GOSSIP FROM THE GIRLFRIEND GATHERINGS

Learning from YOU to empower ME !

Girlfriends on the Road – Meeting A Legend

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Woman with travel cases.Last weekend, I volunteered at and attended the 7th Annual Austin African-American Book Festival at the Carver Library and Museum in Austin, Texas. At this event I had the opportunity and great pleasure to meet/greet one of my all-time favorite authors – Terry McMillan. I also discovered two new authors – Anita Richmond Bunkley (“A Thousand Steps”) and Dr. Michael Collins (“Understanding Ethridge Knight”) – who were also guest authors at the festival.
During the opening of the festival, each participating local author gave a brief introduction about their work to the audience. The two authors that really impressed me were Kaneisha Grayson (“Be Your Own Boyfriend”) and Sherry Ransom (“Three Paths, Three Choices” and “The Art of Growing Older Gratefully”). Ms. McMillan was the opening keynote speaker in which she frankly imparted her words of wisdom and support about the writing life to the local authors at the festival.
After the opening event, each guest author gave a speech, read excerpts from their latest book, and answered questions from the audience. Ms. McMillan read excerpts from her upcoming book “Who Asked You?” which will debut in September 2013. Listening to her read from her work was very exciting and it was amazing to see her characters come to life in that reading. I fell in love with them and I am sure others in the audience did, too. As usual, with her words she evoked emotions from all of us with her mesmerizing story. I have already pre-ordered my Kindle version of her new book. There were many aspiring authors in the audience (like me!) and she encouraged us to pursue our art.
After she spoke, a book signing was held in the grand foyer of the library. Ms. McMillan was very gracious and accommodating to all of her fans in attendance with book signings/photos. She has a great sense of humor and made us all laugh when she talked about her discovery of one of our treasures here in Texas — TexMex food!
It is a good feeling to meet someone you admire and find they are just as you imagined.

Terry McMillan - 1

Terry McMillan and Me
QUESTION:
Have you read any of Terry McMillan’s books? If so, which was your favorite?
Have you ready any of Anita Bunkley’s books? If so, which ones?
Have you ever met someone you admired? If so, who? Please share your experience.

Girlfriends on the Road – In the City that Keeps it “Weird”

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If you are a book lover, then you should have joined me to attend the 17th Annual Texas Book Festival in Austin, Texas.   I am a native Houstonian but I have fallen in love with Austin!  I have found that it is rich in cultural surprises and my visit to the Texas Book Festival has proven to be one of the most engaging events.

The 2012 festival sessions were held in tent locations on Congress Avenue and in various locations inside of the beautiful Texas State Capitol building – even inside of the House and Senate chambers.   The weather was beautiful on both days with just enough chill to warrant a quick stop at Starbuck’s in between sessions.

It was my first book festival and I had a great time discovering authors and books that I never would have encountered had I not attended the festival.   Some notable mentions are

Tony Danza – “I’d Like to Apologize to Every Teacher I Ever Had: My Year as a Rookie Teacher at Northeast High”

Damien Echols – “Life after Death: A Conversation with Death Row Survivor Damien Echols”

Naomi Wolf – “Vagina – A New Biography”

Henry Wiencek – “Master of His Mountain: Thomas Jefferson and His Slaves”

Ron Rozelle – “The Forgotten Texas Catastrophe: The School Explosion that Killed 300 Children”

Jodi Egerton – “Secret Sex Lives: A Year Spent on the Fringes of American Sexuality”

Jenna Hays McEachern and Edith Royal – “DKR-The Royal Scrapbook”

As you can see from the list above, the subject matter was very diverse and attractive to all types of readers.   There were also sessions for children books and Jewel was there to talk about her new book for kids.   So, the festival is a wonderful venue for family entertainment.

This was such a wonderful event for me and well worth the 3 hour drive from Houston to Austin.  I plan to make this an annual event and hope that all of you will consider it in your future plans.

QUESTION:

Are you a book lover?

If so, what types of books do you read?

Are you willing to expand your interests from your normal subject matter?

Would you consider attending the Texas Book Festival?