Life throws opportunities at us every day and it’s our job to recognize them and take advantage. Not in a greedy, selfish way, but in a this-may-never-happen-again sort of way.
Today, I got to shake hands and trade stories with NYT best selling author and creator of the Walt Longmire series, Craig Johnson. Now, Craig and I talked for all of sixty seconds, but I got a photo op and managed to tell him A) thank you for coming to Colorado and B) that Pikes Peak Writers Conference (my home con) has long sought him as a keynote but understands that he spends April in France with his wife. He appreciated the sentiment and signed a book for my dad who is a die hard fan of the series.
Literary icons are writers with the same struggles.
My point is that we writers often look to our literary icons as these titans who exist beyond the reach of normal mortals. In truth, they are people–people who’ve gone through the crucible I wish to endure–and wish to be treated as such.
A few years back I had the privilege of coordinating the faculty for a writers conference. I locked in four NYT bestselling authors. Three as keynotes and one as faculty. Five-time Bram Stoker Award winner Jonathan Maberry had come the year before and wanted to teach more and so agreed to return as faculty the following year. That conference saw keynotes Anne Bishop, Rachel Howzell Hall, and John Gilstrap.
Long story short, I connected with those NYT bestselling writers. Maberry gave a blurb for the very first anthology I was featured in. Howzell Hall provided a blurb for one of my short stories. John Gilstrap read the opening chapters of my novel manuscript and said, “Holy Shit!”
Don’t rest on your laurels
Now, I’m not saying Craig Johnson is about to print a review on my next novella. But, I am encouraging all writers to make connections, to seize every opportunity to support each other, and promote the work of fellow writers. I would love for John Gilstrap to be a fan as I am of him. I would love for Rachel Howzell Hall to buy my latest as I have hers. If none happen, it doesn’t matter, I have made connections, I have seized opportunities. I have made friends and memories.
John Gilstrap with a lesser known author
To me, friends and memories are more important than sales. My thanks to the “big names” that have connected with me over the years: Kevin Hearne, Donald Mass, Carol Berg, Tess Gerritsen, Mary Robinette Kowal (to whom I owe a puppet show), Jonathan Maberry, Rachel Howzell Hall, and (thanks for lunch) John Gilstrap.
(revised to correct misspellings and add author links)
