In the solitary world of a writer's life, praise will get you everywhere.
I can be bought. I have a price and it's humiliatingly low. Praise. Basking in it is the author's equivalent of a dog rolling over, paws skyward, belly up, and tail wagging. "Oh! Yes! More please!"
At the Bookstock book and author festival in Woodstock, Vermont, I was lucky enough to be the recipient of such praise. A husband and wife strolled by and the wife recognized the cover of The Troubles. I introduced myself and the rest of the encounter shall live on in my memories in the "Instant Replays of Happy Life Events" category.
If you're a reader of my blog, you know I do the hard work of reaching out to readers in as many ways as possible. Spending gorgeous summer days at hot and dusty horse shows, cramped encampments of vendor tents, and festivals of every calling is what I do. I didn't know being an author was going to lead me to these events, but I'm there chatting and signing for hours without a break. I'll confess: Some days are longer than others.
So, we chatted and traded home town stories and favorite authors. I mentioned books I discovered through my book club and she said she had recommended mine to hers. One thing led to another, and we'll be scheduling a Skype book group session soon. She left, excited to have met me and even more excited her book group will be getting signed copies of my books. I watched her leave, infused with energy and refreshed. The rest of the day flew by.
When I started this journey, I dreamed of encounters like this. Now I'm getting them.
