by Alison Janssen
You guys! It's almost time for Love is Murder!
I love, love, love Love is Murder. Yes, in part because it's a conference that's close enough to where I live that I don't have to get on a plane, but that's not nearly all.
It's organized by incredibly wonderful people, it's got serious panels and fun panels, and it's attended by some of my favorite people in the world.
Also, the hotel bar, but that's a given at any conference, right?
I strongly urge anybody in the Chicago area who wasn't already planning to come to get their registration started and come join the party. Did I mention that two years ago (the last time they held LIM, they took 2010 off), the hotel was also hosting a conference of reenactors that same weekend? Like, reenactors from all wars and time periods. So in addition to mingling with Ann Voss Peterson and Judy B, I got my photo taken with conquistadors and girls dressed like Rosie the Riveter. It was beyond awesome.
Anway, I'm psyched for LIM. I love it. And you know what else I love, besides awkward segues? PHOTOBOOTHS!
I don't remember when exactly my love of photobooths started, but for at least five or six years now, my friends and I have enjoyed many photobooth adventures in various cities across the country. We've discovered that the best photobooth photos come about when one imposes four different themes, and rushes to embody each theme between flash bursts.
So imagine my delight when I discovered that renting photobooths is a thing one can do, and in fact is a trend in weddings these days. A couple weeks ago, my mom and sister and I went to a Wedding! Expo! which was mostly overwhelming but worth it for the free cake and photobooths. And though Rachel will likely kill me for posting these, I want to give you an example of the photobooth theme shenanigans.
But! Before I do, I want to also bring your attention to a neat promo idea I just came across: A QR code scavenger hunt. I love this idea. First of all, QR codes are intriguing -- you can scan them with your smartphone, and they direct you to a website (usually a website that has more information about whatever the QR code is printed on). So now go check out that link -- what a great idea for a scavenger hunt, right? She's designed QR codes to take you to different websites, where she's hidden answers to the trivia questions about her book. You have to answer a question to enter the drawing, and before you know it, she's got you clicking through her various internet presences, and you're learning more about her as an author, and this book in particular.
But Alison, what does that have to do with photobooths and Love is Murder?
Well, nothing, really, except I was excited about all three topics and it's my day to blog. An here's how I'm tying it all together: The first person who approaches me at LIM with a photobooth strip of themselves that includes any one of the below themes gets a free book. I'll walk with you into the bookroom and buy you any paperback you want.
Here are your theme choices (I'm sorry the first one is sideways):
top to bottom:
Normal, Beauty Queens, Robots, SHARK ATTACK!
top, l-r; bottom l-r:
Normal, Black Swan (um, that's us sprouting feathers), Sad Our Sister Beth Isn't Here, and SHARK ATTACK!
(I should probably add that if you do win this photobooth/free book/LIM contest, I'd like to use your photobooth strip on this blog at a later date. Especially if you use Theme SHARK ATTACK!)
