[00:00:21] James: Hello, and welcome back to Books, Cats, and Chaos, the podcast where we explore epic tales, sprinkle in a bit of humor, and embrace the chaos of book loving, cat herding, and life. My name is James.
[00:00:41] Ka-Ce: And I am Ka-Ce, and we are a husband and wife team who just spent, not last weekend, but previous weekend, over at Romantasy Bookcon.
[00:00:52] James: So, this episode, we’re gonna talk about it. We’re going to go over our time at the fabled, ah, Fabled Fanasy Events Romantasy book con LA. Challenge, try to say that three times fast.
[00:01:10] ,
[00:01:10] We are going to talk about our experience, the good, the bad, and the definite chaos that was involved because holy cow.
[00:01:23] Ka-Ce: Overall they put on a really, really good event, though.
[00:01:26] James: Oh yeah, it was a ton of fun, but Jeez.
[00:01:33] Ka-Ce: So, content reminder, even though we aren’t deep diving any books or series in this episode, this episode is still rated R and not for kids as we will probably use adult language in this.
[00:01:47] James: Probably. Most likely. If you haven’t already, but you like what you hear so far, or you like what you’ve heard on any of our previous podcasts or anything like that, please don’t forget to rate, subscribe, or comment [00:02:00] on our website, on our YouTube, any of our social medias, we would love to hear from you guys. We would love to know if any of you guys went to this and, you know, what your thoughts were on it.
[00:02:13] Because we definitely have thoughts about what, about what went on. so yeah, so let us know. And also give us that thumbs up, because, yeah, we need it. Fabled Fantasy Events put on Romantasy Bookcon in Orlando, Florida in 2024. Now, February 2025, they brought the event to Los Angeles. So Romantasy Bookcon LA is what they called it.
[00:02:46] It brought in over 200 authors, audiobook narrators, which we have a really fun little moment with that, and vendors. There were a ton of panels by authors, the audiobook narrators, there were workshops, there was one on how to make elf ears, there were some on how to make wigs, there was, um, there was one to make arm bracers, whoops, for, you know,
[00:03:23] Ka-Ce: Cosplay.
[00:03:24] James: that’s so popular in so many of the books, you know, all of the men, you know with their bracers and their
[00:03:33] There were Tattoo artists and there were henna artists and there were tarot reader people I think at least two Maybe only one. I don’t remember There were exclusive book editions that you could buy. There were a ton of signing events and We did not get [00:04:00] to see it, but apparently later in the day there was a Cosplay contest and a magic show, but we did get to see the stage which looked cool So now I’m kind of sad that we missed that For They also had different tiers of, um, pricing, I guess, of what you could get. If you got the higher price tier, then there was a murder mystery, it was an interactive performance, there was a masquerade ball, and apparently that was just everything that anybody could ever want. They had custom mocktails, themed food, there was, everyone was dressed up, there was lighting and dancing and just all kinds of stuff.
[00:04:48] It looked like a good time. And so, the event spanned a couple days. Unfortunately, we only got to go to one of the days. We went on Friday. Um, but it went from, uh, Thurs wait, Thursday? Yeah,
[00:05:06] Ka-Ce: Thusday evening.
[00:05:07] James: It went from Thursday evening to Saturday evening. And, honestly, I was kind of, uh, I was kind Not sure how it was gonna go like I thought oh, yeah in a day you can You know get through and see what you need to see and do what you got to do And now I’m like, oh man, there was more there was definitely more
[00:05:33] Ka-Ce: There was so much more. I Yeah, if, if we hadn’t cut things, there was no way to get it all done. and even so, even with cutting two of the events, still there were authors and stuff that I didn’t get to meet and you didn’t get to meet. I feel like we kind of raced through the vendors
[00:05:53] James: Yeah, we definitely didn’t get to really look at the vendors and[00:06:00]
[00:06:01] Ka-Ce: didn’t really get to explore all of the authors either. There was. three main ballrooms of authors. And then they had like the two smaller ballrooms for the ticketed signing authors, which we’ll get into.
[00:06:15] James: Yeah
[00:06:17] Ka-Ce: but yeah, one day was definitely not enough. Definitely.
[00:06:21] James: No, and there were definitely some good panels that would have been nice to sit in on. I ended up enjoying those more than I thought. I didn’t think I was going to not enjoy them, but I actually ended up enjoying them more than I was anticipating. And so, seeing some of the other ones that they were doing on Saturday, I’m sad that I didn’t get to sit in on those because the ones we went to on Friday
[00:06:48] Ka-Ce: Oh, so good.
[00:06:49] James: were really good and I know there was one that we had wanted to get into that we couldn’t get into because of the timing
[00:06:56] Ka-Ce: Yeah.
[00:06:57] James: that was kind of a bummer I would definitely like to focus on I think more of the panel stuff honestly because I just I like the authors when they talk and then you know the dynamics and everything
[00:07:11] Ka-Ce: Yeah.
[00:07:12] James: it was fun and also worth noting it was an adult only event So, 18 and older, or 21 and older for the evening events.
[00:07:22] And, if you know anything about us, we love adult only, events, so that was definitely
[00:07:29] Ka-Ce: Yeah. Yes. It. I don’t see how the event could have been child friendly, just given the nature of what Romantasy is, but it did make for a relaxing day, not having to deal with running, crying, screaming children,
[00:07:48] James: Or men!
[00:07:49] Ka-Ce: or men. That is also true. That is, I mean, well, we could jump into that right now if you want.
[00:07:55] James: I was about one of, like, 15 men, I think.
[00:07:58] Ka-Ce: In total, this, yes, [00:08:00] this was, this was, um, I, I have to say, it was really nice actually to have like a female centric event. It was safe, women, you might get me on this, but we were just allowed to be who we are, enjoying what we love. And you can feel that, too, in that one author panel where, the authors were talking about, you know, the strong female tropes, the strong female main characters and everything.
[00:08:36] And the authors were able to just let loose and just talk freely because we were in such a safe space. and the few men that were there were all so nice. Everybody was just so supportive. of course you were supportive. You’re my husband. and you actually enjoyed it. Like, I, there were a couple times where I was like, Oh, you might be bored with this.
[00:09:04] This is not your typical reading genre. You enjoy fantasy. Enjoy fantasy, but, you know, the Romantasy is more my thing than it is your thing. Even though you’re enjoying Fourth Wing, you’re enjoying Throne of Glass, you know.
