Another author first for me came on Saturday when I addressed a book club at the invitation of my mother-in-law. As I'd never done this before, I was a little nervous, but they were all so friendly, they put me right at ease. The group was mostly mature ladies, many of whom I knew already. I opened with some brief remarks similar to the entries in this blog, and followed by reading a couple of one-page excerpts. These were the same readings I'd chosen for a book-signing in August, and in reciting a tense passage I thought, "Oh no! Will they be offended by the word 'damn?'" Apparently I wasn't overly shocking, as several ladies were kind enough to buy copies of the novel. The group had several thoughtful questions and I believe I managed to formulate some reasonably intelligent responses.
One highlight was meeting a woman visiting from a major city, who passed along contact information for her running partner. She casually mentioned that this friend had a couple of published titles under her belt, and would be glad to hear from an aspiring author like me. That evening I did an Internet search on this friend and discovered she has many books and great reviews to her credit. (No, I'm not going to drop names.) Now I just have to work up the courage to actually contact her!
So did I rake in loads of cash that day? No. Did I blow the room away with erudite literary insights? Hardly. But I successfully navigated a new experience and made some new contacts. Mostly I hope my remarks encouraged listeners to pursue their passions as I am doing. That's what I call a productive Saturday.
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