Hanging in the 'Ham with Writers

Yesterday, I was a guest lecturer at Anita Saxena's Pelham Writing Workshop: How to Write a Novel. We had around eighteen attendees, ranging in age from 15 to 55. I gave the full two hour ScripTips presentation and signed books afterwards. Thanks to Anita for inviting me and to all the attendees-- you were a great audience. 

Then I jumped in the car and drove from Pelham to Hoover, to the Little Professor Book Center, where four middle grade and YA authors were stopping in on their southeast tour, the Southeast Summer Book Bash! Lynne Matson, Lindsay Cummings, Robin Constantine and Jaye Robin Brown were all there, in a round-table discussion with fans. They kindly pulled me in and we talked until Little Professor closed about all things writing and publishing (and some things not!) 

Local YA author Stephen L. Duncan showed up, along with a friend from the Cahaba Brewing Co, and we went from there to The Garage Cafe, a very hip dive on Southside. We sat around in the outdoor patio in a sort of junk yard with rusty found objects everywhere, stone patio benches, and christmas lights threaded through the trees. Cash only. Only bottled beer and sandwiches, and you order the sandwich by walking into the kitchen area and telling the cook what you want. Which was the perfect place the the occasion! We stayed out until about 10:30 talking. A great time was had by all!