[00:09:19] James: True.
[00:09:20] Ka-Ce: But, like, every time, like, we were at the author panels or something, I would turn around and you were laughing with everybody and you were hanging on to the author’s words and stuff.
[00:09:29] and you were exploring books, you know, when we went to the Ripped Bodice book shop, upstairs and looking around at the other authors in some of the ballrooms and So,
[00:09:42] James: Yeah, no, I mean, it was, you know, I love at the, at the end of the day, I just love good stories. I don’t really care who writes them. As long as they’re good stories [00:10:00] and it’s funny because I was actually just thinking about this, you know one of my favorites series that I haven’t actually finished yet is the The Vampire Files, you know and P.N. Elrod is a female author and And I love that series, you know, and it’s funny though because Because she’s a female author, but she’s writing about a a strong male lead You know the main the vampire so it’s kind of like that reverse where it’s the woman writing about the man But I mean those books came out years ago, and they’re not like Romantasy or you know anything like that They do have their own level of you know spicy encounters and stuff in them But I’ve always just enjoyed good Good stories, I think P.N. Elrod also wrote A couple of my Ravenloft books where Lord Soth from Dragon Lance goes to the Ravenloft world, you know? Um,
[00:11:07] Ka-Ce: Mm.
[00:11:09] James: So
[00:11:09] Ka-Ce:
[00:11:09] James: um, yeah, it, it, it’s not so out of the. I don’t know, out of the norm, I guess that I would be like, Oh yeah, I dig this. It’s, you know, maybe not my typical genre, but I like, you know, female authors and I’ll tell you what, I like a lot of them more than I like a lot of the male authors. Cause it is kind of like reading the same thing all the time.
[00:11:36] with some of them, I did enjoy the panels too, you know, where they, where they really talked about, the, the struggles, you know, of them in a, in a male dominated market, not market industry
[00:11:50] Ka-Ce: hmm.
[00:11:51] James: and, you know, they are really just now coming to, [00:12:00] you know, Like having the ability to, get all this stuff out there and be popular, like, you know, it’s the time to shine, I guess is what I’m trying to say now.
[00:12:12] Ka-Ce: Yeah.
[00:12:12] James: And these authors have been doing this for a while, you know, a lot of these book series have been out for years. But it seems like it’s only really exploded in the last year.
[00:12:26] Ka-Ce: Past couple years, I mean, Like, Throne of Glass, ACOTAR, they’ve been out. For a good couple years. I think ACOTAR is hitting its 10 year anniversary. Fourth Wing has only been out, I think, two years or so. But there are other books, you know. ACOTAR just seems to be the most popular.
[00:12:46] James: I hadn’t even heard about any of these until, I mean, the past year,
[00:12:52] Ka-Ce: Yeah.
[00:12:53] James: you know, I mean, granted, I’ve been kind of outside of the whole book world for a while cause I’ve been focusing on work and stuff, but it just seems like it. Was like they’ve been pushing and pushing and pushing and finally like the damn burst and you know what I mean
[00:13:11] Ka-Ce: Yeah. And I think because I think the Romantasy term what really took off within the past couple years. it’s always been, like, fantasy with a romance twist, or with a romance lead, or it’s romance with a little bit of fantasy twist, or it’s paranormal romance. There was no real way to, like, categorize what this has become. You know, and, and it, that was the one, panel that, you know, we both really, really enjoyed. We enjoyed all of them. But the one about the strong female leads, they talked about all the authors were like, we all loved fantasy growing up, different [00:14:00] fantasies or sci fi. And we all love
[00:14:03] Strong female lead stories, but in fantasy growing up, all the fantasy books were male dominated. It’s always a male hero, a male whatever. And I, I grew up the same way. Like, I love me my Dragonlance, as you know. As I’ve talked about. And, I mean, there, there are some diverse characters. Especially in the group, but most of them are male leads still, you know, Tannis half elven, Sturm Brightblade, You know, the twins, they’re all Males and even now like when we watch Dragon Prince and and How to Train Your Dragon I absolutely love both of the series. Again, it’s male dominated with some strong female Side characters. I would love a series Where it’s female led, you know what I mean? Especially for a younger demographic. cause I didn’t have that growing up. I had Sleeping Beauty and Maleficent was fucking awesome. But Maleficent was also the villain. so, it’s so nice to see that us women finally have a category of our own. Even though it’s being dragged through the mud by men, you know. Delegating it all to smut and dragon smut or fae smut when it’s really not.
[00:15:39] James: They’re just jealous that it’s making so much money.
[00:15:42] Ka-Ce: Yes. Which, you know, I don’t know if you’ve seen any of like the news articles or, or whatever.
[00:15:49] And it is something that the authors also themselves brought up. That industry, most of the income is from romance books. Regardless of what kind of [00:16:00] romance. Sports or historical or, you know, whatever. Romance makes up. The bulk of the revenue. This is what women want.
[00:16:13] James: Oh I believe it. I mean as a as a you know as a person who You know, I enjoy Um, you know, the, the horror, right, and, and, but see, even in that, it’s not, it’s not slasher horror, it’s, it’s alien, eldritch, cosmic being, psychological mind breakdown, you know. So when I go to the bookstore, my books are limited to a very small section of You know, options.
[00:16:49] And if you turn the corner, yeah, the romance is like a whole wall,
[00:16:57] Ka-Ce: yeah,
[00:16:58] James: so it would make sense that, you know, that’s what people are going for. and, you know, we are seeing a shift now because the romance is sort of being taken back, I think. By by women because historically has been men writing the if you want to call it romance You know, it’s really not it’s huh.
[00:17:25] Ka-Ce: Its all from the male gaze.
[00:17:27] James: Yeah.
[00:17:27] Ka-Ce: Which is so different from the female gaze.
[00:17:30] James: Yeah, so it’s an interesting way that the industry is changing I think
[00:17:37] Ka-Ce: Yep,
[00:17:39] James: You know, it’s cool Go where the money is.
[00:17:43] And.
[00:17:43] Ka-Ce: Yea. So
[00:17:47] we will break down just really roughly like what our schedule was, just to give you guys, our viewers, our listeners, what we did on Friday. So, just in case you are interested in [00:18:00] going to one of these events, you know, this is maybe something you can expect.
