What I Learned Doing 42 Comic Cons in 2025 (partย three): Running the Stand and a Tour of my Table

Iโ€™m Mark Stay, author of the Witches of Woodville series and The End of Magic trilogy and welcome to this third episode where Iโ€™m sharing what Iโ€™ve learned from doing 42 comic cons in 2025โ€ฆ

Missed the previous episodes? Click on the buttons below…



Letโ€™s talk about table displays, setting up, running the stall and getting to and from the venuesโ€ฆ Weโ€™re going to start with some excellent questions, then in a separate video, Iโ€™ll take you on a tour of my tableโ€ฆ



TRANSCRIPT

ALLEN STROUD

Have you tried/are you open to collaborating with other authors to make the running the stand a little easier for lunch breaks, etc? 

JULIAN BARR

What do you pack in your “survival kit” for the day?

Do you bring a buddy to help run the stall? If so, do you pay them? If not, well… what do you do if you need to pop off to the loo?

JENNIFER TAYLOR-GRAY

Any tips for travelling with lots of books? (Iโ€™ve only done one and that was local to meโ€ฆ it was amazing but without a car not sure how other ones are possible). 

Thank you all for these questions. Letโ€™s take them one at a timeโ€ฆ

Do I take someone with me to help run the stall and cover for breaks? Generally, no. Other authors might bring their partner along โ€“ and most cons offer two passes/wristbands as part of your fee โ€“ but my wife works hard enough as it is without me dragging her to a comic con just because I need a whizz. That said, we traders do look after each other and will keep an eye on a neighbouring table if someone has to rush off to do something unmentionableโ€ฆ

And, yes, thank you for inquiring into my toilet habitsโ€ฆ Iโ€™ve learned to not drink tea or any other diuretic drinks while selling. I sip water. Sip, donโ€™t gulp! For lunch, I usually get little sausage rolls or similar small snacks. Something you can nibble quickly. Iโ€™d love a big sandwich, but if youโ€™re mid-bite and a customer comes along and youโ€™re wiping mayonnaise off your chin etc itโ€™s not a good look. I also have low-calorie snack bars and an apple. And I graze. From, say, 11 onwards, I have a little nibble every half hour. Iโ€™m sure some nutritionist out there will tell me this is a terrible thing, but I have the attitude that Iโ€™m there to sell: I live in fear of wandering off and missing a sale.

The only time I make an exception is when Iโ€™m at something like the MCM and Iโ€™m doing a panel. That means that Iโ€™m away from my table for over an hour, and one of my kids will cover the table for me and ask people to return later.

And to answer Jenniferโ€™s question about travelling to/from cons without a carโ€ฆ

I only ever use my car, so I asked a few author friends who use public transport to get to comic cons and other eventsโ€ฆ

Ian Hunter, author of the Fyn Carter series and The Shoe Creeper โ€“ https://ianhuntercreates.com/ โ€“ sent me this…


IAN HUNTER: Travelling to a comic con or event via public transport can feel like a daunting task. Here are some of my top tips to help you feel prepared!

Packing

Suitcases are good options for keeping books secure. You can cut a box to fit the inside and pad it out. A suitcase with a hard shell gives more protection from bumps, but it also helps keep your stock waterproof. Using a case with four wheels (and using them all rather than tilting), means your case is better balanced with less chance of a wheel breaking mid-journey.

Size vs Weight

If youโ€™re travelling away for more than a day, or the event is a big one, you might want to take more stock and need a bigger suitcase. No problem, you may be tempted to think. I can wheel the suitcase! Absolutely always ensure you can also lift the packed case first. If you canโ€™t lift the case off the ground, you will struggle with things like getting the case on and off a train or bus. Worse โ€“ lifts could be out of order (transport alterations mean you might encounter this despite planning the journey). Even if you find help, a case of books etc. is no light task.

Other considerations

Flat-pack displays help with space.

Carry items you might want fast and easy access to in a backpack/small bag so you donโ€™t need to open the suitcase mid-journey. Carry delicate items the same way so you can protect them more easily.

