because of everyone checking out and browsing). I also, while I was nabbing my Charissa ticket, picked up my Reading Portal FBAA Dominique Wesson prints preorder. Reading Portal was super friendly.

We finally made it to the front of the JLA Shop table where I picked up my Scorched preorder along with my ApollyCon t-shirt. I also bought these awesome shelfie/standees! The ones with Jemlin's Blood Forest artwork! AAAAAAHHH!!! They were honestly my favorite purchase of the night. I also got two prints, one of the map and the other of a quote from The Crown of Gilded Bones. Oh, and JLA had some swag she gave out at her table too. (Note: Scorched isn't pictured because I forgot to take a pic.)

Next, we went to Lilian T. James's table. Her table was so calm after the busier JLA ones. (I think she had some major luggage issues right before this event, so I'm glad things seemed to have worked out by the time signing started, and if they didn't, she hid it well.) But I loved her Crystal Island series (books one and two are the only ones out so far), so I'm glad I could talk to her for a bit without a bunch of interruptions. Though I'm sure I didn't say anything amazing or life-changing. I think I just asked about book three, but I might have done that the night before when she was at the Bookish Box event, so... who knows. We did pick up our preorders of her hardcover editions at ApollyCon, and she stamped them too. Oh, and side note, I'm glad I decided to buy the Bookish Box edition off that BST group, since Bookish Box wasn't selling copies to non-subscribers.

Up next was Amber Nicole. Her table was really cool. She had a very dark, witchy-vibe going on with her special editions, and her cover reveal for book two was posted behind her. She's also super tall, though I think she was wearing high heels as well. I picked up my ApollyCon exclusive hardcover from her and had my paperback version signed too. I can't decide if I'm going to keep the paperback or not. Part of me knows I should sell it because having two copies is ridiculous. I can't do that for every book. But another part of me wants to keep it just because I can. I think that part will win.

I think directly before this, I ended up running into Jemlin in person. She was super sweet and signed one of the many FBAA prints I have of her artwork. I brought it specifically because I was hoping to catch her at some point. Her signature is in gold on the very bottom. Also, Jemlin, I'm sorry I interrupted your signing time! She was going around talking with authors she'd done artwork for, which was actually a lot of them. I think she's done some for JLA, Jess Wisecup, Charissa Weaks, and a few others. And, since past me decided to take a photo of all the things together, I can also explain that my friend created library cards for the authors to sign for us. They're very cute. I just need to remember who everyone is. I think this post will help. And fun fact, the first day, all of the authors signed in either black or gold. Also, I brought the frame from last year because I needed it signed by Stephanie, JLA's ApollyCon guru, and Brigid Kemmerer, who I missed last year.

And next was K.A. Tucker. I don't remember talking to her very much. Not because she wasn't nice or anything, but because I hadn't read her books yet, so I think we were just trying to get our books signed and move along without her realizing we hadn't read them yet. Ha ha. She did give us both free swag though, so that's always a plus. It's better than what happened with the next author. I completely fumbled when it came to meeting Jess Wisecup. I acted like a darn fool. Lol.

So the Jess Wisecup story is embarassing. I mean, I didn't bang my knee on the table like I did right in front of Leigh Bardugo that one time, but I just couldn't pull myself together with Jess. I kept pointing at different art pieces and stickers that were on the table and asking for one when they only sold sets of three (e.g., three prints for $15, three stickers for $6). Well, for some reason, it didn't compute in my head at the time, so I just looked like a moron pointing to different items over and over again asking how much they were. Ugh. I swear, I'm not stupid, Jess! I was just tired! Also, when we were taking the pic, the assistant tried to run out of the frame and she ended up giving this amazing look. My friend went back and showed it to both of them, and they laughed.

 

Now, I can't remember what the order was for Jess Wisecup and Emma Hamm, since these photos weren't in my phone. I stole them from my friend. But we met them somewhere in this general lineup. They may have been after Lillian T. James, though. They're all blurring together. But anyway, my friend and I picked up our orders from Emma Hamm. We joked about her not having the books, since she made a jokey comment about not knowing where they were at during the Bookish Box event. Her partner/husband (not sure if they're married) was there too. He was friendly.

 

 

Real quick, I just want to mention that my friend stopped by Elizabeth Briggs's table to pick up a preorder, get things signed, and take a pic. I hadn't read anything by Elizabeth Briggs yet, so I decided not to purchase yet another book. I will read these at some point, though. They look fun. Oh, and here's a pic of me being a doofus while waiting in Charissa Weaks's signing line.