[00:18:04] James: this was a full day, like.
[00:18:06] Ka-Ce: oh yes.
[00:18:09] James: We had like one, what, 30 minute break or 45 minute break and, and then.
[00:18:14] Ka-Ce: And then we were right back into it, yeah. So the, the bookcon actually opened at 9 or 10, I think. But we got there super early, because we wanted to, I say we, me, I wanted to see the Fantasy Fangirls interview Penn Cole. and that was at 8:15 in the morning. So, we left our house really, really early to get to downtown LA.
[00:18:45] Got there about 7:20-7:30. Had to deal with parking, which we will get to in a bit. tried to find registration. And then, yes, our first event of the day. 8:15 to 9 o’clock. Fantasy Fangirls, interviewed Penn Cole about her Kindred series. and that was a lot of fun, even though it was bright and early in the morning. And then We headed upstairs immediately to line up for our first ticketed author event, and that was with author Danielle Jensen at 9:30 and she was just, she was so welcoming and so nice. From there we went across the hall and up even more steps for the next ticketed author, which was Laura Thalassa, and that was at 10.
[00:19:33] And again, that was She was amazing and awesome and loved every minute. We headed back all the way downstairs to the Biltmore Bowl for the Dear Reader Favorite and Not So Favorite Tropes with, several authors, including one of my favorites, Hannah Nicole Maehrer. She’s the one that wrote Assistant to the Villain series, and she was unhinged.
[00:19:57] It was lovely. [00:20:00] By then it was 11:30, so we went even further downstairs to explore the vendors, went through them, went back up to the main lobby, and found out that there was a separate other upstairs area. So that’s where we discovered where the tattoo area was, the Ripped Bodice bookshop area. so we were able to peruse and we grabbed some books from the Ripped Bodice and then we found the, the other room where they had set up for the magic show taking place later that evening and that actually looked really cool. I wish I had grabbed a picture. I totally forgot. I was,
[00:20:37] James: I know,
[00:20:38] Ka-Ce: was just like, oh my god, there’s so much to see! and so I picked up two books at the Ripped Bodice and then you actually found a book that you didn’t think you would find.
[00:20:49] Like,
[00:20:50] James: I mean, well, technically you found three books you wanted and then I decided I, I wanted one.
[00:20:57] Ka-Ce: I mean, technically I would have, like, I would have just filled my whole arms, like, and carried every single book out with me if I could have.
[00:21:05] James: Yes, I went into this very much. Um, okay. So, you know, obviously the name Romantasy Bookcon is not something that you would immediately be, uh, if you’re someone who is in my particular type of genre preferences, you’re, I, Wouldn’t be your first pick necessarily that I would be going to this thing But like I said, I just like authors and books and stuff and I just thought it sounded interesting regardless And yeah, so while we were up in the Ripped bodice that was when I saw that As I was perusing thinking now, there’s not gonna be anything up here for me because you know romantasy, you know It’s a fun con.
[00:21:50] I like the panels, but the books are They have to be very particular kinds of books, right? I mean, Fourth Wing and, Throne of Glass and, you [00:22:00] know, not, The romance is not the, like, driving factor of the story, you know? So I was thinking, there’s not gonna be really anything up here for me. Although technically I did find two that, you know, I was interested in.
[00:22:16] There’s that other one that I don’t remember what it’s called. The Tea one.
[00:22:21] Ka-Ce: the tea one. let me see. A Tempest of Tea.
[00:22:26] James: Yeah, that one, that one did catch my eye too, that I am going to be reading later. but no, I found, Oh, I should have grabbed it, but it’s on my bookshelf and I don’t want to get up. I found one that looked really interesting. It was called Thrum, By, Meg Smitherman. And, I literally picked it based, mostly based on the cover, and then based off of the description that I read in the back because, it was, um, how do I say, it was portrayed as a romance, no, it was portrayed as a horror mance, sci fi horror mance. That takes place in deep space. And, uh, and I thought, That sounds interesting. I think, I think James is gonna get a book today. I loved it. It’s a great book. I do have an in between on that. It’s actually the one before this, so it’s episode three of in between, where I do a spoiler free, overview, sort of.
[00:23:36] Yeah, overview, review of the story. So you guys can check that out on the podcast or on YouTube or on our website if you want to just see it all in the same place, um, but yes, highly recommended. And I was very happy that I found something for me because I didn’t, I didn’t think I was going to walk out of there with something for me because again, not my, you know, [00:24:00] particular cup of tea book wise.
[00:24:03] And, but, you know, I was content with the panels, but I got a book. So, hey.
[00:24:09] Ka-Ce: Well, we got a, and we have the Tempest of Tea, um,
[00:24:14] James: Yeah. And
[00:24:14] Ka-Ce: we’ll be sharing.
[00:24:15] James: I am looking forward to reading that one too.
[00:24:17] Ka-Ce: Yeah, it sounds really good. so continuing on with our schedule. So that was about our halfway point of the day. So we, were carrying two big bags filled with my morning books. That I wanted, you know, these authors to sign at the ticketed events.
[00:24:35] And so, after the vendors, we went back to our car, swapped out some of the books, and then we headed outside the hotel to loose leaf for some coffees for a pick me up. And then we headed back in. We didn’t have a whole lot of time because our next panel event was at 1:15. we also were hoping that there would be something within, like, The block or two in LA. We’re vegan.
[00:25:00] So we were like, okay Maybe we could get a really quick bite to eat somewhere and there really wasn’t anything there So we will plan better for next time
[00:25:09] James: Mm
[00:25:10] Ka-Ce: At 1:15 we headed back down the stairs to the Biltmore Bowl
[00:25:16] where we attended the who’s afraid of little old me creating strong female characters with Some really really awesome authors, you know, Carissa Weeks, Trisha Levenseller, Nisha J.
[00:25:31] Tooley, hopefully I’m not pronouncing these wrong, Adaline Grace, and Amali Howard. the morning panel was awesome, it was great, it was fun. This panel in the afternoon could not have been more perfect. they were just filled with, like, such feminine rage. And such awesome advice, and they were just no nonsense, don’t take crap throughout the whole thing.
[00:25:55] And I really wish, like, I had had a tripod and I could have just mounted a [00:26:00] camera and recorded their whole thing, because it was so freaking awesome.
[00:26:06] James: That was a fun, that was a fun panel. I really liked that one.