If staying overnight, taking a separate sports bag (which you can balance on top of the suitcase) means you can leave the heavy suitcase at the event and only take the essentials to your accommodation.

With large and heavy luggage, ensure you tell a taxi company when ordering (so they donโ€™t arrive with a car without enough boot space). Be prepared to accept that the luggage section on a train etc. may already be full, so you might need to stay with your luggage between carriages and sacrifice your seat.

Allow extra time for connecting trains etc. Partially due to potential delays. Partially because there could be queues for lifts.

Remember that it might feel like a mission, but with a bit of careful planning it can work. Either way youโ€™ll learn for next time. Youโ€™ve got this!


I got this from the wonderful Joe Dawson, author of The Goodness Potion and its Side Effects https://joedawsonbooks.com/

JOE: Remember you have a chance to advertise and market until the second you close your front door. I have an upright trolley with clear boxes with the books in, on the inside I have paper taped with the book title and a QR code, and I have made sales on the tube/ DLR, since people will be looking at the big bulky thing anyway. (But it also means you have to keep a smile on your face regardless of whatโ€™s happening around you- oh the problems of being a celeb on the tube).

For Joe, the con starts the minute he leaves home and until he returns. While Iโ€™m stuck in traffic, heโ€™s still selling books!

My thanks to Joe and Ian for sharing those top tips!


ALLEN STROUD has another great questionโ€ฆ

Do you use a POS solution for payments? If so, what’s worked for you? How do you manage setup and take down on your own?

That sounds like a cue for a tour of my table, so letโ€™s do that now…

LINKS

For the Amazon links I can earn affiliate payments…

Timber Ridge Trolley

My tablecloth: Table Covers Now  

My display signs were designed on Canva and printed by Pro Design Studio. 

Acrylic Sign Holders

Book stands

Vistaprint banners

Business Cards 

Stamp

SumUp. Here’s a discount link with up to ยฃ100 discount on your first purchase.

Thanks to Dom Currie for the jingle, and Emily Stay-Newton for the camera work on the table tour.



If you’ve found this helpful, please consider supporting me on Ko-Fi…

What I Learned Doing 42 Comic Cons in 2025 (partย two): Costs & Cashflow

Iโ€™m Mark Stay, author of the Witches of Woodville series and The End of Magic trilogy and welcome to the second episode where Iโ€™m sharing what Iโ€™ve learned from doing 42 comic cons in 2025โ€ฆ



Letโ€™s talk about costs, sales targets and cashflow. Ooh, exciting! This episode all stems from one very long question fromโ€ฆ

ZOร‹ RICHARDS, author of Tell it to the Bees and Garden of her Heart (not an author of fantasy or science fiction, but she sells at craft markets)

Zoรซ asks: What do you class as a good day/event?

TRANSCRIPT

Iโ€™m Mark Stay, author of the Witches of Woodville series and The End of Magic trilogy and welcome to the second episode where Iโ€™m sharing what Iโ€™ve learned from doing 42 comic cons in 2025โ€ฆ

Letโ€™s talk about costs, sales targets and cashflow. Ooh, exciting! This episode all stems from one very long question fromโ€ฆ

ZOร‹ RICHARDS, author of Tell it to the Bees and Garden of her Heart (not an author of fantasy or science fiction, but she sells at craft markets)

Zoรซ asks: What do you class as a good day/event?

Iโ€™m not after sales figures, rather the formula you use. This is what Iโ€™m using, and Iโ€™d love to know if it aligns with yours.

Zoรซ lists her costs asโ€ฆ

โ€ข cost of stall

โ€ข additional costs (travel, parking, refreshments)

โ€ข depreciation costs (banner, bookmarks, table cloth, display materials)

โ€ข Costs for debit card sales (each sale incurs a small fee)

โ€ข cost of books ordered (like me, she gets author copies from her publisher at 50% RRP)

Then Zoรซ tallies that against her:

โ€ข targeted sales

โ€ข actual sales

โ€ข income from sales 

And the final result is:

โ€ข Total income from sales

โ€ข Minus total costs

Zoรซ continues: Is this the right approach? I find myself wondering if Iโ€™m doing well or wasting my time. I donโ€™t have opportunities for comic con events as I write the wrong kind of books so mine are craft markets, which donโ€™t always attract readers. 

