Tomorrow morning, I have a speaking engagement. I'm going to be talking about
Erin's Ring with two local chapters of the Daughters of the American Revolution. [Pause to furrow brow and chew on a fingernail, while the two-note "Jaws" soundtrack music plays in my head.]
Where was I? Oh yes, the speaking engagement tomorrow.
The venue for this event is the Dover Public Library, which is totally apropos, since this building is practically a supporting character in the book. The library is where Molly and Theresa's friendship is cemented, as they spend Saturday mornings there together, combing through documents in the Historical Room upstairs in hopes of uncovering the origins of an old engraved Claddagh ring that Molly found in the garden outside of St. Mary's Church.
I just realized something: this gathering is not only taking place at the library, but on a Saturday morning, too. The DAR and I (who will become fast friends, I hope) will be practically reenacting a scene from
Erin's Ring!
I am bringing along some signed copies of the novel, for anyone who's interested in purchasing them. I'm also planning to give away a "door prize" to one lucky winner.
I was going to include a Claddagh ring in the gift box; but since a ring is size-dependent, I decided upon a Claddagh pin instead. The great thing about a brooch is that it's a one-size-fits-all piece of jewelry.
I may add a few more Irish-themed goodies to this box. I really hope to make the event enjoyable for the attendees, some of whom may be young readers. The gal who arranged the whole thing said they specifically wanted to have it on Saturday morning, rather than on a school night, so that young people would be able to attend as well.
When I was interviewed on the radio recently (on Ken Huck's "Meet the Author" radio show), my daughter-in-law Preciosa marveled that it didn't make me nervous talking to someone without having any visual clues to let me know how it was going. She is a social person, an extrovert to my introvert, and she said that for her, it would be so much easier to speak in front of a crowd. Not for me, I told her; having no visual clues was actually the PERFECT scenario for me. If I'd been talking face-to-face with Ken, I might have read too much into his expressions and imagined that my long-winded answers were boring him. I'm a fast-talker anyway, but sitting across from him probably would have made me speed it up even more. Chatting into the phone, to a disembodied voice, was actually the ideal set-up for me. (Who would have guessed that I'd be comfortable talking on the radio?)
Thinking about tomorrow is giving me a case of the jitters, however, so I would appreciate your prayers! Pray that I don't get all tongue-tied or go off on crazy tangents. Pray that I can stay calm and collected, and that I can speak at a reasonably slow pace so that I'm not tripping over my words. But most of all, pray that if it's God's will, this talk tomorrow will help to get
Erin's Ring into the hands of even one young reader who might be inspired or edified by it.
Thanks, dear readers. I'll be back Monday to let you know how it went. [Pause to chew on a fingernail again..."Jaws" theme playing...AAAGGGHHH!] No really, it'll be just fine. It will!
(P.S.: Just a quick reminder about the giveaway. Leave me a comment by Halloween, and you could win a signed copy of Erin's Ring. No trick here, I promise; all treat!)