[00:26:11] Ka-Ce: so that ended around 2, so we immediately went back upstairs and then even more stairs to meet Hannah Nicole, Maehrer for that ticketed signing event.
[00:26:22] And so, mind you, we got out at 2 and I signed up for the 2:30 signing I was in line and didn’t get to meet Hannah until a little bit after 3. So, some of these authors had really, really long lines, even though you sign up beforehand. So, after meeting her, we immediately ran across the hall for the ticketed event for Callie Hart.
[00:26:46] I was signed up for the 3 p. m. signing, and I was in that line outside of that ballroom, and that line did not move until, like, 4. James was signed up for 3:30 to get, um, some books signed for me by Kristen. I’m gonna butcher her name. But This series. Rebel Witch, the Crimson Moth series. So I didn’t even get to meet her.
[00:27:17] I am so sad, but she signed my books because my husband is awesome. And I was still in line trying to meet Callie Hart outside of the ballroom. Like, there was a line inside the ballroom still waiting for her. It was insane. at four, the Fantasy Fangirls were doing a live broadcast, or a live podcast recording, down at the Biltmore Bowl.
[00:27:40] So James went down to grab us seats. And at four o’clock I was like, what do I do? I’m not even in the ballroom to meet Callie Hart yet and that line is still going to be another 30 to 45 minutes. And I really, really wanted to see the fantasy fangirls, so left that line and was told I [00:28:00] could come back to see if she’s still here afterwards.
[00:28:03] So I was like, okay, fine. Ran down, got to see the fantasy fangirls and as they’re like, you know, doing their intro and pumping everybody up and it was so exciting we realized that they were going to talk all things Onyx Storm and spoilers, which is fine for me because I’ve read the book twice. James is not through it yet.
[00:28:25] James: I’m only halfway through it so
[00:28:29] Ka-Ce: So poor James left and he went to go upstairs to like wander around the three ballrooms There were three full ballrooms of authors that we still had not seen yet
[00:28:41] James: I was bummed because I did want to see the fantasy fangirls like I was I mean we saw them in the morning but I wanted to like see one of their You
[00:28:52] Ka-Ce: actual shows
[00:28:53] James: shows. I just didn’t realize they were doing an Onyx Storm, you know, spoil everything show and it’s just like, man, I was really looking forward to this and I have to leave because I’m not, I, you know, it’s funny.
[00:29:08] I don’t care if people spoil movies for me. Like, it’s fine. Like, cause I’ll still watch it and, and be like, yeah, it’s cool. Cause there’s still all the like action and whatever. Yeah. I don’t want people spoiling books for me, though. I don’t want to know the ending to the book. Because it’s like a, it’s a whole different journey.
[00:29:28] Ka-Ce: yes
[00:29:29] James: and there are things that I just don’t want to know ahead of time. Because I have things that I have found out on accident with Throne of Glass and,
[00:29:37] Ka-Ce: and iron
[00:29:38] James: and Iron Flame. And, and, I mean, I, I have seen a couple things even for Kingdom of Ash. And I’m just like, damn it. Um.
[00:29:47] Ka-Ce: you didn’t tell me you’ve seen spoilers for
[00:29:49] James: I only one major one and it’s, I’m not going to say it on here because I don’t want to spoil it for anybody else. and I’m like, okay, it’s fine. It’s fine. There’s still a [00:30:00] journey.
[00:30:01] Ka-Ce: I mean, Kingdom of Ash is like, super thick, so.
[00:30:04] James: Yeah. And, you know, but it’s really hard to avoid spoilers. And I was just like, no. I have things in Onyx Storm that I don’t know yet, and I don’t want to find out until I, like, find out. So, yeah. So we had to leave. Yea.
[00:30:20] Ka-Ce: I I. James told me, he texted me. He’s like, “You can wait. You can do this.
[00:30:24] I know you’ve been wanting to see them.” And I just, I felt so bad. Like, I was like, I’m not gonna enjoy this without my husband here. And he’s just wandering alone with all these authors and vendors and he’s, this is not his.
[00:30:37] You know, first cup of tea. So, I was really bummed. Didn’t get to meet Callie Hart. Didn’t get to stick around for Fantasy Fan Girls. But, we made up for it. We went through three ballrooms. Um, checking out other authors. And, you know, they had their own little tables booth set up where you could purchase their books.
[00:30:59] You know, take pictures, have books signed. So, I had my other bag full of books that I brought Hoping that I would be able to have time to meet these authors and thankfully I did So I was able to meet like Jayci Lee, Demi Winters I did get to meet Carissa Weeks and buy her book that I’ve been wanting for forever Abigail Owen and then By accident, because I totally forgot that one of the ballrooms had the audio narrators.
[00:31:28] so I got to say hi to Khaya Fraites, who does Violet Sorrengail on the graphic audio. And her, her socials are amazing. If you haven’t checked her out, go check her out. She’s just amazing. And then, oh my god. Like, we were just circling around, like, one of the top dais. Things with the audio narrators and you were like walking away from me or you paused or something And I like I remember just grabbing you and being like, oh my god.
[00:31:55] Oh my god, right over There is Laura Horowitz [00:32:00] and I had like the biggest freakout fangirl moment Which I don’t ever really do like if we see like a celebrity out in the wild, I’ll be like hey Hey, but that’s about it. Like You know, they’re everyday people living their own lives. But yeah, I had a big freakout fangirl moment with Laura Horowitz and she saw the whole thing.
[00:32:21] James: was funny because she started laughing. And she was like, That was amazing. Watching that unfold. Oh
[00:32:33] Ka-Ce: just, I just remember like pulling you back and just hitting you and being like, oh my god, oh my god, it’s her, it’s her. And you’re like, who? And you turn around and you’re like, oh my god, the girl from social media. And I’m like, it’s Laura.
[00:32:44] James: Cause I don’t know, actually remember her name, but if you start to tell me about one of her videos, I know exactly who she is. So
[00:32:53] Ka-Ce: Oh my god, so. If you’ve never listened to Laura, she does such an amazing job with her books, um, but her social media is just, I, I love her, like, bloopers and her outtakes, but she’s also, she speaks out, you know, um, stuff that audio narrators have to go through and their rights and everything, so she’s very informative as well, and she was just so nice and so welcoming and she gave us some stickers and, and she took pictures with us and I was just like, I’m so awkward.
