Monday, September 15, 2008

Maybe I Should Leave Town More Often

Well, I'm back from Vegas. Where we had a great time--good food, good wine, fabulous people watching--and, while I was gone I had a couple neat things happen in my "author" life . . .

First, I received a call from the Chair of The Big Read here in St. Louis (and the co-owner of one of the best indie bookstores in the world, Left Bank Books) inviting me to be on the fiction panel Saturday, October 11. Yes! I was thrilled to be invited and I'll be reading and speaking with Margaret Cezair-Thompson, author of The Pirate's Daughter and Jennifer Chiavarini, author of The Quilter's Kitchen: An Elm Creek Quilts Novel.

Then, when I got home, I had an e-mail waiting for me from the middle school librarian asking if I'd be willing to participate in their Author Days this coming December. But of course! (And not just because this is the school most of our kids attended, or because the librarian was my step-daughter's science teacher or because, of the other two teachers organizing this event, one taught both my sons in 5th grade and the other taught my younger son in 8th grade. No, those aren't debts that can be repaid by simply appearing at an Author Day!). Again, I was honored to be asked and will happily participate.

Finally, also waiting in my inbox was a lovely e-mail from a fellow Library Thing member telling me she was loving All the Numbers and would I mind if she reviewed it on her blog. Well, um, no, I wouldn't mind--I'd love it! Check it out here.

Also, I have a phone in book club visit tonight (one of 6 book clubs I'll be chatting with this fall!) with another blogger, the lovely Kristy over on Book Island.

So, just when I worry that my book is simply gathering dust on bookstore shelves (or worse, in bookstore backrooms!), I get hit with a flurry of reminders that it's not. And I'm tickled beyond belief.

And I'm reminded that even though I might not have come home from Vegas with big winnings from the casino, I'm richer than I ever dreamed possible in all the ways that matter.

7 comments:

Anonymous said...

All good, my friend, all good!! So glad you had fun in Vegas (I think you have to have a good sense of humor to have fun in Vegas...) and that you came home to such wonderful happenings around All the Numbers.

Larramie said...

ALL THE NUMBERS really has legs!

Judy Merrill Larsen said...

Thanks Kristen--and yes, a sense of humor (and, um, wine) really help when in Vegas.

Oh, Larramie, thanks . . . and you definitely helped on yoru end!

Carleen Brice said...

You and this book are a publisher's dream! Congrats on all the good news!

Judy Merrill Larsen said...

Thanks Carleen . . . I'm sure living the dream!

Therese said...

Ha, what Larramie said! (obviously referring also to the cover...)

And, what Carleen said. I'm still hoping JVM will sign you for the new book and our BB group will persist.

(We'll persist regardless, though, won't we? That's what got us here.)

Loved your post about that first Vegas trip.

Judy Merrill Larsen said...

Thanks, Therese--and no matter what happens, we'll always be debut BBs together!