Many apologies, blog friends… I shared my “Thank Yous” on social media, but have been delayed in sharing them here! I know some of you steer clear of the “books of faces” and “threads” and “x’s” and such… so here were my thoughts just following our weekend together…
Dearest Lovelies 
Now that I’ve had a bit of time to sleep and rest up a bit — I have some things to say about this year’s Coastal Magic Convention.
First, though, for anyone who wasn’t aware, and to update those who knew and have very sweetly been asking — my dad is doing much better, and is on the road to recovery. He was taken to the hospital by ambulance on Wednesday night, just as Dolorianne and I were about to head to the hotel for this weekend’s event. She went to be with him and other family at the hospital, and I came to Daytona. Thank you to everyone who prayed and sent their best wishes to him and our family. I’m so thankful that they were able to be there with him, even though I was not. They were absolutely missed at the event, but they were absolutely where they needed to be.
This was a tough one for me. The community of readers and authors who knew what was happening and stepped up to be supportive in so many ways fills my heart with gratitude. Kind words, making sure I ate, helping with prep and projects… I genuinely can’t thank you enough.
One of our first batches of “Thank You”s goes to our volunteers – including our Blogger/MODs and members of our Reading Challenge, among others.
Our Blogger/MODs have been working to promote Coastal Magic since June, and thanks their efforts then, and during our weekend, I hope each author felt they had an opportunity to reach new readers. Coastal Magic wouldn’t work without the time and dedication from these incredible friends. And you should DEFINITELY check out their blogs – really great stuff for book lovers!! Laura, Jay, Jennie, FranJessca, Crystal, Amber, PJ, Scherry, and Jen, thank you.
(And huge thanks to Gail, Nancy, and Sarah for stepping in to fill an MOD spot when we needed it. )
Reading Challenge peeps.
Rock. Stars.
What you accomplish every year is absolutely staggering. Your support of Coastal Magic, and each of our authors, is inspiring. I love the community you have created, and that the doors to that community remain open and inviting. Thank you for your enthusiasm, your unwavering support, and all the amazing experiences you create – both before and during our weekend together. Dolorianne, this group you ushered into existence is everything you envisioned and more. Thank you for all the hard work you put into making the challenge such an integral, defining part of our event.
Coastal Magic begins and ends with the stories and storytellers.
All the ideas I have for a fun weekend would go absolutely nowhere without our Featured Authors and our reader attendees.
Authors – for your words, for your time, for your engagement with our attendees – thank you. To say we wouldn’t have an event without you seems so obvious, but it’s much more than just having authors show up, do a job, and go home. Thank you to each of you who genuinely SHOWS UP for our readers. Your willingness to go above and beyond, long before we meet up in Daytona, make this event so, so magical. I hope you understand how much you mean to all of us. I hope you get as much out of our weekend together as we do.
Readers – for your support, for your continued dedication – even under crazy circumstances (Covid, hurricanes, etc.), for your excitement and enthusiasm – thank you. This weekend is made for you. I hope you had fun!! I hope you found some amazing new-to-you authors to love. I hope you connected with old friends and made new ones!! I hope we helped to fuel your love of stories and storytellers for another year.
The Shores Resort & Spa made a place for us when our original hotel informed us that they weren’t going to reopen on time. The Shores already had a full weekend of events, yet they made it work. Their staff was helpful and friendly, and their event reps bent over backwards and sideways to make our weekend successful.
I could not have asked for a better team for this weekend, both professionally and personally. Huge thanks to MacKenzie, Larry, Rose, Donna, April, and the rest of the crew that took such fantastic care of us. 
The more I think about this year’s Coastal Magic, and the more comments I read from authors & readers from the weekend — the more I think this was one of our very best weekends. Not without the occasional hiccup, of course (some bigger than others), but overall.
I’m really pretty proud of our group, and so happy that so many people had such a great time.
I only took a few pics — so here are some of mine, and some others that I snagged.
coastalmagicconvention.com 
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