2026 CALENDAR

MARCH 28th, 2026, 12-3

Prairie Village Police Department
Multi-Purpose Room

Marketing Mayhem

CJ will present findings from five months of intense research and training on marketing books with an emphasis on social media, specifically Instagram. She’ll share her content strategies and ideas for her upcoming series and other real examples from other authors that will help you form your own content beyond what you’ve done so far. She’ll give you a demonstration on making videos – some where you don’t actually have to film anything and how to edit videos, add audio, and use special effects to make them shine.

Finally, she’ll report back after her books come out and let you know what strategies worked and what didn’t.

CJ McCay writes steamy and LOL funny contemporary romance novels. The Bent Creek Series are her first books and will come out in 2026! CJ was born and raised in western Kansas where her imagination was as wild and free as the prairie she grew up on. She loved reading from an early age and enjoyed making up stories, though these were often told in an effort to get out of trouble. But fiction is fiction, right? She began writing her own stories in junior high, which she excelled at. She just didn’t excel at finishing them. Now she writes full time and can’t wait to share her love stories with the world.

MAY 16th, 2026, 12-3

Prairie Village Police Department
Council Chambers

Author Comps: The Why’s and How’s

Identifying and leveraging comparable authors and books is crucial for both the creative and business aspects of writing and marketing your romance novel. By understanding what works in your genre and who your readers are, you can tailor your book to meet market demands and create targeted marketing strategies that resonate with your audience. This approach not only enhances your book's appeal but also increases its chances of success in a competitive market.

Presenter: Danika Bloom
Bio: Danika Bloom is a USA Today bestselling author of steamy contemporary romance and the founder of Author Ever After, an online community where she mentors pre-published and early-career romance authors. Before she wrote her first romance novel, she spent over 25 years as a ghostwriter for progressive social justice non-profits in Canada, which means she's spent the better part of her adult life thinking strategically about audience, message, and what makes people pay attention.