There I am at the podium in the Playbox Theater. I was the third author reading an excerpt. I sat in the first row so there was nothing to trip over on my way to the podium. Though I did fear that computer set up behind me might get knocked over by my ample behind. Luckily, none of my fears came to pass.
I’d practiced for a month every other night reading to myself, my dad, my mom, and my dog. I knew the words inside and out. I timed myself every time to make sure I kept it to 8 minutes and allowed time for Q&A. And I believe all that preparation made all the difference in the world.
The audience responded incredibly well to my novel. They asked questions (I did offer a pen to anyone who asked a question). And they seemed really interested in the story.
Afterwards, they came up to get signed bookmarks and enter my raffle for a free ebook and swag bag. This was my first time ever interacting with readers and it was an absolute pleasure to hear how much they enjoyed my reading and wanted to purchase my novel.
A huge thank you to NVCC and John Greg Harding who organized this entire event! It was a magical day for me as an author.
I got to meet a few other indie authors and commiserate over the ups and downs of the process–Elizabeth Barone and Jason Rapczynski were part of the reading sessions with me.
And the Fresh Ink Literary Journal award winners!—the cover artist was phenomenal (see poster below), the poetry astounding, and the prose intriguing. It was a delight to be in a room with so many talented people.
I was in the readings so I missed the workshops, but I did catch the Keynote by Everett Hoagland. He gave an inspiring talk on voice in poetry and read several of his pieces. Perfect way to end a literary day.
I’ll definitely be back next year. Thanks NVCC for putting on a stellar one day event for writers and authors!
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