When the last post appeared, our daring heroine was nervously awaiting her first public reading…. Did she chew her fingernails to the nub? Was she pelted by rotten tomatoes by an angry audience? Or did get everything go well? We tune in now to find out the answer….
I arrived at Balticon in plenty of time to get ready for the reading, but the preparation didn’t make me feel any less nervous. But even with my nerves, everything went just fine. To our great relief, the audience members outnumbered us. They were attentive and applauded nicely after each piece. Vonnie Winslow Crist read an enchanting tale, and Katie Hartlove read beautifully. I am so proud of my fellow Writer Goddesses. I even got comments later in the con about how enjoyable my part of the reading was.
Then, in a bonus round, the author who followed us, Leona Wisoker, asked if we wanted to stay and share reading time with her. Bonus! I got to hear part of what sounds like a really good novel from Leona, and I got to read my back up story, “Master Pinchpenny’s Heartaches and Cure-alls,” which I think went even better than the first reading.
The rest of the con was quite a whirlwind, but it was a good whirlwind. I went to lots of panels and got some really good ideas for future stories. I got to spend good times with good friends and pick up a new Tee Morris book I’ve been itching to read. But best of all, I made some good publishing contacts, and if all goes well, one of the book release parties at next year’s Balticon will involve me. To say that I’m thrilled is an understatement.
P.S. – All authors mentioned in this post – Vonnie Winslow Crist, Katie Hartlove, Leona Wisoker, and Tee Morris – are well worth looking up and spending some of your precious cash and reading time on. Just sayin’…
