ESWA’s December 13th Holiday Book Festival at Cult Classic Brewing helped me realize so many successes, particularly meeting fellow writers, their families, and visitors— connections far more important than book sales, newsletter sign-ups, business cards distributed, and the hard numbers talked about in marketing workshops.
I’d like to thank the woman who lit up the stage with her laughter as we talked about the Skee-Ball Granny, Reginald the Rocket, and The Mime from Jimmy Grits Private Eye. She, as well as the many others with whom I shared my work, brought joy to my heart.
Liz and her son from Brackish Books stopped by our table to share their family’s ingenious mobile bookstore model, which brings books to communities without an independent bookseller. Thank you to Brackish Books for providing valuable bookshelf space for my novel Jimmy Grits Private Eye.
I had the pleasure to share the venue’s stage with three incredible writers: T.J. West who features the Appalachian communities of his roots in his writing, horror writer Henry Corrigan who received word recently of his nomination for a Bram Stoker Award, and mystery writer John DeDakis who once served as senior copy editor for CNN’s Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer. Each of these intriguing men shared stories of themselves with Judy and I no less captivating than the plots and characters in their works.
ESWA’s Executive Director Tara Elliott made us feel part of the greater event. She shared with me her real-time social media postings and checked in with writers and visitors through the day. She, along with many other ESWA volunteers, made the festival run smoothly enabling us to focus our efforts completely upon sharing our loves for reading and writing.
Finally, the pleasure of watching Judy interact with other participants, her encouragement of me, and her support of those around us meant so much.
Experiences such as these, opportunities to share passions and to build relationships, were the festival’s unquantifiable yet very real successes.
david cooper writing 
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