[00:33:25] I’m so sorry. And she was like, no, that was so great. You made my night. And I was like, yay. Thank you. so yeah, so that was fun. and I think my, the last author that I got to meet was Demi Winters and she was also so nice and just like, Oh my God, this was, you know, an amazing day and stuff. And that was about five o’clock and people, vendors and stuff, were already winding down and packing up.
[00:33:51] James: is she the one, uh, the nine tail something, or,
[00:33:57] Ka-Ce: No, Demi Winters is my [00:34:00] other two books that are hidden. You’re thinking of Jayci. Lee for the Ninetale. So
[00:34:11] James: She was cool. She was cool too.
[00:34:13] Ka-Ce: Yeah, all the authors, like, they are just so excited to be there, and so welcoming, and, you know, it, they just love everything. As readers, you know, like, we’re excited that they’re there, and they’re excited to meet us, and sign books, and take pictures, and
[00:34:32] James: I think that was one of the things that I noticed that I really liked because I’ve been to so many conventions, right? None of the authors seemed um like they didn’t want to be there Like sometimes you go to things like okay, you know back in the day we used to go to the comic book conventions and and things and you definitely would sometimes meet people who Who acted like they couldn’t There was nowhere else they would rather be like or no, I’m not saying that right they would literally rather be anywhere else than At this convention, right?
[00:35:15] sometimes if it was like a minor celebrity doing a signing or a panel or sometimes the artists signing the comic books or Sometimes you just got the vibe. It was like, yeah. Yeah, I come up here sign, you know, okay go away now like And I didn’t get that vibe from any of the authors. Everyone seemed just genuinely really happy to be there and,
[00:35:37] Ka-Ce: So
[00:35:37] James: know, signing the books and taking the pictures and, and that was part of why the lines were moving so slow because they were trying to interact with everybody at least a little bit.
[00:35:49] Ka-Ce: Yes,
[00:35:50] James: Which is very hard.
[00:35:53] Ka-Ce: It is, and it’s tiring. And you know, a lot of the authors too had like stickers or bookmarks and [00:36:00] they were all just like oh make sure you have, you grab a sticker or you get a bookmark or do you want to stamp in your book with, you know a favorite quote from, you know one of your characters or whatever in the series and It was just, I went into it expecting, especially for the ticketed signings, you know, we were limited on the books we could bring in.
[00:36:21] and so I was just expecting, like, rapid fire, like, Sign, say cheese. Sign, say cheese. And no, they were all just like, Did you get a, did you, you know, Did I write your name correctly? And did you get stickers? And did you want a picture? And are you having fun today? Or if somebody was dressed up, like, Oh, you look amazing, and I love your outfit.
[00:36:42] And it was just, yeah. It was, it was so awesome. I was sad that I wasn’t able to meet Penn Cole and Callie Hart that day. And even with registering beforehand, um, Fabled Fantasy put out an app that we all had to download and that we had to sign up for the ticketing event and let me tell you, that was hard. Those spots filled up so quickly and I was trying to do things with both my phone and James phone at the same time, you know.
[00:37:16] Even with having to sign up beforehand, some of those lines were just really, really long. Which, we’ll get into in our good vs. bad. But, there were, like James said earlier, there was workshops going on to, There was, I think, high tea with the fantasy fangirls, and then fantasy fangirls also had their own meet and greet.
[00:37:38] Um, scheduled a couple times during the day. There was just no way. To do it all in one day.
[00:37:46] James: no,
[00:37:47] Ka-Ce: Like, it, I, yeah. I signed us up for a couple of the panels and the ticketing events and Let me tell you, if I had stayed in line for Callie Hart would not have been able to go and [00:38:00] meet all the other authors and have my big, you know, freak out moment in front of Laura.
[00:38:05] So,
[00:38:06] James: yeah, we, we, uh, we would have completely missed out on some of those other people, which would have been a real bummer, honestly, uh,
[00:38:15] Ka-Ce: Especially since we weren’t coming on Saturday. You know. So, that said, if, if you do go to one of these, they held, they’re holding them, you know, in Florida, I think, in October, and then this one will be coming back next year in February. 2026, pace yourself. If you can only go for one day, at least plan to see your favorite authors that you want to see, and just know that you are not going to be able to do everything you want to do.
[00:38:50] Because we had. You know, debated doing the bracer, making workshop just for the heck of it, cause why not? That sounds like fun. but yeah, if we had done that, then we wouldn’t have gotten into one of the panels, and then we wouldn’t have gotten to see some of the authors.
[00:39:05] James: Or if we had stopped up at the, at the tattoo. Thing or you know, I mean that stuff all eats up your time. So
[00:39:13] Ka-Ce: Yea. I know I really wanted a bookish tattoo.
[00:39:16] but
[00:39:17] James: I Know I was afraid to walk into the room because I was like if I walk in here I’m gonna see something I like and then it’s gonna be it’s gonna be like, ah crap hard to leave
[00:39:27] Ka-Ce: Right?
[00:39:29] James: But yeah, so a busy day
[00:39:31] Ka-Ce: Yes.
[00:39:33] James: So as we were saying before the things that we did like, things that were done well. everyone who was involved in the, the staff, so, well, everyone, so the staff, the volunteers, the authors, attendees, everyone was really friendly, was really respectful, they were there to have a good time, and it was nice because I don’t [00:40:00] actually think I heard any altercations anywhere.
[00:40:04] Ka-Ce: No, not at
[00:40:05] James: And that is almost unheard of with a crowd that size. There were a ton of people there. In any event you go to, there’s usually a skirmish of some kind somewhere between somebody. And I’m not saying that there wasn’t, I’m just saying that if there was, we never heard high, or low of it, which, you know, was nice.
[00:40:34] It was great. But I think everyone was there, nobody was there to cause a problem,
[00:40:40] Ka-Ce: No.
[00:40:40] James: was nice. and of course, as you said, you know, the, the fact that you guys could go, you guys, I say, when, Women could go and just enjoy yourselves without having to worry again, you know, a bunch of men running around being gross and, you know, hitting on women and, you know, making crude comments about the costumes or, you know, um, None of that was there.
[00:41:10] And so it was clear that everyone was having a good time with what was going on.
