This last weekend was super.
It began Saturday with a book event at the Colony Public Library called Meet The Authors. Several local authors gathered at the library to meet with readers (and each other), spread the word, and maybe sell a few books.
While getting the sales and spreading the word about my books is always great (and very appreciated), my favorite part is always meeting and connecting with readers. I met one girl who turned out to be an aspiring writer. She thought it was so cool to meet people who’d actually written books and could hold them in their hands. She even let me read the beginning of the story that she’d been working on. I felt so cool and honored that she would trust me with that! Definitely the best part of the experience.
I also talked with a mom and her daughter about Harry Potter for about an hour. The girl eventually looked at me and said, “We’ve talked more about Harry Potter than your books.” That tends to happen. I’m pretty sure I Tweet more about Harry Potter than I do Cemetery Tours. That might not be the best marketing strategy in the world, but I’m a fangirl at heart. I can’t help myself.
I also came home with several new books: Surviving Life by Jeanne Skartsiaris (fun fact: her half brother is Ed, Carol’s abusive husband in The Walking Dead! I’m sure he’s quite a nice fellow in real life), Moon Tears by M.M. Frische (she also writes children’s books; her first is called Miss Muffet & Bitsy and is totally adorable), Take 2 by Linda Bolton, The Empowered Woman by J. Nicole Williamson, and This Crumbling Pageant by Patricia Burroughs.
Finally, at the end of the day, one of the men who ran and coordinated the event asked me if I’d like to come back for an event around Halloween and give a presentation on ghost stories and sell some more books! I am so excited, I can’t even tell you. I’ve already begun planning out what I’m going to say (Hamlet, anyone?).
All in all, I’d say the Meet The Authors event was a huge success.
I spent the rest of the weekend reading A Discover of Witches, the first in the All Souls Trilogy by Deborah Harkness.
May I just say that I LOVED THAT BOOK. Oh my goodness, it was magical. I loved the characters, (especially Matthew, whom I pictured as Richard Armitage), I loved the setting, and I really loved how Harkness created such a beautiful and compelling story using so many different elements: magic, science, history, alchemy, religion, literature, romance, mythology… It was one of the most intricate and intelligent books I’ve ever read and I can’t wait to read the next two books.
My own Witch’s Familiar really enjoyed the book too…
What are you reading this week?
A Platform of Sorts 
Love the table! Pretty! You always arrange things nicely… and now that I’m writing to you, I just realized my sunflowers outside are beginning to WILT and I wanted to cut them and bring them in to enjoy them… YES, you do remind me of sunflowers, Jackie! LOL
P.S. That is awesome about the Library reading. I really enjoy those! Sounds like it was a great turn out!
Thank you, April! And yes! I shall one day take over the world in the form of sunflowers (I don’t know…). I’m sorry yours are wilting. Mine were eaten right in their prime. By SQUIRRELS. I’m glad I remind you of sunflowers. 🙂
And it was a lot of fun! I always enjoy book events!
ARRGH!!! I know aaaaaaaaaaalllllll about bad squirrels and sunflowers!!!!!
I could have had SO many seeds! And they picked those flowers clean! Freaking squirrels! And after I go OUT of my way to avoid hitting the ones that dart out in front of my car!
HAHAHAHAHA, I know it!!!!!!!
That event sounds like so much fun! I would love to go to one & think there is one later this month. And how cool that they asked you to come back! 🙂 That’s fantastic!
This week I am reading Sharp Objects by Gillian Flynn!
Ooh! I’ve been meaning to check that one out! Just add that to my ever-growing to read list!
And thanks! It was a lot of fun! I love those events and meeting new people!
Sounds like such a great day, how fun! New writers and aspiring ones, and oh my gosh I love that trilogy! Congrats on being asked to go again and speak! Exciting and nerve-wracking
Thank you! And yes, I am just so in love with that first book, I’m sure the next two are just as awesome. I’m thinking of going back through and writing down my favorite quotes. There were so many!
Oh yes, they sure are! Ha I only got onto them about three months ago and I read all three in four weeks! Crazy good
I’d been wanting to read the first for forever and I didn’t realize it was a trilogy until I started reading it! I honestly thought I would enjoy it, but I didn’t think I would love it as much as I did. Like, I really, REALLY loved it.
That us so amazing to hear. I was utterly hooked by the first few pages, such an amazing world and characters. I was so sad to reach the end! I love it when books do that to me 🙂
I do too! I can’t wait to find out what happens to Diana and Matthew (such a dreamboat…).
What I really loved about it was that it wasn’t a fast read. Usually, I can finish a book in a day or two. This one took me about a week. It was a really good one!
Oh yeah, the best kind of read, took me over a week for each one too…. And I public.transport to work so read over 2 hours a day! Harkness is such a good writer. Yeah I want a Matthew too!
She really is, and an intelligent writer at that. Everything she wrote about, the history, the magic, the science, you can definitely tell she did her research!