The last three years, I have hosted a charity book signing event in Christchurch called Wham Bam Author Jam. I kept seeing authors around the world going off to these amazing signings and having a fantastic time meeting readers and fellow writers, and I'm not gonna lie, I was jealous. I had serious FOMO.
So, I decided it was time to organise an event in New Zealand to bring readers and authors together at a more affordable rate than having to fly across the world. Donating proceeds to charity was an added bonus - I'm a firm believer in supporting others and doing what you can to help. This is also part of the reason I wanted to create the Author Jam. When I first started writing, I had absolutely no idea just how many indie authors we have here. I was blown away when I started looking into it and found so many other amazing writers.
And thus, the Author Jam was born. 
This year, lockdown and Covid meant that everything was up in the air, and it made me sit down and evaluate how things were going. As much as I love hosting WBAJ, I knew it was time for a change. I made the announcement that this would be my last year hosting the event. The many comments I received after that announcement warmed my heart. 
Last weekend was the final WBAJ, and a great day was had by all. I had donations of books from all over NZ for a gift basket to giveaway, plus loads of raffle prizes.
I am extremely humbled by the amount of people who have supported me and WBAJ over the last few years. It has been such a great experience, and I've learned a lot. I've made lifelong friends with both readers and authors, and I'm so grateful I had the chance to meet them all.
Now, it's time for me to hang up my event organiser hat and focus on my writing (or maybe my singing career lol) Thank you to everyone who has attended as either a reader or an author. Your presence meant the world to me, as you most likely know from all the tears! I love you guys, and I'll see you again soon!