“I was unfortunately ill for the majority of December. I am pleased to say that being sick did not prevent me from promoting my books and my READ for Equity platform as Ms. Wheelchair Ohio 2023.
On December 9th, I had my book signing at Barnes & Noble in Beavercreek. I’d looked forward to the signing for months, so I was very excited and nervous the day of. Many of my friends came out to the bookstore to show their support. Additionally, many people who work for and with the Greene County Board of Developmental Disabilities, whom I have gotten to know during my reign, helped me to promote the signing and came to show their support. Despite splitting the profits with Barnes & Noble, I made over $115 in two hours and really enjoyed myself. While there is always room for improvement, I feel that my first professional book signing was a success and look forward to having more book signings in the future. I am happy to say that Barnes & Noble staff was also pleased with the turnout at my book signing and said that they would be happy to host additional signings for me.
A week later, on December 16th, I attended the Elves Bookshop hosted by Write Now Columbus at River Mall. Write Now Columbus is a nonprofit organization meant to serve as a resource for writers and readers in Columbus and surrounding areas. The Elves Bookshop was a book sale hosted by the organization specifically for self-published authors like me. I first heard about the Elves Bookshop from Stephen K. Oldfield, the reporter who interviewed for Spectrum News back in October. Despite the book sale being so close to Christmas, there were not many people at River Mall that day. Consequently, my sales were not as good as I would have liked them to be. However, I still consider my time at the Elves Bookshop to be a success because it connected me to Write Now Columbus and allowed me to meet and become acquainted with some other self-published authors.
I did not feel very festive this holiday due to illness. However, my family and I still celebrated a very nice Christmas. My husband got a gift that I am very excited about that should help my future as a writer. He got a gift card for a credit on a website called 4TheWords. 4TheWords is a website that allows writers to take on a warrior persona and take on various challenges and quests that we must write to complete. 4TheWords adds a bit more of a challenge to writing and, at least for me, makes it more fun. I am hopeful that the gift card will help to finish my next book in 2024.
Lastly, I am looking for speaking engagements to help fill the last couple of months of my reign as Ms. Wheelchair Ohio 2023. If you are in need of a speaker who is passionate about literature, disability inclusion, the home care crisis, public transportation-related advocacy, or independent living, send me a message on Facebook @Ms. Wheelchair Ohio 2023 Allison Boot, via Instagram @mwoh2023_Allison Boot or via email at mwoh2023allisonboot@gmail.com..”