“Go forth and find your target audience,” I was told and I posted a questionnaire that many of you were kind enough to answer (if you haven’t, it is not too late, and I do promise to share my findings).
“Keep defining and refining it,” my mentor continued and so I have a question for you.
Where do you hang out? Where do you meet others such as you and me; those who believe in elves, dwarves, noble quests, and dragons? And please don’t tell me: Alagaësia, Middle Earth or Shannara – I’ve been there and I never saw you!
When you don’t have your nose in an exciting book, where do you meet fellow fantasy readers? Do you frequent conferences? Do you read magazines (on-line or tree form)? Are you on a social networking fantasy site, a discussion group, or a fantasy book club?
Please leave your tracks in the comments below. It will help me find companions for my journey and help others find company too.
I appreciate your help. Oh, and next time you pop into Alagaësia, Middle Earth or Shannara, would it hurt to say hi?
Finally something totally unconnected to this blog: This past week Muslims were insulted, Christians died from the violence, and Jews were blamed. We are all victims when we set ourselves apart. Sometimes it just feels easier to lose yourself in the world of elves, dwarves and dragons.
May we all learn to celebrate our differences together and share the space. There is enough room for us all. Safe travels wherever your road takes you.
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Alon Shalev is the author of The Accidental Activist and A Gardener’s Tale. He has written three epic fantasy novels and the first reached the Quarter Finals of the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award as of March 2012. More on Alon Shalev at http://www.alonshalev.com/and on Twitter (@elfwriter).
Elfwriter 
I meet them online, usually Facebook. I live in the middle of nowhere, so trying to find any fantasy lovers out here is difficult.
I wrote five fantasy/sci fi novels. That took over a decade. Then I deleted them. The story behind why would fill a novel. Now I write detective novels. Talk about a 180. I appreciate your stance. I follow you on twitter. I hope you will follow me.
What is your twitter handle, I will make sure I’m following you. 🙂
@elfwriter – thank you.
Alon
Speculative fiction writers at Agent query connect is where I talk about epic. I also write it.
I check friends’ bookshelves when I visit. And being a French horn player and music teacher helps, because love of music and love of storytelling seem to go hand in hand. Both provide intellectual stimulation and emotional expression.
Hey! Thanks for following me on Twitter, I’m interested to learn more from your blog and I’ll be checking out your books soon.
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Wrenfest and other such events but always with my kids. They are now adults and having traveled around the globe, eaten and drank in castles, played in dungeons (real ones), loving books, a mystical world of elves is not a very far leap.