Pearls My Mother Wore

Q & A session at Book Passage on 8/21/2010

Shortly after posting last Friday, I received a 911 style call from a friend in need.  She’s getting a divorce and was overwhelmed by the avalanche of uncertainty that comes with it.  To make this all about me   I have to say her call and subsequent visit put my gold-plated, performance anxiety problems into proper perspective.  My friend (not from Sonoma) stayed two nights and was able to attend my big Book Passage event.  The beauty of friendship is that I helped her and she helped me.  I got to stop thinking about myself for awhile, and she was able to divert some of her own head-chatter.

My lapel pins each had pearls of some variety in them

The Book Passage event was wonderful.  I was nervous that not enough people would show, but it turned out that the room was over two-thirds full.  During the Q & A, I passed around a collection of book markers I had made as a take-home gift for each of the audience members.  They were put together with ribbon and a slightly varied combination of pearls and beads that dangled from the ends.  It was delightful to notice the care and attention the guests took when making their selections.

Coming off my Saturday evening performance high, late Sunday afternoon I went to San Francisco by myself to a loft space were I heard writers read, actors act and a musician sing and play his guitar; he even led us in a sing-along.  This group calls themselves The Portuguese Artist Colony, and they meet and perform once a month.  I’m sure there’s a story behind that name, but I don’t know it just yet.  It was exciting to be among such talented, unpretentious folk.  Afterward I Facebook friended three of the performers.   I hope to attend more of their gatherings in the future because it was very cool… beat, if you know what I mean.

And lastly for the week, on Tuesday, I went into one of the two local bookstores that we have here in Sonoma where Pearls My Mother Wore is sold, Sonoma Bookends.  I didn’t see any copies of my book and wondered why.  Still massively insecure, I assumed they had pulled them because of a lack of sales.  Mustering up courage, I asked the clerk if she knew anything about my book.  She beamed, “Oh, Hi!  We’ve sold all but one, and it’s in the window.”  Can you believe that?  My novel.  In the window!  Talk about placement.  Ya can’t ask for better placement than that.

So the theme of my week has been questions and answers.  It’s been good for me to think about it in these terms because I’ve noticed how much courage it takes to wait for answers.  I didn’t know what was going to happen at Book Passage, so I had to go and see.  My friend doesn’t know what her future holds, so she has to put one foot in front of the other to find out.  I didn’t know where my books were, but rather than slink out the door and not bother anyone, I asked, and what a pleasant surprise I received.

Lots of reflections but that's Pearls My Mother Wore in the window

Whether it’s interior questions or straight-up question-mark questions, I hope I always have the courage to wait for the answers.

Have a great week, and I’ll post again next Friday.

This entry was posted on Friday, August 27th, 2010 at 9:14 AM and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.