The sun sets on another day…
I watched the Western sky with the lint of a tear in my eyes. Today there was a little magic lost in the world for all time while the promise of magic sits on the horizon. The glimmering sunset lit up my heart and I was full for just a moment.
For quite a few years I have been going to an event called Once Upon a Book. When I first went I was overcome by the magic of it all. The event organizer and I had met earlier in the year at an event in Muskegon, Michigan and at the time I was trying to find my way through a complex path towards some type of success. I felt strongly this was part of my journey.
During my first year at once upon a book I sold quite a few copies of my new novel, Vengeful Son. I was new and did not have a plethora of titles but I had always pushed myself to be positive and find a way to be successful. I still find myself reaching for that Brass Ring quite often. The people were at first standoffish with only a few engaging me or showing any interest beyond their own books. I found myself considering each author and looking not only at how successful they were but at how they helped other authors forward. It was this event that started me on a path to identifying a way for authors help authors and not just themselves. I have been only partially successful.
For whatever reason it seemed as though some authors were very self-centered on their success without care or regard for anyone beyond their small group. The event planner was not a part of this but there were people who fit and those that didn’t fit.
For those of you who have not met me personally my personality can be overwhelming. I am a little over the top, and perhaps a lot over the top. I seem to run at far beyond normal constantly and have a seemingly unlimited number of ideas running concurrently in my head. If I pay attention I can usually pick out 5 to 10 songs being repeated in my mind with a never-ending playlist synchronized to all of the ideas that I get. This little piece causes me take a step backwards and from time to time force myself focus on one item. The sheer chaos that I am consistently faced with is put in check by never-ending positive attitude that I reinforce and rebuild moment by moment.
Because of how I approach everything I had to modify my perspectives as I interacted with authors. Some of them felt the way I felt, yet some of them were very introverted and I may well have terrified them. I continued to spend time listening and learning and trying to interact.
For several years I kept coming to Once Upon a book trying to gauge the people and learn more and more about the intricacies. This year it comes to an end. This year there will be no more OUAB’s in Michigan, at least for now. With that it seems the magic is gone, but it is not. Like a Phoenix from the ashes there will come a time again, and next year OUAB will be in Florida, and perhaps there the magic will continue, and the world will be a better place.