One of the greatest stories to come from this bloggy thing we do, is my striking up a correspondence with a writer called Laura Stanfill. Laura, a former journalist, heard of me through a mutual friend and contacted me to be part of her 7 Questions for Writers interview series. (I mentioned this in a previous post.) She then produced a book, and being the amazing promoter that she is, last week she got a whole bunch of contributors together for a reading in a local community center. There were about 90 people in the audience!
Laura asked me to read something from my novel, so I treated them to the first chapter of my middle grade novel, SHAKESPEARE ON THE LAM, which is still (sigh!) out on submission. I kid you not, I felt like a rock star. Here's a video of me, getting all excited with the words on the page:
The best thing, though, was listening to and then meeting a bunch of amazingly talented writers who are also in Brave on the Page--people like Liz Prato; Duncan Ellis; Nancy Townsley and her husband, Gregg; Bart King; Stevan Allred; Kristen Forbes; and Shasta Kearns Moore. And many of them signed my book!! (Sorry if I'm beginning to sound like a squealing fan boy.)
There is, I believe, nothing better than being in a room full of writers. We are appreciative of each other, because we know how hard it is to put ourselves out there and write. I want to give Laura Stanfill huge credit for being such a visionary, and for all the time and effort she has put into making this book a reality, and for making our writing community stronger. I have never been so proud of being a writer.
What an affirming and encouraging post, Michele! Congratulations and grazie mille for sharing. Aloha!
ReplyDeleteWhat a treat! I love it!
ReplyDeleteMichael, it was a pleasure sitting beside you, sharing a laugh with you and hearing you read from your novel. I share your sentiments of appreciation for a writing community -- and for special people such as Laura, who grab us by the ear and bring us together.
ReplyDeleteAw, what a great post and Laura deserves every word! I got the same feeling of: "Oh! Other real, live people do this too! Cool!"
ReplyDeleteLOL! Great first chapter. Jared has some explaining to do :)
ReplyDeleteTotally agree with the feelings of support - that there's others out there too!
SHAKESPEARE ON THE LAM -- awesome title! Good luck surviving submission purgatory. I was there not long ago. (For more than one manuscript, not all of which found a home.)
ReplyDeleteI agree. Writers are amazingly supportive of one another. I attended a local Author/Illustrator night at an indie book store last Friday. It's my third year there. The first time I went, I was terrified. This year, I couldn't wait to see and catch up with all the local authors I have met over the past 3 years. We celebrated everyone's good news, commiserated on setbacks, and babbled about our current projects.
That was so great, Michael! What a treat to hear your voice--and the rest of that chapter I got a taste of almost a year ago at MSFV. :) I love the description of the dad flying down the hall on the skateboard, and Athena's "peanut butter brown" hair.
ReplyDeleteAlso, could you give me some dramatic reading lessons? Clearly, you are an expert. The audience just ate it up!
So awesome Michael. It's awesome how you connected in persona as well as through blogging. That's really important too.
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool idea.
ReplyDeleteYou're hilarious, Michael. And what do you mean there's no sex and swearing in your first chapter???? What kind of erotica book is it??? LMAO
You're an awesome reader. :D
Your voice is lower than I imagined--I was so excited to hear you speak. You are a great reader--your voice is perfect for it.
ReplyDeleteI kept saying to myself, I'll just listen for a second more, because I have so much to do...but I stayed for the whole first chapter. I still like how he's videoing with his bike helmet on.
I love your story! This is awesome! Thanks so much for sharing, and good luck with your submission.
ReplyDeleteYour first chapter is hilarious! "Whoa! Epic eyeball bulge!"
ReplyDeleteAnd you're so right about how wonderful it is to find other writing friends within the blogging community. That is why I blog. :o)