Madyn Rose

Author: Madyn Rose

This post is so ridiculously overdue I can’t even believe it’s been almost 8 weeks since I went on a mini-book vacation. As you know I was lucky enough to attend the Wild and Windy in the City book event in Chicago last month, as a reader.

First and foremost… Wow. There is so much to take in and as a newbie, I had zero idea of what to expect. I didn’t even think I could grasp these events’ size until I saw them in person. hundreds of readers came out to support their favorite romance authors and it was easy to understand why. I fangirled over Amy Daws and Meghan Quinn for sure (more on that later).

The Events

If you have never been to a reader event then welcome to the club, because up until this one neither had I. What’s worse is that I didn’t even know they existed!? So how did I end up falling down the rabbit hole of book events- easy, I checked out my favorite author’s website, and voila…

As I googled each of these events like Wild and Windy in the City, Book Bonanza, Love and Vegas, Indies Invade Philly, etc. Each event was different and with its own specified set of authors. After some searching, I settled on Chicago because it had the most amount of authors I had read (check my previous blog posts for specifics), and based on cost and travel time.

Since I was sooo late to the game in finding out about it, I relied on purchasing resale tickets, which worked out well for me. Since I was gifted the tickets and I owe a huge thank you to the lovely lady who wanted nothing more than for me to enjoy my first book vacation. I got a hotel around the corner from the venue and off I went for my two days alone with books! Talk about a break for this busy mom.

The Good, The Bad, The Meh…

The Good:

Meeting my favorite authors. Yes, I actually got to meet Meghan Quinn & Amy Daws! I have to send out a huge thank you to the volunteers who took pity on me after the lines closed to let me get my book signed as I had to catch my flight!

I really enjoyed the rom/com Q & A, panel! It was hilarious and introduced me to a couple of authors whom I hadn’t read which is adding to my overall TBR pile!

So many romance readers! I was absolutely floored at the dedication the readers had to their authors. It was a great place to meet new people and have fun. It was perfect for a girl’s weekend, which I hope to do in the future.

I was in Chicago! I’d never been and one of the first things I tried was Chicago deep dish pizza! SOOO cheesy. The hotel location was great, I stayed at the Hampton Inn & Suites Rosemont. There were a few things around us and I was within walking distance of the event!

The Meh:

It was hot and crowded despite the air conditioning. I went ahead and purchased the Friday Night Dinner through the hotel ( buffet style) thinking it would be easier than having to leave and find something on my own and since I was solo on the trip, it would be more convenient. I was right on the convenience, but it was pricey for what you got and to be honest, only a handful of us had dinner there, a huge disappointment.

The Bad:

I didn’t get to meet everybody! I know… this part really sucked. Although I meet like 95% of the authors there was a handful of the popular ones, even with a wristband, I ran out of time.

I was so frazzled and in awe that I didn’t take pictures! I think I got one picture with Amy Daws and I was so hot and sweaty I look terrible in it.

From what I heard, this was one of the biggest turnouts & had the most authors compared to the past events so I wasn’t the only one who didn’t get to do the meet and greet. The ones I wanted to see but missed were Tessa Bailey, Pippa Grant, and Claire Kingsley. Especially because I had taken books with me to have signed.

Things to Consider…

Travel: All of these events require travel. Now Sure, I could have driven to Chicago, it’s only 8hrs from me, but I was attending solo and not comfortable driving alone and I didn’t want to drag the fam with me.

Timing: This event fell on Mother’s Day weekend which meant that everyone had obligations already. Two-I felt guilty leaving the family at home to go to this, which is why I booked a flight home right after the event, in hindsight wasn’t the greatest idea, because it had gone slightly over and I was clinging to hope to meet at least Amy & Meghan. Thankfully I begged the volunteers who took pity and let me get their autographs. THANK YOU!

Cost: Aside from transportation, hotel expenses… There are books, merch, and swag to consider! As I said earlier, I went last minute, all the authors’ pre-sales had closed. I had a couple of books from the authors already, but I couldn’t show up empty-handed either so I purchased some from Amazon and thankfully they arrived before the event. Although the number of people I saw with carts filled/overstocked with books was unbelievable. My little backpack with a few books was pitiful. However, I did opt to purchase the bookshelf tote from IMPERFECTIONIST which was great since I had to consider suitcase weight for flying.

Overall Impression

Even without meeting everyone, I had so much fun. It was also such an inspiration as a debut author to see what could possibly be (one day- far from now). I have always been one for mini breaks. I love vacation time and usually, I’m somewhere warm and sunny with the hubs, friends, or family, but something like this was the perfect solo trip that didn’t give me too much mom guilt about leaving for a couple of days.

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LINKS: If you’re looking for upcoming events try here.

Events for 2024

** Note- None of this post was paid affiliation. **