First Ever Realm Makers Recap!

We’ve made it to another August, and here I am, piecing everything together and restarting normal habits after two writers’ conferences. As I write this, I’m staring down “back to school and work” on my weekly calendar, which unfortunately requires me to come back to “normal.” So I’m processing all I learned and all I experienced, because I know I’ll need that fuel, especially these next couple weeks. And since it turned out to be such a long update, I decided I’d post it here, instead of only on my newsletter.
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So let’s get started with my very first Realm Makers!

Thursday

I carpooled with my friend Laurel to Grand Rapids (thank goodness, because city driving terrified me). We chatted about anything and everything, which included but was not limited to poking fun at Michigan billboards. (Seriously, why did Michigan have so many horribly designed billboards on that particular highway?)

This was the first time I can remember that I went to a CITY city. Driving into Grand Rapids, seeing all the tall buildings, and navigating the city streets blew my Indiana country mind.
Laurel was running a booth at the first ever Realm Makers Expo, so I helped her set up, which meant I also got a sneak peek at the convention center and all the expo booths. I’m so glad I arrived a day early. Orienting myself helped fight off that overwhelm.

Until I got to my hotel room. I don’t know if the day’s excitement caught up with me or if it just hit me that I was really here and really doing this. But by the time I found my room, unpacked, and met all my fantastic roommates, I was exhausted and wondering just a bit what I was doing here. A quiet hour in the room and a frozen yogurt trip with my friends Hope and Seth reset my perspective. (Always believe in the power of frozen yogurt and friendship, guys.)
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Friday

Random Discovery: Hotel fountain and fountain time! If I got around in the morning and had a few minutes left, I’d hang out beside the fountain. It helped me take some quiet and start the day well.

I successfully navigated from the hotel to the convention center. As it turns out, hanging around the convention center lobby is a great way to meet people! The Realm Makers staff even trusted me enough to put me on the appointments desk, which made me feel very special.

The conference kicked off with S. D. Smith’s keynote. I’d heard him speak via the Young Writer’s Workshop before, so I enjoyed hearing him teach in person. He has a unique presenting style that I’ve never heard anywhere else. (And skipping forward a bit—I got to meet him and he is just such a genuinely nice person.)

After the keynote, I made a mad dash back to the hotel for my Mabel Pines cosplay. Considering I procrastinated on my costume until the week before, I’m pretty dang proud of that costume. When I ventured back downstairs, the hotel lobby was filled with the usual fancy businesspeople in suits—and a growing crowd of cosplayers. I even worked up enough courage to join the costume parade. (I also may or may not have given directions to Wayne Thomas Batson.)

The awards banquet was like a FANCY fancy dinner. Luckily, we had exactly one person at our table who knew which fork to use. Also, can I just say, the dessert was the best cheesecake ever.

But way better than the cheesecake was the awards ceremony. I’ve read the Realm Awards results online for years now, but hyping up the books I love and celebrating every win in person was very special.

After the banquet, no one hurried to leave. We took pictures with friends, with tablemates, with the awards finalists, and with other cosplayers.

I got a picture with two other Gravity Falls cosplayers—who turned out to be Realm Awards finalist Lindsey Lewellen and her daughter Ann. I also met an epic Kaz Brekker cosplayer whom I very much regret not getting a picture with.

But to be fair, the event staff were telling everyone left that we needed to leave so they could close up the building. Since it was dark out, I took the skywalk back to the hotel. 

Saturday

Random Discovery: the river behind the convention center. I arranged to eat lunch with my friend Suzie next to the river, which was so calming and relaxing. I’m always here for natural moving water.
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We kicked off with Sarah Arthur’s keynote, which was secretly my favorite. I then headed to Lindsay Franklin’s breakout sessions on emotional and spiritual health in writing. And boy, did I need that. She spoke about exactly where I’ve been the past year (if you follow my newsletter, then you know it’s been a struggle lately). I was constantly caught between laughing at her fantastic sense of humor and crying because I just felt so seen and relieved.

I did guiltily sneak out of her session though—because I went to Sara Ella’s book signing! I even arrived early enough to get a physical ARC for her upcoming book. She is such a sweet and kind person.

I crossed off a Realm Makers bucket list item and attended a session by the legendary Carla Hoch—so I now know enough about fight scenes to make me potentially dangerous. Although she’d say I’m not actually the most dangerous person, because I’m not willing to start a fight. Not right now, anyway.  

