Our annual trip to the Lake District was a rollercoaster, promising to be even bigger in 2018.

This was the 4th time the Clockwork Watch team were at the Lakes International Comic Art Festival (#LICAF), an event that boasts an amazing contingent of creators, makers, authors, and illustrators.

The organisers have been super supportive of our project, with the team making all the respective hurdles a breeze, and we can’t thank them enough. Huge props to Carole, Julie, Jonathan (all the way from Canada), Chris and all the volunteers that make the weekend a family affair.

We actually sold out of a Clockwork Watch title for the first time at a convention, making the Lakes 2017 a major milestone in the history of this project. It goes to show that promoting a Steampunk title in a town like Kendal works. People loved the story, in fact many came back after buying one of the books last year. It was great to hear their feedback, chat about plot points, and tease the future storyline.

LICAF covers all spectrums of the self-published comic sector more than any other convention that we’ve attended in the UK.  It is an event for creators, makers, and grassroots comics, making it a must for anyone interested in comic book art or writing.

This year was a blast, as we forged closer links with some of the country’s top comic stores, artists, and a great contingent of creators from Australia, and Holland. One of the special treats was having time to chat, and plot 2018 with Stephen of Page 45, and the legendary Bryan and Mary Talbot, who signed copies of the final Grandville graphic novel at our table on Sunday.

We’d like to thank John Freeman and the ‘Down The Tubes’ blog for interviewing us, and express our gratitude to the town of Kendal. We love you and promise to be back.