[00:41:16] Ka-Ce: And there was none of that judgmental feeling either, like, you’re not a true fan if you don’t know X, Y, and Z, like, you see at some of the other cons, like, you know, back in the day when we were going to Comic Con in San Diego, like, if you’re dressed up as such and such, you better know the whole lore.
[00:41:39] Of everything about this. Otherwise, you are not a true fan. There was none of that. And, and, you know, people got into conversations while waiting in line, like, Oh, have you read this series? No, you haven’t? Oh, you should check this series out. It’s about blah blah blah. If you like this series and this series, this series is for you.
[00:41:57] You know? It, it was just [00:42:00] so Welcoming and so just
[00:42:04] James: yeah,
[00:42:06] Ka-Ce: It was just amazing. Everybody was there for the same reason. Because we love books and we love romantasy, you know, we love the fantasy aspect, we love the romance aspect and yeah, I couldn’t have asked for anything better.
[00:42:26] James: No, it was, it was a good time and honestly for as, as chaotic as it was with just everything. It was, fairly well organized. having not been to the Biltmore before, you know, sometimes it was like, where’s this room? I don’t know where the room name’s at. Oh, it’s like way up there above the door, like,
[00:42:49] Ka-Ce: Yeah. Uh
[00:42:50] James: um, but overall it was, it was very well organized in terms of, um, knowing, you know, where the authors were.
[00:43:00] When you got there, they were like, you know, get into this line, this line, or this line. So they were very much on top of it and getting people to where they needed to go if you were having an issue or, you know, just to keep things moving.
[00:43:16] Ka-Ce: Yeah.
[00:43:17] James: Which was also nice because sometimes you go to events like that and it is literally just pure
[00:43:23] Ka-Ce: Chaos
[00:43:24] Yeah, I would say, at least maybe for us in the morning because we were there about 7:30 and the app that Fabled Fantasy had us use had maps of like the layouts of where, you know, certain authors were going to be in this ballroom and this is where the ticketed signings are going to be, whatever. so trying to hold up these maps on your phones.
[00:43:50] And trying to navigate the Biltmore was a little like, huh? Like, I love map reading, but there were, there were a couple of times where I was [00:44:00] like, I don’t understand how to get from here to here. And then, you know, trying to find registration because I, you know, we wanted to get in for our 815 panel. Um, like we had to walk around the whole Biltmore to find a sign that said, Oh, registration.
[00:44:17] And then even then it was like. Fae registration and paid registration and unpaid and like with arrows, but there’s only one table. So that was kind of like
[00:44:27] James: Yeah.
[00:44:28] Ka-Ce: What is going on? But you know, we were there really early. There was hardly anybody there at that time. So it worked out It just would have been nice to have like more signage like when you first enter the Biltmore to be like ballroom’s this way, ticketed event’s this way, registration is this way.
[00:44:48] Like, we were just wandering the main hallway, like, where’s registration? Okay, people are kind of going this way, so we’ll just kind of follow them.
[00:44:56] James: Yeah.
[00:44:57] Ka-Ce: But. So, kind of on the flip side, here’s kind of some of the bad Not great. There you go. Issues. and this is not a reflection on the Romantasy bookcon itself.
[00:45:12] The event was fabulous. Loved it. But the parking at the Biltmore Hotel was just kind of, mm? Fabled Fantasy did preface that there was limited parking at the Biltmore Hotel. And you would have to get there early, which we did. and then there was parking right next door and then I later heard from people like they were having to park like a block or two or more away and so walking 10 minutes carrying all your books up to the Biltmore was just not great for a lot of people.
[00:45:47] that said, we got there early enough to get into the Biltmore and even with our small Hyundai. Um, Hell, that was crazy. Like, we almost [00:46:00] couldn’t squeeze into a spot.
[00:46:03] James: Yeah, well yeah, the spot that I did eventually find was super small, um, I mean, I literally had to, you know, crawl out the side of the door that was barely open. and even just trying to navigate because they only allowed, you know, the visitor parking on, like, the three levels, and the three levels were very small,
[00:46:26] Ka-Ce: Very,
[00:46:27] James: the spaces were very small, and, and then people, you know, I’m sure this must be against fire code, that they had them parking on the side, you know, where you turn to go through, you know, the different levels,
[00:46:42] Ka-Ce: Yeah, that was
[00:46:43] James: I cannot imagine how that would be okay in any circumstance. so that was just a royal mess. And, yeah, I do not plan to park there again. We will find somewhere else to park because that was ridiculous.
[00:47:00] Ka-Ce: mean, some of the spots too that had a bit more space looked like the double type parking where you have one car pulled forward and the other car pulled in, you know, right behind them. And a lot of people were just parking right in the middle.
[00:47:13] James: yeah. So
[00:47:14] Ka-Ce: And so, that didn’t, like, it didn’t allow for other people to pull in, and I get that if you’re not paying for the valet, you don’t want to get, be trapped, but there were signs next to the elevator, like, if you are, you know, parked, and somebody’s gonna block you, or you’re gonna block them, you need to leave your keys with valet, so that way they can move your car in case somebody needs to get out, and like, nobody did that.
[00:47:39] James: No, there were, there were a good, you know, dozen spaces that got lost because people didn’t, didn’t park properly, which was annoying.
[00:47:50] Ka-Ce: Yeah. So, if you come, it is going to be held at the Biltmore again next year. I suggest getting in either super early, [00:48:00] paying for valet, or hopefully if you get there early enough you can park right next door. Um,
[00:48:06] James: Yeah. That’s what we’re gonna try and do, because Uhuh, I’m not dealing with the Biltmore parking again,
[00:48:13] Ka-Ce: No. so the Biltmore is a historic hotel, and it is absolutely gorgeous. I can see why. they chose this hotel for the fable, or for the Romantasy book con. It just kind of fit the overall aesthetic. But oh my god, there were stairs everywhere. Even on like the main floor, in order to get to the ballrooms for the, or you know, for the three ballrooms for all of the authors and everything, or the ticketed mini ballrooms, you had to go upstairs.
[00:48:44] And then if you wanted to go get your tattoo or visit the ripped bodice or anything, there was even more stairs.
[00:48:50] James: Mm-hmm
[00:48:51] Ka-Ce: And then if you wanted to go to the Biltmore Bowl for the panels, you had to go downstairs. And they did have an escalator for that. And then the vendors were even further down the stairs underneath the Biltmore Bowl.