Thanks Zoรซ and thatโ€™s pretty much the approach that I take: I tot up my costs, then estimate how many books I need to sell to cover those costs and target myself accordingly. You can tell I was a sales rep, canโ€™t you?

I keep a spreadsheet with how much the table costs me and the estimated petrol expenses (I use the RAC calculator).

So I can tell you now that in 2025, I sold 1974 books, with a turnover of just over ยฃ20k, spent nearly ยฃ2.5 on petrol, and nearly ยฃ3k booking the events.

What I donโ€™t track are those depreciative costs: the banners, the tablecloths, the bookmarks (and Iโ€™ll talk more about them when I do a tour of my table in the next episode)…

And I donโ€™t track my biggest expense: stock (ยฃ6.4k in 2025),โ€ฆ because itโ€™s the expense that never stops and presents its own issue: cashflow.

Now if youโ€™re just starting out, and only have one or two books to sell, go and fetch the smallest of your violins because this is where I complain about the expense of having to regularly stock up on 9-10 published books. It ainโ€™t cheapโ€ฆ 

Like Zoรซ, I get my Witches of Woodville books from my publisher, Simon & Schuster, at a 50% discount. And I get my self-published books from Bookvault and they cost between ยฃ5-6 per copy.

What am I complaining about? That sounds like a good markupโ€ฆ Well, Iโ€™ve realised that in order to have the stock arrive in time, I have to place the stock order two weeks ahead of the event. 

So if Iโ€™m coming off the back of two smaller, quiet events and then have to order for one of the bigger comic cons, and if Iโ€™m doing this every weekend, then Iโ€™m often out of pocket. Big time.

Yes, thereโ€™s a good chance that Iโ€™ll make my money back in a couple of weeks at the bigger event, but it means that I often end up overdrawn and it gets a bit squeaky bum timeโ€ฆ and thatโ€™s why Iโ€™m not doing this for the money. Because, by the time youโ€™ve totted up your expenses (Iโ€™m also paying for editors and artists and other expenses through my company, including two salaries) and paid your taxes and your VAT bill every quarter, there sort of isnโ€™t any left.

What I get instead are readers. 1974 books that I personally signed and handed directly to readers. Thatโ€™s a much stronger connection than selling something on Kindle for 99p to someone in Buttmunch, Indianaโ€ฆ Thatโ€™s what I keep telling myself anyway. And no offence to the good people of Buttmunch. Go, Buttmunchers!

But hey, in 2026 the plan is to sell even more books! Iโ€™ve got a 5 book series, and now a completed trilogy, and more books on the way. So in the next episode, weโ€™re going to talk about sales, and how to sell, and the tools for selling. Iโ€™ll even take you on a tour of my table. Ooh! Exciting, eh?




If you’ve found this helpful, please consider supporting me on Ko-Fi…

What I Learned Doing 42 Comic Cons in 2025 (part one)

Iโ€™m Mark Stay, author of the Witches of Woodville series and The End of Magic trilogy and Iโ€™ve been selling my books at comic cons for ten years.

But in 2025, I really went for it: selling at 42 comic cons in the UK. And Iโ€™m not alone: Iโ€™ve made lots of new author friends this year at the cons, and I know that many more are thinking about it, so I thought Iโ€™d put together a series of short videos passing on what Iโ€™ve learnedโ€ฆ

In this series of 4 videos, Iโ€™m going to coverโ€ฆ

The different kinds of comic cons in the UK and which ones might be right for you.

What kit you need to invest in, and Iโ€™ll take you on a tour of my table and how I lay it out.

Ordering stock, cashflow (or lack of it) and other expenses.

