Author events are fun but they all have one thing in common – the writer always wonders if anyone will show up! The relief when people do is enormous.
So if you know writers and they are putting on events, do go along. Never underestimate the value of much appreciated morale boosting support here. (The other simple way of supporting writers is to review their books on the usual sites. The nice thing with this is the review doesn’t have to be a long one).