A delightfully bookish evening

I suppose all of the people and places that brush against our lives shape us, but some more so than others. Some people you can know for years without ever truly knowing them. Others, it takes only a short while for them to become the dearest of friends.

If you read my recent series, My Own Ever After, you might remember me mentioning my local coffee shop, Maple and Main. My oldest son and I have spent an obscene amount of time there in the past six months, at first because the internet at our house in the country was sketchy and now because I’ve yet to hook up internet at our new house in town. Over the course of those months, Jacquelyn and Lyal--the mother/son duo who owns the place--have become friends I can’t quite imagine my life without. 

We’ve spent enough time there that they hired Dylan to be a barista. Lyal works with us at 16 Hand, making video and graphics. My younger boys mow their lawns. It’s this fun little money loop, where we’re just passing it back and forth between families.

I don’t know if so quickly formed a bond of friendship because we found people as creative and quirky as us, because we can relate to mother/son team who are friends and business partners as well, or because of the sheer volume of time we’ve spent with them this year. Whatever the cause, they've helped me reshape my world into a brighter one.

It’s been a long time since I’ve done a book event or made any public appearance. I’ve been in survival mode, I guess, barely eeking out a book a year, let alone enjoying those books or my readers. But that, like so many things in my life, is changing.

What better way and place to change it than with the inaugural book event at Maple and Main? I will be one of three local authors appearing at Breaking in the Bookcase on June 1 from 6 – 8 pm. I truly hope you can join us that night, for so many reasons. The top three being: 

1. I adore this place and want to share it with you
2. It’s my first foray back into events—I want it to be as lively and fun as the days of book parties at O’Malley’s on Cherokee Street. No, there’s no alcohol at Maple and Main, but they make a mean latte. (Warning: the coffee at the chain shops will pale in comparison after you’ve had the coffee at Maple & Main)
3. They have regular music events that pack the house. Lyal (a musician) informs me musicians are way cooler than writers. I really want to prove we writers can hold our own.

With reasoning that good, how could you afford to miss it? Speaking of afford, admission is free. Buy a book if you want, but it’s okay if you don’t. Just buy a yummy drink and meet cool people at a delightfully bookish evening!