And Iโ€™ll be answering specific questions that some of you good people have sent meโ€ฆ

Let’s start with why I do them, and the different kinds of comic cons I went to this year…

TRANSCRIPT

Iโ€™m Mark Stay, author of the Witches of Woodville series and The End of Magic trilogy and Iโ€™ve been selling my books at comic cons for ten years. But in 2025, I really went for it: selling at 42 comic cons in the UK. And Iโ€™m not alone: Iโ€™ve made lots of new author friends this year at the cons, and I know that many more are thinking about it, so I thought Iโ€™d put together a series of short videos passing on what Iโ€™ve learnedโ€ฆ

In this series of 4 videos, Iโ€™m going to coverโ€ฆ

  • The different kinds of comic cons in the UK and which ones might be right for you.
  • What kit you need to invest in, and Iโ€™ll take you on a tour of my table and how I lay it out.
  • Ordering stock, cashflow (or lack of it) and other expenses.
  • And Iโ€™ll be answering specific questions that some of you good people have sent meโ€ฆ

And letโ€™s begin with the big one: 

JAN CARR

Why? What’s your motivation?

Why do a comic con? Itโ€™s a lot of hassle. You have to buy stock, set up a stall, get all the bits and bobs (more on that later), get up at the crack of dawn (or before dawn in the winter) and drive for hours to some draughty gym hall in a leisure centre.

Itโ€™s not glamorous, and Iโ€™m not doing it for the money, I can tell you that. I always make a profit on the day, but the margins are slim and the cash flow is a nightmare (more on that later, too). So the first question to ask yourself is: what are your goals for selling at comic cons? Why do them at all? Why not stick with online advertising and social media?

Online ads with the likes of Amazon and Facebook never worked for me (despite ploughing a lot of money into them over the years), and Iโ€™ve never been great on social media, butโ€ฆ I was once a bookseller and a publisher sales rep. I know how to hand-sell a book, and my books โ€“ especially the Witches of Woodville series โ€“ are classic hand-sell books. The first one was published in the second lockdown, so never got that bookshop boost that it needed, and when the fifth and final one was published last year, it became clear to me that my publisher had moved on to promoting other things (which happens), and that meant it would be down to me to keep the momentum going. So I went back to what I know best: bookselling.

For me, going to comic cons isn’t necessarily about the sales on the day, itโ€™s more about creating new readers who will come back for more. A long term investment of your time and money into something that might pay off further down the line. Will it work? One of the great pleasures of doing so many events this year is seeing those readers come back and tell me how much theyโ€™ve enjoyed the books and have told their friends and have come back for more. So, it seems to be working.

Letโ€™s start with the fundamentals: how much do these things costโ€ฆ?

COSTS & CONVENTION VARIATIONSโ€ฆ

KATHERINE FRANKLIN

I’ve heard tables at comic cons are expensive โ€“ was it ever tricky to make back the pitch fee?

ANDREW GUILE

What does it cost?(!)

JULIAN BARR

Are big cons necessarily better than small ones?

JENNIFER TAYLOR-GRAY

Which cons were the best for you and why? Was it due to anything you did differently those days, or the con set up itself? 

All great questions. Letโ€™s start by looking at the different kinds of conventions in the UK.

This year, Iโ€™ve been to cons organised by Bolt, Striking, Creed, Showmasters, Reedpop and Monopoly Events, plus a whole bunch of independent and local events. Each offer different opportunities and have varying costsโ€ฆ

(If you click on the images, you’ll be taken through to their pages for exhibitors)

BOLT/STRIKING



Both quite similar and I believe they were once the same company but bifurcated at some point. Theyโ€™re really well run, the organisers are lovely (they bring round bottles of water and snacks to your stall!) and the events are aimed at families. Young families. These are more like toy fairs or collector events than comic cons (thereโ€™s a lot of Pokemon for sale) and very often Iโ€™m the only author with a table.

Table costs vary depending on the size/location of the venue and range from ยฃ65-ยฃ125 for a table (most are at the lower end of that). You pay a small deposit beforehand to secure a table, and settle up on the day. The atmosphere at these events is warm and welcoming, they have great accessibility policies, meaning they allow early entry for folks with disabilities and hidden disabilities. I really like them, though the young family demographic means that I do okay at these events. My books are aimed more at adults. I know that some of my author friends who have kidsโ€™ books do better than me, so bear that in mind. Iโ€™ve always made a profit, though.

