Three HUGE Side Quests this week...!
And by “Side Quests” I mean “Birthday Shenanigans,” because WE ARE NOW ONE! I’m not gonna get all reflective yet because that’ll make me sappy and emotional and I have too many things to do to spend time on Feelings so let’s just dive right in, shall we?
This coming Tuesday, August 26, I’m running a D&D session live in front of an audience at Upstairs at Bow, and my five players might sound a little familiar:
Melissa Caruso, author of The Last Hour Between Worlds and the just-released The Last Soul Among Wolves, plus the Swords & Fire trilogy and the Rook & Ruin trilogy. I’ve been a fan of hers since The Tethered Mage first came out, and the fact that she’s been such a willing participant for multiple Side Quest events this year has been a true honor. She’s so open in talking about her craft, she does witty banter like no one else, she’s a LARPer in her spare time, and she’s playing a warlock because of course she is.
Tara Tai, author of Single Player, the geeky fantasy-adjacent queer romance novel that will have you squealing and kicking your feet! Tara drove ages to come meet me at my last pop-up at Idle Hands before the brick-and-mortar opened, and I’ll be forever grateful for it. Since then, they’ve been a staunch supporter of the shop, have signed a ton of Single Player copies, and even did a “Geeky Author Talk” event with us, alongside their friend and fellow D&D player:
Aislinn Brophy! Aislinn’s the author of How to Succeed in Witchcraft and Spells To Forget Us, two Young Adult queer fantasy novels. They were so kind to join us for our Writing Is Resistance panel at last year’s Bow Market Book Fair, and their insightful comments about queer joy still live in our heads rent-free. (Tara’s playing a barbarian; Aislinn’s playing a paladin.)
Maiga Doocy, author of Sorcery and Small Magics. Maiga hiked up from Connecticut to do a Book Club with the Author with us for Sorcery, and it was such a delight — as was the impromptu after-hangout! They chilled with us in the shop for like an hour after closing just chatting about books and RPGs, and we’ve been finding ways to lure them back ever since. They’re playing a classic rogue, so watch your back.
Becca Podos, author of Homegrown Magic. They stopped in to visit us just a few months ago and left an honest-to-god one-page one-shot that we were able to insert into every copy of Homegrown Magic we had, and then they took photos of their own D&D minis in different places around the shop. If that doesn’t scream “Side Quest Author,” I don’t know what does! For Tuesday, they’ll be playing a ranger with one of my favorite nom de guerres I’ve ever heard — you’ll have to come along to find out!
This is definitely going to be one of those pinch-me moments. I hope you’ll join us! Tickets are $15 at Eventbrite here: https://bit.ly/3TZlxdq.
Then after that, we’ve got THE SIDE FEST on Saturday! Our official birthday bash! Games are running from 12-4 at Upstairs, but honestly they’re pretty much completely sold out, so I’m just gonna tell you all about the party… part. It’s a costume party! You don’t have to dress up, but it’ll be fun if you do, I promise. I even bought my very first Ren-Faire-style corset for this! (Shocking I didn’t already have one, I know, I know. But now I do!)
Party shenanigans start around 7 and go til late and include:
A fantasy photo booth! Snap an instant photo with your friends in front of our fairy forest background! We’ve got props. Cool ones.
Flash tattoos, tarot readings, and D&D character sketch art at Dearly Studio! All three require separate signups in addition to your entry ticket. They’re mostly sold out, but there are a few spots left!
Custom chainstitch embroidery from our Bow Market neighbors, Keeper! We’ll have some Side Quest merch you can buy and get customized, as well as some adorable notebooks. Or just bring whatever you like! Keeper’s great!
Quiet cozy time in the Side Quest shop! We’ll be open only for party attendees, and we’ll have some cute activities going on, including friendship bracelet making, coloring sheets, and recommendation-writing station. Can’t wait to put customer recommendations up on the shelves!
Light fare. Finger food snacky bits, etc. You’re welcome to bring in other food from Bow Market vendors as well. The bar at Upstairs will also be open — no need to sneak around to Nook!
It’s a lot, but I hope it feels like such a true reflection of the creativity, diversity and joy of the community that’s come together over the past year. Tickets for the party are $15 and at Eventbrite here: https://bit.ly/3GL549M.
Last but CERTAINLY not least: “How to Open a Bookstore,” an open and honest panel with me, Christina from All She Wrote Books, and Mila from Narrative Bookshop!
One of the absolute joys of this past year has been being in community with these two wonderful women. We’ve collaborated, commiserated, helped each other out, and lifted each other up. And we hope sharing our stories and our learnings will maybe help other entrepreneurs out there avoid some pitfalls — or will at least be amusing to the rest of you!
Tickets are $10 and available at Eventbrite here: https://bit.ly/3IEeRit.
Phew! Okay. I think that’s it. I’ll be fumbling my way through all of these while simultaneously packing up my house for a move to Melrose on September 3rd (yep, the day after the panel), so if I have circles under my eyes the size of a second moon, forgive me. I’m nothing if not terrible at timing.
But all of you keep me going, and I can’t wait to celebrate with you!
Here’s to many more years of Side Quests,
Caroline & the Side Quest Crew