Back from the 2012 Dahlonega Literary Festival down in lovely foothills of Dahlonega, Georgia! Though we (my family and I) were only there for a night and a day, we got a great taste of literary fun in a fabulous small town.
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| Our hotel room view |
The hotel room where we stayed--all three of us--was a bit sparse (one of those where you drive up to your door), but we had everything we needed, and something unexpected: a gorgeous view of the North Georgia mountains.
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| Her daddy promised her lots of "jumping on the bed" on the ride down. |
My 3 year-old adored the king-sized bed, and she and my husband had a giggle-fest building pillow forts and "bear caves" on top.
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| Bears in the bear cave |
The fun she had in the hotel room almost made up for the fact that we all slept in there together, and she was up from 2 - 5 a.m. that night. Which meant, of course, so were we. God bless concealer, and the fact that I'd remembered to bring make-up at all.
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| Gold Rush Museum |
The Festival was held on the beautiful campus of
North Georgia College & State University. The buildings seemed so new, fresh and modern. I was especially impressed by the Library Technology Center, where I served on a panel of Appalachian writers during a session called "Appalachia in Fact and Fiction." With enormous windows facing all directions, high-beamed ceilings and wonderful natural light, it's just the sort of study spot I'd gravitate to were I student there.
But I spent most of my time in the Regional/Local Authors area of the Festival, held in the giant first-floor room of the Continuing Education Building. Tables were set up in racetrack style around the room, and organizer Ken Smoke did a great job of helping us authors find the perfect spot and get set up. On advice from my publisher, I brought copies of
Keowee Valley to sell, a handy-dandy display of my book cover that I've been toting everywhere lately, postcards, and a huge bowl of candy. I am not above bribery.
I also decorated my little table with a long scarf made in the Crawford tartan. I wanted to give a little shout-out to my main character, Quincy's, Scottish roots.
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| With author Janie Dempsey Watts |
It was my first time running a booth at a festival, selling my own books. And it was definitely a learning experience. My favorite part: meeting other authors, visiting, and just talking about the writing life. I also had a chance to make new author friends, like 2012 Georgia Author of the Year
Ann Hite (
Ghost on Black Mountain),
Mary E. Kingsley (
Angel), YA novelist
Akaeda Flame (
Champion), and so many more. I also got to "officially" meet other authors and writers I've been connecting with online and over social media, including the fabulous
Kimberly Brock (
The River Witch) and
Alison Law, publisher and editor of
Southern Spines.
Add to all that a quick visit from my sister-in-law and favorite niece who drove up from Atlanta, and it was a jam-packed and thoroughly enjoyable couple of days. I left exhausted, but happy, and ready to add so many great books to my to-be-read pile.
Including
Ann Hite's Ghost on Black Mountain, which I loved hearing her talk about, and is set up in my neck of the woods. Can't wait to get started!
Writing is often such a solitary pursuit. It's so nice to know there are other folks on the same journey, all struggling with time management, with the juggling act that is work-family-writing, with issues with the publishing industry--and who wouldn't change any of it for the world.
P.S. A couple more shots:
Historical marker on Dahlonega's truly cool Public Square.
And, Marilyn Monroe cowgirl boots, just sittin' in a shop window on that same Public Square. Awesome.
