So. It happened and I’m still here. Breathing.
I didn’t embarrass myself or Eric Smith. Whew! Yes! I am talking about participating in my FIRST book signing as an author. Wow. It felt amazing to write that.
I’ve attended scores of book events and imagined that I was in the front of the room talking about my book project, my characters, my story. On Thursday, October 5, my whispered wish to myself came true. But, I wasn’t alone.
Welcome Home An Anthology on Love and Adoption
is a collection of 29Â adoption-themed fictional short stories that work to give a voice and a face to people touched by adoption. Adoptees, foster parents, first moms and dads and other family members are placed under the spotlight of understanding. This book was necessary and I’m so happy I was given a chance to be a part of it.
Thanks to this man here, Eric Smith, the editor of the book, contributor and brainchild. It was his vision that got us here.
He worked hard to get this book out and it almost didn’t get published. Read more about the process here. Now, back to the book signing. It was awesome.
I got a chance to meet a few of the other anthology contributors and share the stage with them. Sammy Nickalls, Caela Carter, Matthew Quinn Martin and Libby Cudmore are all amazing authors who I look forward to learning more about. Look at us!
Sammy Nickalls, Caela Carter, Matthew Quinn Martin, Tameka Mullins and Libby Cudmore pose at Welcome Home Book signing on October 5, 2017 at WORD Bookstore in Jersey City. Eric Smith, editor of Welcome Home took the photo.
After a great introduction, we were all given a chance to read from our stories and we had a full house! I was happy to see that the audience was engaged and interested in our different takes on the adoption experience. The star of the night had to be Eric’s young nephew. He was a delight and asked the best questions! I love young people who are enchanted by books and reading.
It was also a thrill to have on the spot reactions to your material. I got some laughs as I was reading and also saw that people were interested and smiling. There is no better feeling as a writer. See, we create in silence most times and don’t often get a chance to see how people are responding to what we have created. So these moments I truly cherish.
I am also glad I got to share this day with my BFF Jennifer who is a fellow author. She rocks! We had lunch and dinner at some cool spots and talked books and life before and after the reading. It was an amazing day from start to finish even in spite of me being a little moody in the earlier part of the day.
There is something about sharing your art with good friends and new readers though that cures all ills.
Author Jennifer Poe, listening intently at the Welcome Home Book Signing at WORD Bookstore.
Look, mom (here and in heaven) I’m signing books!
Me, signing books for the store. Squee! 🙂
It was great to meet Eric Smith’s dad! What a nice man!
Me, talking to Eric’s dad and signing a book for him.
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More meeting and greeting and book signing!
As you can see, this was a great event. I look forward to doing more of this as my writing career grows and develops. To have this to be my first experience as a professional author interfacing with readers and friends, was more than I could have ever asked for. It was lit! Literally!
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© 2017, TamekaMullins. All rights reserved.
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.