Pride

I feel like I made an official debut yesterday. On impulse I signed up for a booth at a local Gay Pride event, another experiment to explore the best ways to promote and market my beloved book. This was the first time I made a "public appearance" as an author and the first time I explained the premise of the book to the gay and lesbian community (of which I am a member.)

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I sold and signed seventeen books. That may not seem like much to Stephen King, but to me it was affirming, orgasmic, and awesome. I signed seventeen books. I talked about my hopes in writing 'The Light Stays On', I met dozens--maybe hundreds-- of gay and straight and transgender people and families, some fellow writers, some teachers and counselors, some couples newly in love and others together for a couple of decades.

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It was a good day. I came home pumped and eager to support this book of mine. I'm approaching the sale of 1oo books and I'm shooting for 500 from that, then 1000, then 5000. What I may lack in confidence, I will fill in with elbow grease. And when my heart reminds me that I still have good reason to be sad, I will remind it back that yes, that is true, but we have to move on and appreciate the blessings and love around us. It's not all sad. By any means. And yesterday I knew that for sure. And yesterday I was a first-time author signing books.....