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2016 Johnson County Fair Update #2

2016 Johnson County Fair Update #2

Tonight’s fair event had many exciting encounters.  First of all, there was no rain.  YEAH!  Rain has a tendency to dampen turn out, get it rain . . . dampen, that’s right, I’ll be here all week.  Don’t forget to tip your server.  If you’re in the Information Technology field, what is Server Tipping.  Is that kind of like cow tipping?

Most of the joking aside, we had a better turn out than the previous two nights.  One encounter involved a mom who is currently working on her own children’s book.  It was very exciting to talk to her about what progress she has made on her project and what all still needs to be done.  As I mentioned in the previous update, I find it both encouraging and exciting to hear other aspiring author’s stories and journeys down the road of publishing.

I’ve gotten some of the most interesting answers to the question, “Do you like to read?”  Or the alternate ice breaker, “Do you know any readers?”  Generally, the answer is either a solid “Yes” or “No”, but sometimes you get some very unique answers.  The funniest response to the follow up question, “What types (genre) of books do you like to read?” came from a young lady who indicated that she liked all kinds of books, but that fantasy fiction (essentially what I classify the Silverwood Chronicles as)  was on the absolute bottom of the list.  She even went so far as to tell me that if she ever found a genre that she liked less than fantasy fiction, she would make sure to come back around and give “Guardian of the Silverwood” a try.  We had a good laugh together.

My booth partner and I also had an encounter with a self-ascribed Atheist.  The conversation was very cordial and he was very encouraging to both of us even knowing that the world view from which both of us write is more Christian than secular.  He was interested in “Guardian”, but prefers his books as audio books.  He is not alone.  I know there is a growing market for audio books for “people on the go”, so I may have to look on more time at the possibility of producing an audio version.

We met so many nice and encouraging people tonight that this post would go on for an hour and I’m already so exhausted I can barely keep my eyes open.  My biggest fear is that I didn’t take in the “Book 1” effect of “Guardian of the Silverwood”.  By that I mean when we planned our order for this event, I tried to balance out the order.  This I now know was a mistake.  I should have ordered twice as many of book one as I did of “A Spy in Nightfall” because of the “try it” factor.  Oh well, you live and learn; hopefully.

Good night.  Blessings to all.  I hope to see some of you at the fair tomorrow between 2pm and 10pm.

mgraphman

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Matthew Graphman is a thirty year veteran in the information technology world. He studied writing, drama, as well as computers while attending Bob Jones University in the late 80’s and early 90’s. There he met his wife, Wendy, of twenty-five years and started a family. He currently resides in Bloomington, Indiana with his wife and two children, Kathryn (Kat) and Ethan. His oldest son, Sean, is married and lives on the East Coast. Matthew has long been a fan of fantasy fiction. His first attempt at writing was brought on by his roommates in college. As a result, he wrote his first - still unpublished - fantasy novel. After graduating, Matthew continued his writing exploits, but his focus was mostly around theater. After developing a series of children's skits in the 2000's, he was encouraged to take the skits and convert them into a series of children's chapter books. To date, he has written five of the fifteen stories in the "Chel & Riley Adventures" series. Taking a break from creating children's fiction and drama, Matthew decided to reach back, at the request from his daughter Kat, and create a fantasy world that mixed all of her favorite thematic elements. This series is currently outlined to cover five volumes; however, he is convinced that there could be many more stories that evolve out of this new universe. Matthew is a recent winner of the 2016 and 2017 NaNoWriMo challenge.

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