[00:49:06] But, you know, if you wanted to get back up, there were more stairs. you would think, okay, that’s not bad, you know, whatever, but when you’re carrying books all day, that’s a lot, and almost everybody but us, it felt like, had these cool, like, foldable carts that they put their books in, and that’s very smart, and we’ll be doing that next year.
[00:49:29] James: Yeah, we missed the memo, apparently, because, uh.
[00:49:34] Ka-Ce: We had bags. Like we had big canvas bags with the books and like I said, we swapped them you know, we had the morning books and then we had afternoon books in the car and we swapped them. so even with the carts, people were struggling to get those up and down stairs. they’re gonna try something new from the emails that I’ve read next year.
[00:49:53] But still, just go into that knowing that. We are Abled Body, but we have [00:50:00] heard, that a lot of people who need help, um, that there were a lot of things that were not ADA compliant. Like, the elevators were really small and not always working. Some of the lifts for the ballrooms weren’t working.
[00:50:15] They’re old. and some of the spaces were just, again, too small, especially with people with the crates, you know, for their books. And I also heard and read that, some people, you know, had emailed the event ahead of time saying, Hey, we need this and this help. We need these resources, like sign language interpreters. And those all fell through. again, this is just stuff that we have seen and read on socials and everything. We can’t speak on that part of it, but I, yeah, there were some ADA complaint issues. I also think the back and forth between the ticketed authors. Like, you had to be here, and then you had to go up these stairs, across the hallway, and then up more stairs, and then you’d have to go all the way back down, like, it would have been nice to have all the ticketed authors in just one ballroom, and then just line them up, and then you could just,
[00:51:17] James: Yeah, that would have been, uh,
[00:51:22] Ka-Ce: yeah. So, I think, I think that is one of the issues that they’re gonna try and change up for next year. So,
[00:51:32] James: And maybe they could be more clear about, what people can bring, because I was, you told me it was two books per author, and I saw tons of people with, like, stacks of like five books or six books, you know, and getting every one of them signed and,
[00:51:53] Ka-Ce: Yeah, um.
[00:51:54] James: I know we had one where we had four books but that’s because we had each had a [00:52:00] ticket, you know, so two books for you and two books for me and if you’re gonna do that then that’s the way to do it, right?
[00:52:07] Ka-Ce: Yeah.
[00:52:08] James: Not one person
[00:52:10] Ka-Ce: with a bunch. Yeah.
[00:52:11] James: five or six books.
[00:52:13] Ka-Ce: I read it wrong. I thought it was two per signing. It was actually three items per signing.
[00:52:18] James: Okay, still,
[00:52:20] Ka-Ce: But, I mean, that included like, if you wanted your book signed, or a poster, or a bag, or something, and yeah. We saw. Multiple people with more than three items, and, like, yeah, I have series and stuff of, like, I would have loved to have brought all of them.
[00:52:40] Our shoulders would not have loved that. But, you know, I just, hopefully that could be honed down more. I think that’s what caused some of the lines to, like, really back up. You know, um.
[00:52:56] James: oh definitely,
[00:52:58] Ka-Ce: Yeah, and it’s not fair for everybody. It just, if the event says two items or three items, leave it at that. I mean, the authors themselves get tired of signing everything.
[00:53:12] They’re only human, they’re not robots, but waiting in those long lines is also exhausting, especially when you’re trying to fit in so much within a day, you know.
[00:53:22] James: yeah, I mean it’s unfortunately it’s a difficult thing to enforce because what are you gonna do have somebody like standing right next to the author and being like pick three items and I mean I guess I could but just for the people for the book community Do better. Don’t take advantage of people not paying attention.
[00:53:46] If it says two or three items or whatever, then, you know, take into account your fellow book people who also want to get things done and authors who would like to actually leave when[00:54:00]
[00:54:00] Ka-Ce: The event is
[00:54:01] James: the event is over, you know. So many of them stay just because they’re so freaking nice, but that’s not fair to them either.
[00:54:09] Ka-Ce: No, not at all. And I mean, I heard, you know, like, Callie Hart was one of them. She was like, I will stay until the very last fan gets their book signed, you know, for the ticketed things. And that was really commendable of her and really nice. But at the same time, like, you knew she was there from morning.
[00:54:27] to evening and still had, you know, had to eat dinner and get ready for the, event that was happening later that evening and stuff and that’s just crazy. And I say this too, not just for a bookcon event, but even just like a single author signing, you know, that’s happening at a bookstore, Barnes Noble or an indie bookstore or whatever.
[00:54:50] Don’t take a crate full of books. Especially when The sign up, you know, when you purchase your ticket for the event says it’s limited to two books or three books Don’t overwhelm the author and everybody else like please just be courteous
[00:55:06] James: yeah, pretty much. So,
[00:55:08] So given, you know, the good and the bad, bad, it wasn’t really bad. It was just, you know, the good and the not great, because overall I have been to events that have been way worse. and that wasn’t bad. It was just minor annoyances, honestly, other than the parking.
[00:55:29] Ka-Ce: Yeah,
[00:55:29] James: Parking was a major annoyance, but again, there were other options.
[00:55:33] We just didn’t really know Having not really been down in that area, but now we do so it’s fine So what we have learned for next time We’re gonna get one of those rolling crate thingies with the three wheels that can climb stairs better than we can
[00:55:54] Ka-Ce: yep
[00:55:56] James: Definitely going to pack a lunch because going all day with just [00:56:00] a
[00:56:01] Ka-Ce: Coffee
[00:56:02] James: What did you get you got a Thai iced tea or no you got a Thai coffee And I got like some death Vietnamese coffee or something
[00:56:13] Ka-Ce: We did pack protein bars
[00:56:14] James: And we had protein bars But other than that, we had a bag of chips.
[00:56:20] Like, So, definitely next time packing a lunch, just because we did not have enough time to venture out into the LA area. to get something because then we would have missed something in the, in the event. So, if you are going to only go for one day, make a plan. You’re not going to be able to meet everybody.
[00:56:45] Maybe be flexible and just be, you know, if some of the lines are really long, it’s worth going into the author gallery and meeting some of the non ticketed people because They’re still there. They’re signing books. And you know, um, you might miss out on some really good, you know, events, bring, plenty of water.
[00:57:08] Although I do think that there were water fountains.
[00:57:12] Ka-Ce: Yeah, they had, like, water containers.
