It’s June 1st — and in the world of Coastal Magic, that means our #CMCon24 Featured Author listing has been posted, and our full weekend registration for readers is now open!!!

Dubbed the Coastal Magic “season” by our reading challenge participants, things stay active for Coastal Magic authors and attendees from June 1st through our weekend together in February. We have author spotlights from our Featured Bloggers. We have an active, engaging Reading Challenge group that showcases our authors and guides readers as they motivate each other to read (and review) at least one book from each author in our lineup. (And win prizes!!) We also have online panel discussions, chats and activities in our Facebook Authors & Attendees group, and so much more!!

This year, our theme focuses on all of the friendships we’ve made and seen through the years! Our “Book Besties Weekend” will shine a spotlight on our own bookish besties, the best friends in the stories we love, and our authors’ writer BFFs!! We’re celebrating ALL of it!!

We’ve also got merch!!!! The first two of our three t-shirt designs are now live. The 2024 Reading Challenge design will be revealed soon, so keep your eyes open for that one. 🙂 Right now — we have a collection of items featuring our annual #CMCon24 logo and theme, and our friendship quote design…

Making plans to join us for the 2024 event, February 22-25? You can see all that’s included with your registration on our page HERE, or go directly to the EventBrite ticketing page HERE. Attendees who’ve registered for a previous year of Coastal Magic that is being transferred to 2024, you will be getting an email with a special access code to complete a new registration at no additional cost. If you haven’t received that email by June 10th, you can email Jennifer at CoastalMagicConvention@gmail.com.

So… reader besties… that’s the big news for today.
It’s THE.START.OF.ALL.THE.THINGS and I’m super excited for all we have planned. Watch for more info about our evening activities, our #CMCChat online panel schedule, our reading challenge and featured blogger spotlights, and all the other ways you can be involved in Coastal Magic this summer and fall. We’d love to have you with us!!

To kick off this “season” with a win — in the comments, let us know what your favorite thing about attending author/reader/bookish events is. Meeting new authors? Meeting favorite authors? Catching up with bookish reader friends? Discovering new books for your TBR piles? Traveling to new places?

One commenter will be randomly selected to win a print or digital copy of a book from one of our 2024 Featured Authors. This is open to readers everywhere. Winner will be selected and notified on June 10th. Coastal Magic, not the author, will be providing this prize. Good luck, everyone!!

Today we are one month out from our 2024 Coastal Magic Convention Featured Author Reveal, and the start of our reader registration!! I’m SO excited!!

Last year was such a roller coaster — coming back for an in-person event after two years virtual, having to move venues (and CITIES) after hurricane damage to our host hotel — it was a LOT. But we did it, and we had FUN!! I’m so grateful to everyone who hung in there with me, and made our trek to Orlando a fabulous weekend. ❤

Now… it’s time to share a sneak peek of some of what you can expect in our return to Daytona Beach for next year’s 12th annual Coastal Magic.

Our Welcome Mingle (and other activities throughout the weekend) will follow a “Book Besties Weekend” theme!! It’s the perfect excuse to gather up all of your best bookish buddies and spend a weekend of shenanigans together by the beach. If you are in need a book besties… we’ve got you covered! Coastal Magic is often overflowing with readers who will be more than happy to include you in the shenanigans, lol!!

As a companion to our “Book Besties Weekend” theme… the first of our three t-shirt designs for #CMCon24 is our second sneak peek!!

https://tinyurl.com/CMCon24FriendshipQuoteShop

Still to come are our annual logo shirt and our Reading Challenge design. Both will be available in June.

The final sneak peek for this post is the theme for our annual murder/mystery event, presented by our Featured Authors — still following the “Book Besties Weekend” theme…

“Besties Do Vegas… and bet on murder!”

I. Can. Not. WAIT!!! ❤ ❤ ❤

What do YOU think of the “Book Besties Weekend” theme? Are you planning to join us in Daytona next February? Are you bringing your book bestie?

Well, folks — we did it!!
Coastal Magic Convention 2023 came and went — and so far, it seems a good time was had by all. 🙂

The “Farewell Chat”, posts on social media, and the first few feedback forms have all been so positive, and so complimentary. I’m thrilled that people seem to have had such a good time. ❤

This past week I posted some “Thank You” posts online — the first is an overall appreciation post for everyone who helped the convention get past some of the hurdles of the last couple of years. The others are all directed at specific people or groups of people who were instrumental in helping us celebrate the weekend. In case you missed them… 1st Post, 2nd Post, 3rd Post, 4th Post, 5th Post. Each one is sincere, and I hope they all realize how much they are appreciated.

