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Had Fun at iScream for Mysteries 2026
- Sherry Ickes
- May 12
- 3 min read
(Top Center: myself and Sarah Ickes, Bottom Right: the room decorated, Bottom Left: bookshop's sign)
Well...where to start with this one? 🤔 I wasn't supposed to be an attending author this year, but when one of the original fourteen had to step away, you might say that I was called up from the reserves!
As the room had been prepped the night before, I went over to where my author table was to be and made sure my display was up and ready before the doors opened to the public.
Normally, The Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop has their tables color-coated at their multi-author events, and this time was no exception. There was black tablecloths draped over the tables for the readers, a frosty-white cloth for where the authors were to be seated, and red for the mobile bookshop, snacks, registration, etc.
(My table display at the event. The authors were arranged by alphabetical order.)
(How appropriate for the shop to use crime scene tape to mark off the books 🤣)
Once the readers chose their seats and started looking through the tentative schedule for the day, I was delighted to see a mix of both familiar and new faces! (I would also like to note that there was a one-day-only sale of 25% off hardcovers). And this was the first time the bookshop was using their new passport card!
We were each allowed to pick a stamp that was to fill one of the six empty boxes on the readers’ cards. After a reader filled all of the boxes, they could turn it into the shop's home location for a discount on a new book or a free used book under a certain amount. How cool was that?!
(Attendees could take one of the shop's "Blind Date with a Book," faces have been blurred for privacy reasons.)
The time for the Author Round-About, or Author Speed-Dating…as some book events call it, came after Deb Beamer opened the event and Bill Peschel, the Master of Ceremonies, got his timer ready. (We even had six minutes to speak at each table at this event! 😮) It all went so fast...like a blur, as the readers asked very good questions and even stirred up some ideas for a future book!
But, I must admit, that I was grateful for the scheduled breaks for food, book buying, and bathroom runs. It gave my voice a chance to rest so the rest of my talks wouldn't have to be a bad version of Charades. And I managed to get a taste of the ice cream as well! (Hint: it was delicious 😋)
(An image of me...just talking about books with fellow readers. The perfect way to spend an afternoon.)
(I even got to meet Barbara Early in person! She's now writing the "Murder, She Wrote" books!)
Overall, I had a great time at the iScream for Mysteries event and was lucky to have been able to step in at the last minute for The Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop. While I got the chance to say "hi" to returning readers, I also enjoyed meeting new people who share a love of mysteries.
At the end of the day, a group photo was taken of all the authors. If you would like to find out more about my fellow writers, please feel free to click on their names listed under the image to be taken to their websites.
Back Row (Left to Right): Bill Peschel, Tj O’Connor, Carla Conti, Amy M. Reade, Andrea J. Johnson, John Havas, Robert Swartwood
Middle Row (Left to Right): C. Bradly, Ellen Crosby, Barbara Early, Nancy A. Hughes
Front Row (Left to Right): Laura Bradford, Sheryl C.D. Ickes, Sarah Ickes, GG Calpo
Once again, a big shout-out to the staff and volunteers at The Mechanicsburg Mystery Bookshop for putting together such a wonderful event! And thanks to Barb F. and Sarah I. for some of the images used in this post. Until next time...
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