Keeping Up! by DL Larson

Last Saturday I attended the first Local Author Fair the Aurora Public Library has ever sponsored. The day was dreary and rainy, a plus, I thought to getting folks to come inside on the last Saturday of the summer. The atmosphere inside was warm and welcoming, a beehive of activity with librarians greeting authors, providing lunch and a social hour for authors to reconnect with each other and meet new people who share the same line of work.

"Catch a Bunch of Authors" was the theme for the author fair. I have a wonderful picture but was unable to download it from my files ~ the picture is a bouquet of books of the featured authors attending the fair. This is point #1 of trying to keep up ... why can't I do what everyone else does so easily?????? I'm growling under my breath after the tenth try, so imagine a colorful picture of a bunch of books all tied up in an attractive setting that looks like a bouquet!

The next item I wanted to share with you is a picture of one of Acme Authors good friends, Norm Cowie, humor author, who also attended the fair. Norm and I had a fun chat ~ he did most of the talking while I laughed. My daughter-in-law took our picture. I was happy to have a current picture to share with everyone. She sent her picture to my phone where it now permanently waits for me to learn how to move it to my computer. By the time I learn this bit of magic, Norm and I both will have aged beyond recognition! So point #2 of trying to keep up ~ learning technology at my age is not easy! If only my granddaughters were home, they could have had these pictures on display in no time. If only my daughter-in-law wasn't at work, she could send the picture via time space continuim or some other form of hocus-pocus.
But alas, it's just me here and so please imagine Norm and me smiling into the camera with thousands of fans swarming around us wanting our authographs. It's a great shot. Really.

One thing I enjoy at author fairs is meeting people. It's always fun to talk shop with another who understands the demands, the dreams and the realities of being a writer. It's especially enjoyable that we can be chatting away until someone on the other side of the table looks interested in our books and then we re-focus on the potential customer. After the person moves on, with or without a purchase, we pick up where we left off, discussing marketing strategies, deadlines and who is fixing what for supper. Point of trying to keep up #3 ~ no matter how many pictures I take and can't retrieve, I connected with another writer or two and that's a connection I will enjoy and treasure long after the pictures have been deleted.

Thank you Aurora Public Library for sponsoring such a memorable event!

Til next time ~

DL Larson