emerging

I don’t drink, and that means I can probably count on one hand the number of times I’ve been inside a bar. I’m not very social and I’m running on fumes as we near the end of the semester. Yesterday wasn’t a good day for me health-wise, but I got myself together and arrived at Franklin Park Bar & Beer Garden for last night’s “Myth & Magic” reading. And I’m *so* glad I did! Penina Roth, the fabulous series coordinator and hostess, made me feel at ease and introduced me to many of the local writers and booklovers who were in attendance. I got to meet and enjoy the readings given by my fellow authors, including Canadian Alexi Zentner who gave me sound advice on how to get noticed by the literary powers that be in Canada. When it was my turn to read I stood instead of perching on the stool and tried to remember to *look* at the audience—which was hard b/c of the bright light aimed right at my eyes. But even if I couldn’t see people’s faces, I could sense that they were listening. Sometimes Wish feels old to me—after all, I wrote it more than seven years ago. But when you read aloud and bring your words to life, you realize how much you still care about your characters and how they rely on you to let them breathe and speak in the world. Last night I decided not to read the entire section I’d prepared and by the time I sat down and let my eyes get used to the bar’s dim lighting, several people had come up to talk about the book. I signed one copy purchased immediately by an enthusiastic reader, and met another woman who had seen me read before and invited me to contribute to her YA anthology on bullying. We took a group photo, I thanked Penina, and then walked home. If you’re a writer, do consider submitting your work for a future reading—the bar is newly renovated, it has an outdoor space, and you can grab a burger if you’re hungry. I plan to go back with friends—being social isn’t easy for me, but it’s almost always worth the effort. Writers need readers, and it’s easy for me to forget that part of my job as an author is to introduce my characters to the “real world.” I’ve got the latest proof of One Eye Open and imagined myself reading that novel aloud to an audience at Franklin Park in the future…

On Sunday I had the pleasure of meeting an editor from Ms.—the only magazine I subscribe to! I’m hoping to write something for their blog on what it means to be an ethical author. But right now I’ve got grading to do…