I Got the Plague…

…But I Got Better

In March, I did my annual weekend stint selling and signing books at Ann Chamberlin’s Book Shop at the 2026 Arizona Renaissance Festival. I always have a good time at the festival, and despite the unusually high temperatures, this year was no different.

Huge kudos to the new store manager William for continuing Ann’s long-term support of local authors by having them onsite at the bookstore.

While the soaring temperatures (102-degrees on Saturday and 99-degrees on Sunday) did keep some people away, the crowd, especially on Saturday was in a generous mood. I didn’t sell as many books as I had hoped but did well for the size of the crowd.

In addition to getting to talk to people about books all day, I always enjoy getting into character and interacting with the players and attendees. Some of my favorite interactions are with characters like Don Quixote, who comes by at least once while I am there. We have fun sparring a bit, with me teasing him about the windmills and him claiming my books are filled with demons! (He’s not wrong about some of them. LOL)

Another of my favorites is the fabulous fiddler who spends part of his day playing outside the bookstore. He’s a talented musician and wonderful person. I love how people stop to listen and dance and just have fun.

One of the really fun aspects of interacting with attendees, aside from their amazing costume, is their gifting of trinkets, tiny figurines about the size of a fingertip. Sometimes the person will This year, I was gifted two ducks, a mushroom and a turtle. 🙂

But this year brough something more to my book table. A group of young urchins stopped by and gave us…the plague! I wore my plague flea for the rest of the festival, until a wandering plague doctor finally healed me that Sunday.

I hope to stay hale and healthy until next year’s festivities when I know plenty of new fun is in store.

– – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – – –

If you’re interested in reading what I write, you can check out some of my books, like The Healer’s Legacy Trilogy, or my MG novel, Lostuns Found.

Or, if you like something a little darker, check out my collection of dark fantasy and light horror with a bit of humor. Blood From a Rose.

Want more Sharon Talk? Click here.

Interested in what else I write? Check out my books!