I have been working over the last few months, along with my co-chair David W. Smith, on the relaunch of the St. George Book Festival. It's been a lot of work and I've enjoyed every minute of it. I have been interviewed, quoted, etc. ever since October hit and as the week came closer to the big event (Oct. 14-19, 2013). What I didn't expect was making the front page as the lead story in my local paper.
You can imagine the shock and surprise I felt as I walked into the ballroom of the Lexington Hotel on Saturday October 19th for the final and biggest event of the book festival week...the Book Expo where we had over 30 authors there to talk, sell an autograph their books for Washington County, Utah community for free, to see many of the authors holding up the front page of The Spectrum where I was not only the lead story but also half the page had this picture above printed with it.
I don't think we are ever prepared to see ourselves in the spotlight as an author. I sure wasn't and it's not something I have on my list of goals. Yes, fame can be nice, but I do what I do because I love reading readers and networking with other authors. However, it was still exciting to see and it felt good knowing my community sees the importance of reading and writing.
If you would like to read the story, visit http://www.thespectrum.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2013310180017