Woodhall Spa Festival of Storytelling 12th July 2026

I attended my second book signing alongside fellow independent local authors at Woodhall Spa's Festival of Storytelling. It was an exciting opportunity to showcase my work, connect with readers, and support other indie authors within the local writing community.

One of the biggest challenges was preparing for my first-ever author reading. Going into it, I felt surprisingly confident. Having delivered presentations to audiences of more than 200 volunteers, I was comfortable speaking in front of people, and I was happy with the structure I had planned. Alongside reading from my novel, I shared the inspiration behind my pen name, F. T. Daniel. The name is a tribute to my late grandfather and a way of carrying forward the Daniel family name. It also honours both of my grandparents, whose encouragement and influence played a significant role in my writing journey.

In preparation for the festival, I invested in a white gazebo. While it was an additional expense, I see it as an investment in the future, with the ambition of attending many more book fairs and literary events. I also ordered 30 copies of my novel through Amazon KDP. Although I was slightly disappointed by the print quality of a larger KDP order, it didn't seem to affect readers' interest. The blend of psychological and speculative fiction, woven together with Norse mythology, proved to be an effective conversation starter, and I was delighted to sell 15 books at £8 each.

Overall, I was pleased with my display, although there are definitely improvements to make before the next event. A few themed props would have helped my table stand out, and some paperweights—or even just a couple of heavy objects—would have stopped my books from threatening to take flight whenever the wind picked up! Every event is a learning experience, and this one gave me plenty of ideas for creating an even more engaging and professional-looking setup in the future.

This reads more like a reflective blog post or portfolio entry. If it's for a university reflective assignment, I can also make it more analytical by including what you learned, what went well, and what you'll do differently next time.