What is the best way to connect with readers?

Authors in Connecticut are blessed with a volunteer group called the Nutmeg Lit Fest. Their mission is to locate venues where local authors can meet readers and sell their books. Venues include town festivals, wineries, breweries, restaurants, and even Barnes and Noble. The group has also started a book club and a mobile bookmobile stocked with books by local Connecticut authors. I was fortunate to be invited again this year to participate in the Manchester (CT) Book Festival. I love going to the Manchester event because the town is so welcoming. Volunteers greet us as we line four or five blocks of Main Street. At midday, the volunteers pull a wagon carrying bottled water to keep us hydrated, and then at the end of the event, they come by to thank us and say next year will even be better. I enjoy talking with readers, and with my neighboring authors, but at the end of it all, I wonder: do I want to be a road warrior? This is my conundrum. If I want readers to enjoy my books, I have to connect with them. Being “on the road” is one way to do that. I suspect this is a question many authors think about. What is the best way to connect with readers?