Five Things to Keep in Mind for GRL – GRL Blog Tour – Erica Pike

I would like to say that clothing is optional, but I doubt the hotel staff would approve, so let’s all wear at least something. What to wear, however, is optional. Some choose jeans and t-shirts while others like to dress up a bit. The main thing is to wear whatever makes you comfortable. The same goes for shoes and the same goes for the themed evenings. If you like dressing up in costumes, then do it (most will, but it’s okay if you’re not comfortable with it). If you like to wear fancy clothes for the Casino Royale, then wear some. You won’t find small groups of people whispering about other people’s clothes. That’s not how GRL works.

Companionship 

If you’re nervous about meeting all the people, then don’t meet them right away. Watch them first, take in the scene, and hopefully that’ll relax you enough to eventually talk to people. GRL is like Christmas: no one should be alone. If you’re arriving alone, then see if you can find some of the people you’ve been chatting with online. Trust me, they’re just as eager to see you as you are to see them, and they’re probably also just as nervous. Find comfort and companionship in each other. Someone in the facebook group suggested printing and cutting out a small copy of your profile image, so it will be easier for people to recognize you, and I think that’s a very good idea. If finding your online friends fails (or you just don’t have any), authors are always ready to chat. We’re there to socialize with fellow authors and readers (because we’re readers, too!). Then there’s the Meet and Greet on Thursday morning, which is designed to get people to talk to each other (no one’s going to force you to do anything against your will though, so don’t worry).

Pens

Sure, there will be a free-for-all SWAG room with pens, but it’s a good idea to bring at least a couple. If you’re a general attendee, it’s good to have one in the neck wallet you’ll get at registration, in case you run into your favorite author and he/she doesn’t have a pen to sign. If you want an author to sign fabric, then be sure to bring a fabric pen because the author will most likely not have one. Authors, this is mandatory! Have pens in your neck wallets! Not just pens, but sharpies as well. It’s good to have at least two sharpies: silver to sign black surfaces and dark to sign on light surfaces. Also have a normal pen to sign books, because a sharpie will bleed through the page and ruin it.

Flu shot

Eat a lot of vitamins a few weeks before arriving and, if you can, get a flu shot! I didn’t get sick after my first GRL in Albuquerque, but last year in Atlanta? I was sick for three weeks afterward and it took me another month to become fully functional (or as functional as I can get). People will be hugging – a lot, and you’ll be spending a lot of time with a lot of people in a lot of small rooms.

Rest

This is something I need to learn to do. I’ve been to GRL two years in a row and I did not stop the whole time I was there. My cousin Thora can confirm this. I believe that this may have contributed to my after-GRL fatigue. I was on my feet most of the time, often well into the night only to wake up very early. I was always on the run, talking, smiling, laughing, and stressing about my panel and SWAG table. I want to do everything at GRL, talk to everyone, but being so eager will come at a price. So, rest! Go to your room (Erica!) a few times over the day, sit down in the comfy chairs, go out of the hotel a few times (I only left the hotel twice last year, to get food – I’m not counting the trip to the strip club), and even skip a panel or two to enjoy the peace and quiet of the nearly empty hallways. You need to recharge your batteries before going in again.

Thank you for having me over, R.J. See you all at GRL!

I haven’t been writing since I was in diapers and I haven’t been an avid reader since I learned my ABC’s. I have, however, always been a daydreamer spinning tales after tales in my head involving me and a tall, dark, and sexy man who doesn’t exist in real life. So far I’ve been a vampire, jungle nymph, time-traveler, ghost, noblewoman, survivor on a deserted island, a witch and so, so much more that it’d take months to count out every occupation and scenario.

I have been writing for several years now and reading became an obsession roughly in my late twenties. Of course I read books before that, but since I’m a university business graduate I really didn’t have much time to read in my free time. My free time back then was time to party! I now only read/write gay male erotic romance fiction.

I live in Iceland and I often say that my real name sounds like Klingon to foreigners so I don’t even bother revealing it. I took part in a Taekwondo tournament in the USA once and felt so, so sorry for the announcer. I’m a happy single mother of two adorable boys.

Anyway, I’m a friendly, easy-going person, so don’t be afraid to talk to me. I have a weird sense of humor – either you get me or you don’t. Unfortunately, sometimes my humor gets mistaken for me being insensitive – please forgive that, it’s the Icelander in me. 

Erica Online

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