Now that we’ve all had some time to rest up a bit from our bookish shenanigans, I have a couple of finishing touches to address. 🙂

• The link for our Attendee Feedback Form is being mailed out. If you don’t receive it on Tuesday (check your junk/spam folders, please) you can email or message Jennifer to resend.
• As a last minute thing that made me smile – I created this shirt to commemorate our slide down the state for 2023. I’ll be archiving this design in June, when the new designs for 2024 are announced.
  https://coastal-magic-convention.creator-spring.com/listing/cmcon23-orlando-limited
• The dates for next year’s 12^th annual Coastal Magic will be Feb 22-25, 2024. (Yes, back in Daytona!)
  Registration will begin, as usual, on June 1^st, along with our Featured Author reveal.
• If you have any recommendations for authors you think would be a fun addition to our Coastal Magic Featured Author lineup, feel free to add them on this form.  
  https://forms.gle/2CNuoYSqPveJaHDv5
• If you are a book blogger (you don’t have to have a large following, just an active presence) who would like to be a part of next year’s Coastal Magic (doing author spotlights, helping brainstorm ideas, helping with prep for our weekend, moderating panels during the event, etc.) please fill out this short form. Thank you!
  https://forms.gle/BnSnEKWmtxcFcgEh7

So — now — I’ll be taking a couple of weeks to regroup and recharge a bit. Then it’ll be time to start the whole process all over again!!! Now that we’ve got the “in person” part handled… I can’t wait to get back to the beach!!!

Hope to see you there!!

Hello Lovely Reader Friends!!

This time next week, we’ll be Coastal Magic-ing!!! 

I can’t wait to see everyone in Orlando! The hotel is gorgeous, and the weather is projected to be perfection!! **fingers crossed it stays that way!**

I wanted to share a few things that you need to be aware of, most specifically the info for choosing your author for the Lunch With An Author next Saturday.

This event is hugely popular, and author slots fill up incredibly fast, so you’ll need to be sure you do/remember the following:

• Be sure you have your free account with https://www.signupgenius.com, and if possible, get signed in before start time.
• I will share the link for our signup at 8pm ET on Sunday night on our social media and using the email address you registered with. 
• Slots for authors will fill as selections are submitted. This is done by the site, not by me. I will not change a signup if an author fills before you submit your selection. 
• Please have a list of authors you’d like to sit with ready to go, in case your first (or second, or third) choices are full. We have SO MANY amazing authors, I can’t imagine this will be a hardship. ❤
• Please also consider choosing an author you’re not as familiar with! This is a fantastic time to get to know your next “favorite author”!!
• You can only do one sign up at a time. If you’re making choices for two attendees. You’ll have to do one (with one email), then sign out, and sign in with their (different) email to make their choice with their name. 
• THERE ARE NO PROMISES THAT PEOPLE CAN SIT TOGETHER WITH ANY PARTICULAR AUTHOR. You and your reader buddies may be able to sit with the same author, but you may have to spread out and chat with different authors, if the slots are full.
• You will receive a tab when you check in that has your table host author on it — please do not exchange tabs with anyone. There are only a certain number of chairs per table, and we try to be sure everything matches up with our checklists. Thank you.

In addition to the lunch… other things to remember for the weekend… 

• I will be doing my annual “Coastal Magic Intro/101” at 5:30-6:00pm on Thursday evening, in case you have questions about what to expect during the weekend.
• The schedule can be found here, and will be updated as necessary.
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1itxP46So8LBgxKj_1Zn-WYcsD__SDnZS0lthBnHG8wo/edit#gid=0
  “Life happens”, and if there are author cancellations, I will try to update the schedule in a timely manner. 
• Be sure to come by the “UnBirthday Party” Welcome Mingle on Thursday evening to say hi to our host authors, your fellow readers, and grab a welcome treat!! We’ll also be announcing our Reading Challenge winners and playing some SWAG BINGO throughout the evening. 🙂 
• Masks will be required at all times while you are in our event space, with the only exception of while you are eating. I will have extra disposable masks on hand in case anyone forgets theirs. 
• You are encouraged to dress as some form of alien for the “Murder At The Nir Cantina” mystery event on Friday night (dressing as an Earthling is perfectly acceptable, as well). We’ll have a selfie station set up for your use, and our event photographer will be taking pics there, as well. You can purchase an InstaPrint of her pics for $1 (printed right away with a portable printer). This is a fun option if you get a shot with an author and want them to sign it for you as a keepsake.
• The book signing on Saturday is from 4-6pm, and is included in your registration. It is also open to the public at no charge. If you have friends who’d like to pop over for just the signing, be sure to let them know! 

I think that’s it!! 

If you haven’t yet, be sure you’ve joined the Facebook Authors & Attendees group. There are lots of questions asked & answered there, along with updates. 

See you soon!!!