Every now and then they have guests for photo opps and signings, but not often. Iโ€™ve done more of these events than any other this year, and have already booked more for 2026.

CREED/SHOWMASTERS



Again, these share some organisational/crossover DNA. These are generally bigger events and, crucially โ€“ for me โ€“ have lots of great guests. Iโ€™ve discovered that if thereโ€™s a cast member from Doctor Who or Red Dwarf present, then I will have a pretty good day. Fans of those shows are literate, have money and are willing to read new authors: gawd bless โ€˜em!

Showmasters also run the London Film and Comic Con, which in the autumn co-hosts with YALCโ€ฆ and thatโ€™s a huge event for SF&F authors. The readers bring their own little wheeled trolleys which they cram with books, and we love them for it.

Creed/Showmaster tables cost between ยฃ40-ยฃ100 depending on the venue and, for me, are great value. YALC tables cost more, but from talking to author friends who paid the extra it sounds like theyโ€™re worth it.

REEDPOP/MCM



Iโ€™ve been doing the MCM Comic Con in London for ten years. They were my first cons and theyโ€™re still the biggies. I think the last one had 130k people at the Excel Centre over the three day weekend. Creator/author tables cost ยฃ255 (cheaper for the MCM in Birmingham, I think) and they have a Writersโ€™ Block, where all the indie authors are gathered in their own section. When I first started, there was nothing like this: just me and Kit Cox stuck in a corner nattering to ourselves (Kit kindly let me share his table, which youโ€™d never get away with now). The MCM comic cons are now a very big deal for authors and because of that, they have a selection process. Not everyone gets a table and you have to pitch yourself to them. I canโ€™t speak to why some authors get in and others donโ€™t. I always offer to moderate panels, which has helped. And I think it helps if youโ€™re planning to launch your book at the con: they love an exclusive.

MONOPOLY



I only did one Monopoly event last year โ€“ For the Love of Fantasy โ€“ and the Saturday was my biggest single day of the year. Bigger than the MCMโ€ฆ and if Iโ€™d had enough stock, I donโ€™t doubt that the weekend would have been my biggest of the year. Itโ€™s at the Excel Centre (just one hall) but they had celebrity guests from Supernatural and Lord of the Rings. They run events in places like Liverpool, Manchester, Birmingham: Iโ€™ve not been to these, but Iโ€™ve heard good things.

DARIUS TWYMAN

What was your favourite con this year and why was it the Canterbury Gaming Convention? ๐Ÿ˜‰

Thanks, Darius. It was definitely in my top 40!



Actually, the Canterbury Gaming Convention was great fun. Not a comic con, but there were a few authors there and we had a good day and Iโ€™d definitely like to come back in 2026.

Iโ€™ve done plenty of independent conventions and events, and these can be hit and miss, but the costs are often much lower than the big cons, so are worth a punt. Iโ€™ve especially loved anything with the steampunk community: like Doctor Who and Red Dwarf fans, the steampunkers are literate and lovely. The Fort Amherst event every Easter has become a highlight for me, despite being stuck in a cave for two days.

So that covers the different kinds of conventions and the basic table cost. In the next episode, Iโ€™ll be digging deeper into expenses, targets and cashflowโ€ฆ no, really, itโ€™ll be fun, I promise. Well, informative at the very leastโ€ฆ



If you found this helpful, please consider supporting me on Ko-Fi…

Caimh McDonnell Christmas Special on the Creative Differences Livestream

Join me and Caimh McDonnell! Top bloke and bestselling author of the Bunny McGarry series and the Stranger Times series, of which RING THE BELLS is the latest (and I loved it!) He even looks like Santa! Itโ€™s going to be a very special live showโ€ฆ

Join us live: THURSDAY 18TH DECEMBER, 8PM GMT.



