Authorfest 2015

This weekend was incredible.  I was thrilled to be able to participate in the second annual Authorfest in one of my favorite small towns, Denison, Texas.  As a writer, I believe that words are all powerful, but as a photographer, I believe that pictures are worth at least a thousand words.  So here they are.

First, some scenic shots of Downtown Denison.

Preparing for dinner and a reading at Devoli’s!  It also happens to be part of my favorite winery, Homestead.

Photograph courtesy of Tim Malek Photography. http://www.TimMalek.com

Photograph courtesy of Tim Malek Photography. http://www.TimMalek.com

Usually, I prefer red wine, but this Orange Muscat may have converted me.

That night, there was another raffle drawing.  I swear to y’all, I have the BEST luck at these things.

And, of course, there were plenty of books to go around.

I also got to meet the cutest puppy ever.

And I spent all the money I earned on wine and new old books including a lot of vintage Stephen King and an old copy of In Cold Blood by Truman Capote.

Thank you to everyone who made this weekend such and amazing experience.  Thank you especially to James and Claudette Peercy, who organized and made the entire event possible!

You can find James and his wonderful books here: http://www.jameswilliampeercy.com

Books, Wine, and Fish Fry

Yesterday, my sister and I ventured back up to Lake Texoma.  Initially, we’d just planned to attend the Locust Community Volunteer Fire Department Fish Fry (try saying that five times fast), but then we decided, hey, it’s such a cool area, let’s just spend the day there.  She’d never been to Denison before, so I got to show her around and introduce her to the people and places that I’ve been privileged to meet this year. 

We also wandered around a few shops, including an antique store with, according to the people who work there, several ghosts! 

 

The first thing I noticed was this Ouija board.  Now, I do not mess around with Ouija boards.  My friends and I used to, but then something really weird happened with what we think may have a dark entity, so that was the end of that.  Call me crazy, but I firmly believe that if you call something, if you ask it to come, it’s going to come.  To that, I say “No thank you.” 

There is a Ouija board in the new book, however.

Then, we walked over the The Book Rack, where the ladies proudly display books written by local authors.  They are just the best! 

I’ve got to say, seeing your book on the shelf of a real bookstore is pretty cool.  

After that, we meandered over to the local winery for more of their amazing Rose of Ivanhoe wine.  Forget California Wine.  Homestead Winery in Denison, Texas is where it’s at!  We also wanted to try something new, and since my sister isn’t old enough for a wine tasting, I took one for the team and helped myself to four samples.  Their White Zinfandel, while a little too sweet for my taste, was incredible.  It tasted like Honeysuckle!  I told the lady behind the counter that, and she said, “A lot of people say that!”  

We ended up with another bottle of Rose of Ivanhoe and a Cabernet, which is amazing.  I’m telling you, forget all the big corporations and brand names.  Small, local businesses who really love what they do and put their heart and soul into it are where it’s at.  If I do another book release party, I’m buying all my wine there.  Support your local businesses! 

After we had our wine, we headed over to the Locust Community Volunteer Fire Department Annual Fish Fry!  As a volunteer department, they don’t get paid, so they host events like this to raise money.  It’s such a worthy cause and such a fun event!  The food is amazing, you’re right there on the lake (although it’s very low this year), there’s a live band, auctions, raffles, and my sister and I each got a t-shirt!  

All in all, a pretty good weekend.   

 

Feels Like Home

This entire week has been kind of strange.  Although I’ve gotten a lot done, I’ve also had a lot to worry about and I haven’t been feeling very good myself.  I’m very ready for it to be the weekend.

However, this afternoon, I stopped by my friend’s house to drop off a copy of the new manuscript (she has graciously volunteered to be one of my beta readers).  To my surprise, I saw several cars lined up outside her house, but they’re doing a bunch of construction around her neighborhood, so I didn’t think anything of it.

I know on the door, however, and she answers it to reveal a bunch of friends that I used to work with at my summer camp up at Texoma!  I was so thrilled!  I hadn’t seen several of them in so long!  I got to stay and visit with them for about an hour, and even though I hadn’t seen several of them since last summer, it was like no time had passed at all.

Over the years, Camp All Saints has become like a second home to me.  I began working there as a counselor in 2009, but I’d actually been there once before, in 2002, back when it was a Lutheran retreat.  No offense to the Lutherans, but I did not enjoy it at all back then.  We had to eat at an outdoor pavilion filled with wasps and the water in the fountains was yellow and disgusting.

Today, the camp is absolutely beautiful.  I didn’t even know our church’s diocese took it over until I received a flier in the mail about it.  I applied for a job there on a total whim and ended up working there for three summers.  I’m going to go back in May also for a labor of love weekend.  I honestly can’t wait.

I grew up in the suburbs, about a thirty minute drive from Downtown Dallas, so big cities have never been much of a thrill for me.  To be honest, I really don’t enjoy them all that much.  I’d much rather spend my time in a small southern town, outside, in the fresh air, on the lake, running barefoot through sprinklers.

Before camp starts each year, the small town of Locust throws a local fish fry.  It’s probably one of the most small town things you could ever hope to do.

I also love hiking.  I need to find more friends who will hike with me.  Most of my friends are married and boring.

Just kidding, I love you guys.

Even if you are married and boring.

The Texoma skies are incredible.

And the wildlife is abundant.

And then of course, there’s the camp itself.

It was good luck to kiss the fish you caught, okay?

Finally, this is a picture of me and Kit Kat, my beta reader, at the fish fry.  Kat is seriously the sweetest person I’ve ever met and this June, she will be leaving for the Peace Corps for two years!  I don’t know what I’m going to do without her!  I guess I’ll just keep writing.

I’m so grateful to have found a place like All Saints that will always feel like home to me no matter what, and to have made the friends that I did there.  Seeing them this afternoon was exactly what the doctor ordered!

In writing news, I started on the new book last night.  I swear, the hardest part of any book is the very first sentence.  Do any other authors feel that way or is that just me?

Feel free to sound off in the comment section!  Good night, all!