You can keep reading this post. It’s not what you think. When I published A
Rose for Sergei a few years ago I wasn’t as involved in social media as
I needed to be. I quickly learned that
when you self-publish a book everything changes…social media is a
necessity. I began blogging about my
book so readers could find me—as an individual and an author. Other forms of social media soon followed.
Setting up an author page on Goodreads turned
out to be a great way to connect with readers and other authors. I quickly joined a group on that site which
provided support for Indie Authors. My
friend and fellow author described what transpired from that chance
introduction.
* * *
From Brynne Asher’s Facebook page:
“I've told the story how I was a big fat chicken
after writing my first book and it took me forever to get up the nerve to push
publish, right? Well, then it took me
even longer to get up the nerve to be social on Goodreads. I'm not a shy person, but I tend to be a bit
social media shy. Weird, I know.
I joined an Indie author group, thinking it
would be the cure of my shyness. I
introduced myself on the thread and the next author to introduce herself was
also from Northern Virginia. We messaged
a couple times back and forth.
At this point, I'm giving myself a pat on the
back for not being shy and meeting new people, lalala.
Yay me.
Then her next message came through, "We
should meet for lunch."
What??
But she could be an ax murderer.
Or a creepy guy who drove a white van with no windows. Or a freaky-freaky-fan-stalker posing as an
author who really wanted to cut off my thumb to keep forever because she loved
my book so much and she wanted the digit off my hand that created every space
between my eloquently thought out words (not really, it's not like I wrote
Harry Potter).
But still, you get me.
So I went to the hubs. He carries a badge and wields a gun to feed
us and support my bargain shopping habit. I exclaimed, "There's an ax murderer
after me!"
The hubs, who's as un-dramatic as I am dramatic,
said, "You should meet her for lunch. It's a public place, what can happen?"
I asked if he would do surveillance, to make
sure I was okay.
He said unless I was having lunch across from
the Pentagon, then no. But even if I
was, the answer was still no.
So, I loaded my purse up with pepper spray (not
really, but that would be funny now if I had) and went to lunch. I'm so glad I did. She was not an ax murderer and that day I
made a friend for life. Her name is K.
Kidd, she's an extraordinary person who experienced a heartbreaking and
incredible love story at a very young age.
Still, after many long lunches sitting across from her laughing, talking
about books and everything else under the sun, I cannot believe she experienced
what she did.
Her [book] is…worth the read because it's
REAL. It involves falling in love with a
defected KGB agent in the early 1970's, Russia and the Cold War. Her book even had to be approved by the Department
of Defense before she could publish. It
reads like fiction and I loved it.”—Brynne
Asher, Author of The Carpino Series
* * *
My family also expressed concerns about me
meeting a stranger for lunch. I didn’t even
know what Brynne looked like because she uses a photo of her book for her
profile picture. “She” could have turned
out to be a “He” who might be a stalker and/or ax murderer. She was neither of those, and is in fact a
very talented and popular writer of Women’s Contemporary Fiction/Romance.
Our last ax murderers’ luncheon took place last
week as Brynne Asher and her family prepare for a cross-country move. Through our shared experiences we are truly friends
for life. That will not change with
distance. As I’ve said before…people
come into your life for a reason.
