The Minion Lair

Well, if Kalayna were a musician, this page would say something about a “Street Team” which would be comprised of fans and volunteers who help get the word out about a musician’s gigs. But Kalayna isn’t a musician, she’s a dark fantasy writer with a twisted sense of humor, so she decided to call her street team page the minion lair and hand out minion badges because they make people giggle.

The Lair is where Kalayna will beg for volunteer “minions” to help her promote her books, new releases, and up coming events. This could include anything from asking readers to blog/tweet/post about a book/event to delivering bookmarks to local bookstores. On top of Kalayna’s extreme gratitude, volunteers typically receive extra goodies for their time.

If the Lair becomes a really happening page, Kalayna may eventually include a forum or some other way for minions to contact each other. For this to happen, she’ll need to see that there is demand for such a board and she’ll need some volunteer overlords to help her run it.

We can blame that one on the Official Head-Minion. While Kalayna has been attending conventions for her entire adult life, the Head-Minion didn’t attend his first until after Kalayna’s first book was released, and his attendance at the first con was only because she begged. He agreed to go, but stated that he was going as her “minion.”

Well, as it turned out, he enjoyed the con a lot, but the minion joke persisted. When Kalayna bought a button maker to make buttons for promoting her books, the Head-Minion demanded she make him a “Minion” button. She did, and it became such a conversation piece, that she ended up making a batch of them to give out at Dragon*Con. The minion buttons were a hit, and became one of her most popular buttons. But Kalayna doesn’t write a book about minions, so they didn’t tie in well. That was when the idea to start the Minion Lair was born.

Kalayna carries minion buttons with her to her official appearances. If you meet her at a Con, she probably has some with her, but track her down early because they are popular and tend to go fast.

Another way to get a minion button is to look for one of the calls for volunteers that Kalayna puts out. If the task involves her shipping something to you, ask for a minion button and she can include it in your package.

That's fine! The Minion Lair is just the name of the page and of the blog tag. Kalayna appreciates all of the help her volunteers provide and in no way intends to insult anyone. The minion joke is just that, a joke.