Charissa was nice too! I don't think any author wasn't nice, but it was so much different from last year. My friend and I could just be a little more relaxed and it wasn't as hot since the AC was working this time. But anyway, I had preordered the paperback copies of the first and third books in The Witch Collector series, as I ordered book two on Amazon. I wasn't planning on preordering the third book either, but it came with some Jemlin artwork, so I decided "Why not?".

Alright, so this one has a funny story with it. Well, not funny, but interesting. We went to see Rebecca Ross next. I got my copy of The Queen's Resistance signed. I'd already seen Rebecca at her NYC launch a few years ago when I had The Queen's Rising signed. I'd also preordered A River Enchanted, as I'd read a library copy and really enjoyed it. Well, when I went up there, they lost my order. I wasn't super upset, since I'd already brought a different book to sign. I just figured I'd get a refund, but they told me to come back later and they would try to figure something out. I came back later, and they'd found my copy. Hurrah!

Olivia Wildenstein was the sort-of last stop on the Ballroom level. I'd preordered The House of Beating Wings hardcover from her, so I got that and a pic. She accidentally had a book in my order that I'd canceled. I'd originally ordered both the first and second book, but they were just too expensive to buy at the same time when B&N is so much cheaper. So I gave that back to her. We had a bit of a kerfuffle with my friend's order, though, so after Olivia's table, we took a short break to plan what was next, as I think by this time, we'd seen everyone we needed to see on the bottom floor. It was time for the Independence level after that.

We actually only brought our Ballroom-level books on Friday, which meant we didn't have the books for any authors upstairs. But, there were a lot of authors upstairs that we only wanted our library cards signed from. One of those authors included Kami Garcia. I've seen her before in St. Louis, so I didn't have to bring a Beautiful Creatures book.

We picked up preorders from Ava Speirs next. She's actually an author I'd never heard of before, but my friend read the book and told me I'd like it, so I got it. The author also gave us a bag of candy with our preorders, which I promptly devoured later that night. Yummy.

I also went to see C.E. Ricci, which, if you've been following my recent Stacking the Shelves posts, you'll remember. I read all of her full-length books except one before ApollyCon. I think there's like five of them. I told her that I only had one left, and she immediately knew which one I hadn't read yet. It's a spinoff with a character that appeared in the River of Rain duology. He acted like a jerk in that series, so I didn't want to read a whole book about him. I've heard good things, though, so I might give it a try and see if there's redemption.

We went to have Lexi Ryan sign our library cards next. We'd seen her last year and we already owned signed FairyLoot editions of her books, so we didn't have a book for her. My friend did remind Lexi that last time she was at ApollyCon, my friend accidentally hit Lexi in the boob with her backpack. It was a memorable talking point. Lol.

And I think the last author we saw that night (that we hadn't seen already that day) was Brigid Kemmerer. Like with Lexi Ryan, we didn't have books for her to sign. I was supposed to get both my library card and my frame signed, but I forgot about the frame, even though she was one of two reasons I decided to bring it! So, I had to get in her line again on Saturday as well. That was it for Friday, though, besides when we had to go back downstairs to pick up my A River Enchanted copy and my friend went back to visit Olivia Wildenstein's table. After that, we just hopped on a couch to wait until the Sourcebooks event started later that night.

 

So the last event of the night was the Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Feud game. It was a twist on Family Feud with romance as the topic. Sourcebooks had put out a survey to have results for the game in advance. I remember answering it! But, unfortunately, the event just wasn't that great. Like last year, the attendees were too noisy to hear anything. Also, the game could only be played by like 12 people at a time, which left the rest of us just sitting there, since we couldn't really hear what the players were saying. My friend and I ended up leaving after a couple of rounds. We were tired and we had to rainproof ourselves and our cart. Oh, but when we walked into the event, we were able to grab swag bags. I think I threw away most of the swag items, but it did come with an ARC of A Crown of Ivy and Glass, which is ginormous! It almost didn't make the cut for my suitcase on the flight home. 

 

Once that was all done, we walked to the hotel in the wet, unpacked everything, prepped everything for the Saturday morning signing, and then went to bed. I think my friend ate a Hot Pocket she bought from the hotel lobby concession area too, if you're interested in our oh-so-crazy antics. We're wild ladies! Stay tuned for day three's post so you can see just how absolutely insane we get! I'll give you a hint, there were naps involved.