[00:57:14] James: and, oh yeah, there were, yeah, there were water things all over the place. So,
[00:57:18] Ka-Ce: And water fountains.
[00:57:20] James: and water fountains.
[00:57:21] Ka-Ce: hydrate, hydrate, hydrate throughout the day.
[00:57:24] James: Yeah, definitely don’t skip out on the author panels because those, to me, the author panels was the most fun part of the whole day.
[00:57:33] I say that because the author signings didn’t really do much for me because I haven’t read like any of those books. So
[00:57:40] Ka-Ce: Yeah, that was for me.
[00:57:42] James: that was, yeah, that wasn’t for me. but. But the panels were a lot of fun. I liked the panels a lot. So,
[00:57:51] Ka-Ce: And it was a good way to get off your feet, too, from,
[00:57:54] James: definitely.
[00:57:55] Ka-Ce: lines and all of that, so,
[00:57:57] James: Kick back a little bit.
[00:57:58] Ka-Ce: yeah, [00:58:00] yeah. so. Is it worth going to? I would say yes. I had so much fun. This was everything I could have dreamed of and more. I wish we had had one of the higher tier tickets to go both days or even, you know, to attend the evening events.
[00:58:21] Uh, you know, they had the costume cosplay contest and a murder mystery and then of course the masquerade ball and just everything looked like so much fun. I have FOMO.
[00:58:33] James: If you’re going to do that though, you have to plan to stay out in LA somewhere because you want to be able to change, eat, shower, and then when the whole thing is done, just crash.
[00:58:44] You’re not going to want to drive home after that. I didn’t want to drive home after just the day we had.
[00:58:49] Ka-Ce: Yeah.
[00:58:51] James: Although we did get to stop at a brewery, so.
[00:58:54] Ka-Ce: Two.
[00:58:55] James: Two breweries. Yeah, so that was fun.
[00:58:57] Ka-Ce: Yes. So.
[00:58:58] James: I mean, so that worked out for me, but, uh,
[00:59:01] Ka-Ce: So, but was this event worth going to for you?
[00:59:05] James: yeah, I had fun and, definitely I think plan to go in again next year as long as we can afford it.
[00:59:15] Ka-Ce: So yeah, if you guys are interested, Fabled Fantasy events, they are planning on bringing this back next February in 2026. And it looks like, as of right now, tickets go on sale in April. And the tickets for this past event actually went really, really fast. So, just kind of keep an eye out for that. but they will have Romantasy Book Con in Florida in October.
[00:59:41] And I think they might still have some ticket spots left for that. You’ll have to check their website.
[00:59:49] James: Cool. Very cool. So yeah, good stuff. Good times. Good fun. Hopefully we can do it again.
[00:59:55] Ka-Ce: Yep. If you guys happen to hear, and I’m [01:00:00] putting this out in the universe for James. Because I told him, I promised him, if there was ever a horror book convention or sci fi. We would go, because that’s more of James’s alley. If you guys hear of anything, please, please, please let us know, because I have tried googling for like, horror bookcon, and I keep getting horror movie conventions, and movies and books are not quite the same
[01:00:25] James: No, that’s not what I want. I want, I want. It doesn’t even have to be a full con. Even if there were just like some good horror, authors at an event somewhere. Or at a local bookstore. Or some, you know, I don’t care. I would just, I would love to get in on some of that. Cause, cause that’s my jam.
[01:00:45] Ka-Ce: I think you had a little bit of FOMO with me just having so much fun with this.
[01:00:51] James: I mean, yeah, it’d be cool.
[01:00:55] Ka-Ce: So, if you guys hear of anything, please, please, please tag us so we can go and cover that and James can buy all the books. And who knows, maybe I’ll find something too.
[01:01:08] James: Yeah, you never know. I found something of yours. So, hey.
[01:01:13] Ka-Ce: Yeah.
[01:01:15] James: On that note,
[01:01:19] as a reminder, on Tuesday we will be exploring Crown of Midnight of the Throne of Glass series and then next Thursday we will be going to Back into our fourth wing review series. I realize that we’ve gotten a little off track here with some of our planned programming We got thrown off by the the event and then Just trying to get back into work and just things got kind of out of sync So we will be getting back into that for you guys So we can talk about it [01:02:00] Thank you so much again for joining us and, and, we hope you enjoyed this conversation that we’ve had.
[01:02:09] And hopefully this sounds intriguing to you and you’ll want to go to the Romantasy Book Con next year. It is highly recommended. It’s a good time. So, if you guys went, I know we mentioned this earlier, but if you did go, Send us, you know, your thoughts. How is your experience? Did you enjoy it? Would you go again?
[01:02:31] What would you like to see? Who would you like to see? I definitely would love to see a panel or a signing or something with Meg Smitherman because I just freaking loved that book Thrum. It’s getting a little weird because I’m like obsessing over the story, but
[01:02:51] Ka-Ce: We all have that book or series that we just,
[01:02:55] James: If something popped up and it was like she’s gonna be there for I would be like yes, let’s go I want to I want to meet her and get the book signed because I just
[01:03:06] Ka-Ce: Yeah.
[01:03:06] James: watch my thing. It’s the perfect blend of romance horror psychological thriller mind bending mind collapsing in on itself just So good Anyway, if any of you have any of the above,
[01:03:26] let us know in the comments, or you can email us at hello at bookscatsandchaos. com, and we would love to hear from you.
[01:03:39] Ka-Ce: Yes, yes we would. Please remember to like, subscribe, and comment. Your ratings and likes do really mean a lot to us, and if you like what you hear, please share with your friends and family. You can also check us out on TikTok, threads, Instagram, Facebook. We try to be active on all. And as we head out, please don’t forget to give some love to our friends over at [01:04:00] K9 1 1 ResQ, K 9 1 1 R E S Q.
[01:04:03] They’ve been working around the clock to post and share and help as much as they can about, um, you know, animals that are senior or neglected or handicapped, usually the animals that often get overlooked. So, they’re always trying to help as much as they can. You know, when they can, and they could really use your help, and your love, and your support. And, yeah. We will drop their link in the show notes.
[01:04:30] James: Alright, sounds good. so this has been a recap of the Romantasy Book Con. Next time we meet, we’ll be talking about Crown of Midnight. So, we’ll see you guys next time.
[01:04:46] Ka-Ce: Happy reading!
