I had a lovely time tonight kicking off the Friends of the Library Summer Seminar series with a talk on Florida Piracy in the 19th C. There was a much larger turnout than I expected and we packed the little airconditioned office at the "bookhouse", the warehouse where the FoL has their twice a year booksales to raise extra funds for the Alachua County Library District.
The crowd was enthusiastic though, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly, talking about researching pirates, sharing Florida history, and the joy of a profession where it's "work" to drive to St. Augustine for the day and walk the streets to get a feel for how life was in the 18th C. town.
I played it smart and didn't drink the offered wine during my program. I made the mistake last year at Worldcon in Scotland of taking advantage of my free drink chit before my program. Not a pretty sight.
I also had some sales after the talk, and while that was helpful, the best part was just getting out there and sharing my work with a whole new audience. And soon we're off to the state Bar Convention! Those lawyers need more romance in their lives. I'll pack plenty of copies of my books.
The crowd was enthusiastic though, and I enjoyed myself thoroughly, talking about researching pirates, sharing Florida history, and the joy of a profession where it's "work" to drive to St. Augustine for the day and walk the streets to get a feel for how life was in the 18th C. town.
I played it smart and didn't drink the offered wine during my program. I made the mistake last year at Worldcon in Scotland of taking advantage of my free drink chit before my program. Not a pretty sight.
I also had some sales after the talk, and while that was helpful, the best part was just getting out there and sharing my work with a whole new audience. And soon we're off to the state Bar Convention! Those lawyers need more romance in their lives. I'll pack plenty of copies of my books.
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