Then it was off to the expo! Be proud of me, I was self-controlled and only bought four books (I think?), two stickers, and a candle.

The faculty book signing was that evening, so I wandered around taking pictures, meeting authors I love, and getting books signed. I met Kara Swanson, who has been one of the biggest influences on my writing, both through her own books and through her teaching. I then retreated to the bookstore and helped Suzie out. 

Sunday

Sunday morning opened with a beautiful worship service. I loved the mix of traditional hymns and more modern worship songs. The message (given by Bradley Caffee) spoke into all those places of hurt and suffering, both when it comes to our lives and when it comes to writing, in an especially touching way.

Off to the expo again! This time, I met Katie Leigh, which was absolutely insane because I was a hardcore Adventures in Odyssey kid. It felt like a full circle moment.

I also went to Mariposa Aristeo’s ARC drop and book signing. (I actually skipped my lunch break so I could be there.) I’ve followed Mariposa since long before she announced her book, and when I arrived twenty minutes early to find a dozen people already waiting (to the point the staff relocated the line because we were blocking the path), I couldn’t have been happier. I had so much fun meeting her.

I went to Nadine Brandes’ book signing after that, which was such a huge moment, since Nadine’s books were the first Christian fantasies I read that made me go “I want to write like THAT.”

I quickly ate a sandwich by the river and then ducked back inside to help check badges for a panel discussion on genre hopping. I can see genre hopping in my future, so I felt very reassured to hear that yes, it can be done and it can be done successfully.

The conference closed with N. D. Wilson’s keynote. I’d heard a lot of YWW students who swore by his teaching sessions, so I enjoyed getting to hear him speak for the first time. Then I squeezed in one last hour at the expo—during which I met Mike Nawrocki. WHAT. My childhood self would never believe any of this.

And then the closing announcement came over the speakers. Just like that, it was all over. I stayed to help Laurel take down her booth, and it was surreal watching everyone take down the booths that I watched them put together just a few days earlier.

I returned to the hotel for a late dinner and a few hours chatting with my roommates before we all went our separate ways the next morning. 

Monday

And for those wondering, Laurel and I had just as much fun on the way back, which may or may not have involved exploring a used book store and getting ice cream.

Takeaways

It’s so hard to condense that weekend down to even a blog post like this. I met so many wonderful people—authors who have inspired me for years, friends I’ve only ever met online, and friends that I do know in person but got to share this experience with.

It’s also impossible to sort out my biggest takeaways, but let me try.

I’ve been able to implement what I learned in Lindsay’s classes already in the few weeks I’ve been back, as that conference high fades and it’s back to the real world. I know I’ll carry those tools with me to deal with burnout, fear of failure, perfectionism, and more. But beyond that, I know I’ll remember the relief I felt as I heard her take the big scary struggles I’d been battling for months and calmly say “I have slides about that.” The way she approached these topics made me realize they’re not as big and dark as they feel, that they can be overcome.

I’ll also be taking Bradley Caffee’s Sunday message with me. All of us have things in our past that we didn’t choose and we wish we hadn’t had to deal with. All of us have things in our present that we don’t want. But that message has shaped how I look at all those things.

But—and my introvert self can’t believe I’m saying this—the best part was meeting people. Being somewhere I could use the word “dieselpunk” and everyone automatically knew what I meant. Being somewhere people were hyped over my book that I hadn’t even written yet—and I was hyped over theirs. Being somewhere where I could help people out and just listen to them for awhile. Where we wear costumes and ask people for pictures and don’t feel bad about it.

I’d heard that the big draw of Realm Makers is being somewhere with hundreds of people who just “get” it. And based on my experience at my first Realm Makers, I definitely believe that. I’m already scheming and saving with hopes to go next year, planning out potential costumes, and plotting what books I’ll bring with me. 

Hi, I’m Rachel! I write young adult/new adult fantasy novels that walk the line between the darker elements of fantasy and the weirder elements of cartoons. But more importantly, I write the novels I needed growing up—the novels I still need. Novels for the weird little girls and the women they’re becoming.

Maybe you need those stories, too? You can get one for free by signing up for my email newsletter via the “HOME” page of my website. It might involve a girl and the magical violin she didn’t want, plus maybe a metaphor about grief? Plus, you’ll also get email-exclusive updates about what I’m reading, watching, and writing. Sound good? I hope I’ll see you there! ​