A Book Club & So Much More

I sat in on a book club meeting for the very first time the other night.  When I think about it, I really can’t imagine how I have never been a member of a book club anytime during my whole lifetime of reading. 

An organizer I purchased when I once
thought about starting a book club

However, I did not attend this meeting as a member.  Instead, I attended as the author of the book the group read last month.  Now, this is something I really hadn’t thought about when I first published No Mother of Mine.  I hoped people would read the book.  I really hoped people would like, even love, the book.  But I never imagined a group of women sitting around in a cozy living room after a nice meal as they discussed my book. 

When I was informed the book club would be reading my book, it was just one more thrilling aspect of this life as a writer I’m getting accustomed to.  I wrote a post about An Author’s First two months ago and this happened to be one of the firsts on the list.  It is now one I can cross off my list.

So what did I expect?

Since I have never been a member of a book club, I could only guess what it might be like and it’s not a difficult guess to make…a group of like-minded readers get together to discuss the most recent book chosen for the group.  What they liked about it, what they didn’t like…what they’d like to read the following month.

But it was more than that. 

It was a group of ladies who have much more in common besides books.  Many of them have known each other for years, they have an effortless and unassuming way about them and they communicate with each other as a group that would give any outsider a desire to participate or wish for such a group of friends themselves.

Not only was the night complete with good company and conversation, it was topped off with a terrific dinner and dessert.  I should not have been surprised at how the evening was hosted.  These ladies have been gathering for quite awhile on a regular basis.  Of course they know what they’re doing. 

What I had to wrap my head around was the fact that they were gathering to discuss my book.  Really, it’s just one more surreal piece to the very amazing puzzle I am putting together as I continue on this journey as an author.  It’s a seriously amazing feeling.

When you’re talking about yourself and how your imagination and creativity works, it can be a bit difficult to explain but whether it makes sense or not to those who are listening, it is nice to talk about the process and how it ended with the final product being held in a book club member’s hands.  I don’t believe I was able to fully answer all of the questions asked of me the other night but it certainly gave me a better understanding of what to expect should I take part in another discussion like this.  There are some questions I wished I could have answered more completely and now that I think about it, there are some questions I would have probably liked to have asked of them.  An experience to learn from, certainly, and one I hope will help me if I get to experience this type of gathering again. 

I’d like to end this post with a very heartfelt thank you to the gracious ladies who extended to me the invitation to attend their book club meeting.  It was a terrific evening and left me energized with the excitement and interest the group displayed about my work.  I truly appreciate the feedback I received and I very much enjoyed the group’s enthusiasm.  It is that enthusiasm which further fans the flames of my passion to write.