Forever YA

On Sunday, June 30, Ron and I traveled to the Edmondson Road branch of the Nashville Public Library to attend an author event, the Forever YA Panel of 5 authors. It wasn't my first time to hear authors discussing their work, but it was the First Time to see and hear My Daughter on a panel reading from her ARC and discussing her debut novel, Faking Normal!

Courtney C. Stevens. Author of Faking Normal. I might have been more excited than she was. (My heart rate accelerates just a little just to type those words!)

The other authors were Kristin O'Donnell Tubb, Sharon Cameron, Heather L. Reid and Amanda Havard. They each had their previously published books with them. Sharon also had the ARC for her second book. Courtney had her very first (and only copy so far) ARC of her novel. She had just received it a few days before. The moderator was Lauren Thoman, who did an excellent job pacing the panel and asking the questions prepared by Hannah Courtney, the event's organizer.

Hannah - an avid reader, reviewer and writer herself - used her blog, The Book Vortex, to plan and spread the word about the event, providing great PR for these girls.

Laughter, understanding grins, personal stories, informative replies. "All the Feels," as Twitterees like to say. Each author had a different road to success; they wrote in various genres and displayed different interests, styles and even age recommendations for their novels. But all of them are storytellers.

One thing I truly admire is that the writing community is so supportive of its own. People - writers - show up. They listen, they learn, they share, they laugh and all of them, from the reader to the journal-er t the writer to the published author, enjoy themselves.

I had two bonuses that day. There was the obvious fact that Courtney was there. Not just there, but THERE.  So gratifying, so delightful, such a pleasure to see how far she's come. And so exciting to enjoy an itty-bitty part in her career.  But also ...  my forever friend from childhood came to surprise me! It was such a joy to look up and see her smiling face at the door! Thank you, Linda, for taking the time to share such an awesome afternoon with me! We enjoyed reading as children and shared the same taste in books. (so many memories!) We are still so much alike. As we were leaving, we discovered that we have even bought the SAME CAR. <3

I look forward to many more afternoons spent in the company of good books and brilliant authors and  not the least, great friends! What better way to enjoy a summer Sunday.