Or join us on Youtube…


Jeevani Charika: Doing Funky Things | Mark Stayโ€™s Creative Differences Episode 16

Jeevani Charika writes award nominated romantic womenโ€™s fiction and romcoms. Sheโ€™s written books on how to write romcoms, and sustaining a career as a writer and she also has an amazing YouTube channel teaching authors how to use Canva to make marketing graphics. Her latest book How Can I Resist You is out now! 

We Discuss: 

What sheโ€™s learned from her love of Korean dramas 

How โ€˜writing tighterโ€™ has been good for her prose style 

How oversleeping led to a breakthrough in her career 

Why she enjoys doing funky things with Canva and much moreโ€ฆ 

Or watch on Youtubeโ€ฆ

LINKS 

Jeevaniโ€™s website: http://www.rhodabaxter.com

Jeevaniโ€™s Canva Tips Youtube page: https://www.youtube.com/@jeevanicharika

Jeevaniโ€™s Substack: https://substack.com/@canvatips4author

Whatโ€™s Giving Us Joyโ€ฆ 

A Merry Little Ex-mas (Netflix): https://www.netflix.com/gb/title/81735104

T Kingfisherโ€™s books with the Paladins (I earn commission if you click on this link): https://amzn.to/49ZV358

A Mind of My Own, Kathy Burke (I earn commission if you click on this link): https://amzn.to/4ovrNGJ

Cole Haddonโ€™s 5am Storytalk: https://colehaddon.substack.com

50 Years of Shit Robots: https://shows.acast.com/fifty-years-of-shit-robots

Film Stories: https://filmstories.co.uk/category/podcast/

Pluribus: https://tv.apple.com/gb/show/pluribus/umc.cmc.37axgovs2yozlyh3c2cmwzlza

A huge thanks to Emily for production assistance, to Kai Newton for the edit, and Dominic Currie for the jingle.ย 

Support the show 

Visit https://markstaycreativedifferences.com/

Join The Green Room: https://ko-fi.com/markstaywriter/tiers

Buy my books here: https://witchesofwoodville.com/#bookshop

And thereโ€™s more about me at: https://markstaywrites.com/

The End of Gods is here! … sort of…

It’s here! It’s done! The End of Gods is ready to read… sort of.

First of all, my apologies for the lack of news and delays. If you follow me on social media, you’ll know that I’ve had an odd few months. My mum died suddenly and my daughter got married in close succession. My life was a low-budget Richard Curtis romcom (one wedding, one funeral) and it created what Faye Bright might call, ‘A right bloody palaver!’

But the good news is that The End of Gods is ready!

The bad news is that it’s Christmas.

Does that make me Scrooge? Not exactly, but it does mean that the Royal Mail is struggling to deliver parcels on time, and book printers are rushing to get books from major publishers into the bookshops.
There could not be a worse time to publish a paperback novel. I would not want to publish it now and promise delivery for Christmas. It’s just too stressful for all concerned.

So here’s what I’m going to do…

The paperback of The End of Gods will be officially published on 8th January.

‘Boo!’ I hear you cry. ‘Hiss! Down with this sort of thing!’

Hang on a minute, because here’s the good bit…

The eBook version is available right now.

‘Hmm, okay,’ you say, narrowing your eyes. ‘But I really wanted a paperback.’

So, here’s the deal…

If you pre-order the paperback of The End of Gods from me, you will receive the eBook version for FREE!

‘Ooh, how does that work?’ you might ask, not unreasonably.

Simply pre-order the paperback edition of The End of Gods (or the whole trilogy) from my online store, and you will receive a link to download the eBook version. You will be able to choose from a Kindle version, an ePub version (for Kobo, Apple etc) or a print PDF version.

Here are the terms and conditions, it might help if you say it in that sped-up voice that they use on podcast and radio ads…

Offer only applies to orders for The End of Gods paperback (or the End of Magic trilogy paperback bundle) โ€“ either signed and unsigned editions โ€“ made via the Witches of Woodville online store only. Not applicable to orders made via any other retailers. The customer will be sent a link to download an ebook file of The End of Gods (or the whole trilogy if they order the paperback bundle). They will be able to select from Kindle, ePub (Apple, Kobo, Google etc) or a print-ready PDF. 

