Writing may be a solitary occupation at times, but not all of the time. Today, I was part of Wellington Festival’s Meet The Author event. A group of us (what is the collective noun for a group of writers?) gathered in the library and set out our stalls.
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While the primary purpose of such events is to sell books (which I did … and I also sold some of my greetings cards too), it’s also a fantastic networking opportunity. It’s lovely to see what other writers are doing, learn more about the projects they’re working on, and find out what inspires them.
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Here’s Phyllis Blakemore being interviewed by Talking Newspapers for the Blind, about her book Gentlemen of the River [amazon_link asins=’1840334738′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’simonwhaley-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’1d7d9d10-b12f-11e7-9a75-71a9084231c7′].
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Bryan’s vampire novel Taken [amazon_link asins=’1447854500′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’simonwhaley-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’6b3edb51-b12f-11e7-9d02-e1c344c3910c’] (which I’ve read, by the way, and is excellent) continues to sell, and Mollie Bolt was selling her poetry anthologies.
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Catherine Cooper, author of the award-winning Jack Brenin series [amazon_link asins=’B004EHZDBQ’ template=’PriceLink’ store=’simonwhaley-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’c7e56bca-b12f-11e7-9558-23e7b537a7c8′], the first of which is The Golden Acorn (again, another excellent read) is always a popular draw. She regularly has crowds of children and adults around her display, all marvelling at her props and displays.
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Olga Merrick writes psychological thrillers. [amazon_link asins=’0992957745′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’simonwhaley-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’474c79aa-b130-11e7-98a1-bdb30692ae03′]
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PR Ellis is prolific, writing two series: the Jasmine Frame novels [amazon_link asins=’1783060689′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’simonwhaley-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’be823476-b130-11e7-8de5-1bd7ca38106d’] and then a SciFi series called Evil Under The Stars [amazon_link asins=’1908168617′ template=’PriceLink’ store=’simonwhaley-21′ marketplace=’UK’ link_id=’3347648d-b131-11e7-b40b-bfecaffe94c3′]
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And then there was Alan Frost, who’s written so many local history books, he’ll go down in local history as the local history man!
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How lovely to be able to do all this in a library. And I have to say, if ever anyone says that children don’t go into libraries any more, well check out Wellington Library on a Saturday. It is packed with kids! Readers of the future!