If we weren’t moving this summer, I probably wouldn’t have driven to Charlotte last night. Right now, I am beyond tired, with my eyeballs drooping and just enough motivation to brew some strong, hot tea and keep pushing through.
How tired am I? I just tried to download this picture from Facebook onto my phone so that I could then upload it into Dropbox so that I could post it here, and I was getting frustrated that Facebook was glitching on my phone. It took me several minutes to remember that I could just…pull up Facebook on my computer? Download my own photo? Yeah. That’s where I am.
Anyway, the reason I was in Charlotte was because there is a local Books & Brews event that a writing friend of mine started up, and I asked if I could attend as one of the writers. He cautioned me that it hadn’t really gotten a huge audience yet, but I figured that if the worst thing that happened was that I got to visit with some of my people, then it would be worth the drive.
And it was! I showed up a little early, grabbed a coffee from the Target Starbucks, and then headed over to set up. My friend and I ordered some food and I had my one drink (a darn good local sour). The event ran officially from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., although I ended up staying a few minutes later. Toward the end of the evening, I even sold some books–enough to cover the cost of dinner AND the seven beers I bought off the shelf to bring home to the spouse.
At one point, my friend apologized again for the small crowd. I told him, first, that I appreciated the opportunity to come and hang out with my friends, writing and otherwise, in a setting where we got to actually sit and have a conversation. It was a lovely time, and I really enjoy spending quality time with people I like hanging out with.
Also, I told him, when I was in high school and college, I played in a band. We would drive two hours to some shitty dive bar in the middle of nowhere on a weeknight and play for a disinterested audience of two, which was one less than the number of women in the band, and then drive back home and still call it time well spent. So this sort of occasion was kind of par for the course. And hey! I got to see another friend who I don’t get to spend a lot of time with, being that they live in Charlotte. So, wins (and drinks!) all around.
The next time I’m on the road will be to Ret-Con in Durham, the last weekend in February. I will be there with a full table of books and signage, and will also be on panels and attending panels and doing all sorts of fun things. If you happen to be in the area, stop by!
And finally, a shout out to author Patrick Dugan, my friend who invited me to the event, and presented me with these two lovelies for my girls.
He makes and sells these at conventions, as well as on his Etsy store, Distracted Dragon 3D. Just wanted to send a shout out!
Anyway, I am hoping that some sort of energy sneaks back in. I’ve got a bunch of editing, a bunch of critiquing, and a bunch of writing and slush reading to get through. I should probably go and start making my way through the list. In the meantime, hope you enjoy the pictures, and hope to see you later next month in Durham!
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