Tuesday, September 21, 2004

I forgot to mention...

A huge thank you to Stacy G. for sitting in a booth with me for most of the day on Saturday, helping me sell The Silver Spoon. Writers, by nature, are not always the most outgoing people, and that is definitely true for me. So, having Stacy there to keep me company, greet people and push me into opening my mouth was invaluable! Thanks, Stacy! And thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth to buy the book or just to say hello!

Also, I wanted to tell you guys that I'm working on updating my website. I should be done with it by this weekend at the latest and I may debut a new look. I've been thinking about changing the look to something a little darker that complements the book cover for The Silver Spoon. But we'll see...if I do this, I'll be asking you guys which look you like better.

In other news...just a reminder, I'll probably miss an entry on Thursday unless I can squeeze one in quickly in the morning as I'll be traveling to Peoria on Thursday afternoon for the signing. Again, if you're in the Peoria-area on Thursday evening, please stop by the Barnes and Noble there from 7:00 to 9:00. This is my first official signing. Though, because it's local author night, there'll be about 25 other authors there! I'm feeling a little unsettled because I'm not sure how everything will come together (how 25 authors are going to discuss their books, answer questions, etc. all at the same time) and as much as I thrive on adventure and not knowing what happens next when I'm writing, I'm not so good with dealing with the unknown in real life. But I'm sure it will all work out fine.

Then, on Friday, I'll be at two schools in the East Peoria school district, talking to kids about writing. My mom teaches at these schools, so she got me set up to come in. I'm actually really excited about this. Kids, I think, sometimes just need encouragement to know that reaching your dream, whatever it may be, is possible. Think about all the things people could do if they'd just heard from someone, anyone, that they could be the person they wanted to be. I know that for years I never thought I could write a book, let alone get one published. Authors were these magical creatures, inhabiting a higher plane of existence that the rest of us couldn't touch. Even now when I communicate with my favorite authors, I have hard time remembering that they're people just like everyone else! But my teachers, friends and family encouraged my writing, supported me, even when it wasn't in anyway certain that I would make it this far. I'm proof that you can have a dream and reach it. Writing makes me happy, makes me feel whole, and if I can help encourage someone else to find that same thing in their life, whether it's writing or not, how cool is that?

Sorry, didn't mean to get all sermon-esque on you, though I come by it naturally enough! (Some of you will get that joke *grin*) I have to go now and try to find what I'm going to wear for Thursday and Friday so I can get it washed and packed.

Talk to you tomorrow!

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Stace,

You're such a silly goose. You didn't have to thank me again...you know I had a blast on Saturday and it was awesome just being able to be there and witness you selling the book you worked so hard to write and get published. And it was so cool to watch how excited people got when they were able to have their copy of the book "signed by the author" -- that's you, author girl : )

I'm really happy for you, my friend. It was a pleasure sharing in the Family Day experience with you, and I know it was just the start of much bigger things to come!

Ok, enough sappiness for one entry : ) I can't wait to find out what you packed for Peoria...I'm sensing last-minute clothes washing in your future...

Stac