I know a couple of authors who are extroverts, but many of us are not comfortable in social situations. Networking at the International Agatha Christie Festival was tricky for me. But also rewarding!

Now, I was very lucky to be traveling with my husband, who is much more outgoing than I am. This makes all the difference. I always suggest to authors that if they go to conferences and fairs, they should take a buddy. Two buddies, however shy, will find more courage together if they promise to try.

We met lots of people at the Festival. Even before it officially began, we met a volunteer who cheerfully greeted us throughout the rest of the weekend as if we were long-time friends or important guests!

Before the event, we studied the faces of the speakers so we might recognize them in person. The top Agatha Christie experts would be there, and while I’m a newbie, I hoped to introduce myself to them.

Surprisingly, (at least to me!) many of them knew about the Agatha Annotated glossary and spoke kindly about it. It was a bit of a thrill to chat with these people whose books I own and whose accounts I follow on social media. Among the people we got to meet were Dr. Mark Aldridge, John Curran, David Morris, and Teresa and Bill Peschel.

Kemper Donovan, who recently interviewed me for his All About Agatha podcast, was just as nice in real life as he was electronically. We also chatted with Agatha Christie fans from Saline, Michigan where we used to live, and from Grinnell College, whose team our alma mater used to play football against. There was also an extremely well-dressed young woman from London with whom we spent a bit of time. She had a different period costume for every day of the Festival!

We did our very best to be good guests and make friends with everyone who crossed our path. Would I have made as many connections if I had attended alone? To be honest, I doubt it because it’s just not in my DNA. But I did push out of my comfort zone and grew a little, which is possible even at my age!

All the volunteers were friendly, and the Festival organizers couldn’t have been more helpful. Our presentation went well and we sold a lot of books, so we couldn’t have hoped for more. I’ll write up a more complete account of our experience soon, but since we tacked on further travel after the Festival, we only just returned home. Once I get unpacked, I’ll share more from our first-ever experience at the International Agatha Christie Festival.