The Best Realm Makers Yet

Realm Makers has a funny way of reminding me what really matters.

Leading up to this year’s conference, I was honestly a little annoyed. Registration numbers were trending downward—not by much, but enough to get under my skin. Then, as it seems to happen almost every year, a late surge of registrations brought us right back where we needed to be.

By the end of the weekend, the awards banquet welcomed more than 500 people. The Expo was, by nearly every measure, our best yet. Authors sold books. Sessions and panels were packed. Fans discovered incredible stories and creators producing some of the best clean science fiction and fantasy anywhere.

From the director’s side of things, I spent most of the weekend doing what directors do—running from one small fire to the next. Solving problems. Answering questions. Helping wherever I was needed.

And honestly, I love it.

I love serving this community of creatives.

I’m also incredibly thankful for the group of friends who take care of me every year. They know when I’m pushing too hard. They know when I need to sit down, grab lunch, or disappear for fifteen minutes. More importantly, they don’t ask—they make me do it. I’ve learned the hard way that serving others also means allowing others to serve you.

Personally, this was my best Realm Makers as an author.

Kids kept stopping by with copies of my books they had picked up at our booth, asking me to sign them. There are few things more encouraging than watching a child excited about something you created.

Iggy & Oz completely sold out.

Descendant Publishing sold out of my newest release, Midnight Hurl, which was incredibly refreshing to see. In terms of book sales, this was my biggest event yet.

But the truth is, Realm Makers has never really been about selling books for me.

I’m blessed with a great publisher and wonderful friends who help make that happen.

Realm Makers is about serving a community that I genuinely care about.

Our marketing team absolutely crushed it this year. Hannah and Carly documented the conference better than we’ve ever done before, capturing over 3,200 photos and streaming hours of live interviews. The result? More than 88,000 Instagram views throughout the week and a social media presence that kept people connected, whether they were in St. Louis or watching from home.

I’m incredibly proud of what our team accomplished.

And even though I’m one of the directors...

I’m still a fan.

Getting to spend time and chat with Tony Bancroft—the former Disney animator who created an animated Pumbaa, Directed Mulan, and his 2D animated movie on the Life of Jesus: Light of the World. This was his second year joining us, and he is always so kind, and humble. He is a giant in the world of animation. And his faith and willingness to serve the community is amazing.

Seeing Kathy Tyers, whose Star Wars novels like The Truce at Bakura and Balance Point helped shape my love of science fiction, reminded me why I fell in love with stories in the first place. There is no bigger name in Christian Sci-fi than Kathy. She gave me a hard time about getting in line for her signing telling me she would have just stopped and signed them at my booth. But, for five minutes I wanted to be a fan. Her Keynote was spot on. Heartfelt and honest. Plus, she’s been to Skywalker ranch and been in meetings with George Lucas. That’s cool enough.

And getting to hang out with Zac Diamanti is always a blast. He continues to absolutely dominate Kickstarter—raising over $120,000 on his latest campaign—those side conversations were inspiring. (Seriously, Rebecca P Minor ... Zac needs to teach a two-part Kickstarter elective for authors next year.) This is my incognito way of pitching that class.

But if I’m honest, the thing that keeps bringing me back isn’t the celebrity guests or even the books. It’s not even the fact that it is a literal job.

It’s the friendships.

Late-night board games with some of my closest friends.

Conversations in hotel hallways.

Laughing until midnight.

The people who drove me to and from the airport. The ones who grabbed me lunch when I forgot to eat. The team that sold my books while simultaneously making sure I didn’t completely wear myself out.

They weren’t just helping me.

They were taking care of me. (See below)

One of my favorite moments of the weekend was watching my friend Bradley Caffee win the Readers’ Choice Award. He was sitting at my table during the ceremony, and I was so excited for him! YES- He accepted wearing a Mandalorian Costume.

As for me, I was honored to be a finalist for the seventh time. I didn’t take home the award this year, and honestly, I was okay with that. My short story received an Honorable Mention, and I’ve already had the incredible privilege of winning twice in previous years.

Sometimes success isn’t measured by the award, but it’s measured by the people you’re surrounded by.

The friends who serve alongside you.

The readers who hand you a worn paperback and ask for your signature.

The volunteers who quietly make everything work.

The creators who encourage one another instead of competing.

Realm Makers isn’t perfect. Trust me. Behind the scenes we had a hundred small fires. We worked hard to make sure you didn’t notice.

But God is doing something special through this community.

And I’m grateful that I get to be a small part of it.

Check out a few photos and their captions from the weekend below