Offer expires at 23:59 GMT, 1st January 2026.

How does that sound? There are buttons below that will take you directly to my store where you can pre-order the books. From me. Exclusively (I’m not putting anything up on Amazon etc till January because they don’t like authors giving stuff away for free unless they can, too).

Hope that all makes sense and thank you all for your patience.

Happy reading,

Mark Stay


Readers in the USA๐Ÿ‡บ๐Ÿ‡ธ and Europe๐Ÿ‡ช๐Ÿ‡บ: because of Trump’s tariffs and Brexit (neither of which I voted for!) shipping physical products is challenging. If you’re desperate for a signed copy, please reply to this email and I’ll see if we can figure something out.


PRE-ORDER BUTTONS…






Gavin G Smith on the Creative Differences Livestream

Gavin Smith is the author and co/author of 14 books, a couple of novellas and multiple short stories. His books include (but are not limited to) Veteran and its sequel War in Heaven, the Age of Scorpio Trilogy, the Bastard Legion Series and Spec Ops Z. As well as having written for Black Library, Gavin wrote the novelisation of the Sony Pictures Bloodshot movie and Marvelโ€™s Original Sin series.

Within the games industry he has worked with Yoozoo, Ubisoft, DPS Games and CCP. In addition, he has optioned several film scripts.

And his new book ALIEN CULT is murder mystery noir set in the ALIENS universe and I canโ€™t wait to discuss it with him!

Join us live: TUESDAY 9TH DECEMBER, 8PM GMT



Or on Youtube…

Things People Say to Authors at Comic Cons, 2025 Finale…

How about a final round of Things That People Say to Authors at Comic Cons for 2025…?

Pernille Hughes: Lock Yourself in a Room | Mark Stayโ€™s Creative Differences Episode 15

Pernille Hughes is the author of TEN YEARS, PROBABLY THE BEST KISS IN THE WORLD and PUNCH-DRUNK LOVE; novels brimming with warmth, wit and unforgettable characters. And now sheโ€™s back with her new novel A COPENHAGEN SNOWMANCE, which is here to herald in Christmas. Yes, I said the C-word! What of it??

WE DISCUSS:

Discovering your voice

Hygge

Hero drafts

Finding your tribe

Writing on HRT and why you should lock yourself in a room with a glass of wine when writingโ€ฆ and much more!

Or watch it on Youtube…

LINKS

Pernilleโ€™s website: http://www.pernillehughes.com 

Writing Regency England by Jayne Davis: https://www.jaynedavisromance.co.uk/writing-regency-england/

Whatโ€™s Giving us Joyโ€ฆ

Celebrity Traitors: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Celebrity_Traitors 

Slow Horses: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slow_Horses

The Great Pottery Throw Down: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Great_Pottery_Throw_Down

Ludovico Einaudi: https://ludovicoeinaudi.com/ 

Vitamin String Quartet: https://www.vitaminstringquartet.com/

Mr MC Grammar: https://www.mrmcgrammar.com/ 

Christmas on Fifth Avenue by Julie Caplin: (I earn commission if you click on this link) https://amzn.to/4paxDP1

Christmas at the Scottish Lodge by Donna Ashcroft: (I earn commission if you click on this link) https://amzn.to/48zsM3V

Cressida McLaughlin, The Secret Mistletoe Promise: (I earn commission if you click on this link) https://amzn.to/49Af4yT

Human Croquet by Kate Atkinson: (I earn commission if you click on this link) https://amzn.to/4og65Gy

Alan Partridge: How Are You?: https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episodes/m002hcb7/how-are-you-its-alan-partridge 

Katherine Priddy: Matches: https://www.katherinepriddy.co.uk/home/ 

A huge thanks to Emily for production assistance, to Kai Newton for the edit, and Dominic Currie for the jingle. 

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Another Round of “Things People Say to Authors at Comic Cons…”

I just got back from setting up at this weekend’s London Film and Comic Con and reckon it’s time for another round of…

For more details of where I’m going to be in the near future, click here.