I had the opportunity last Thursday night to attend the meeting of a local book club after they read The Scourge. I’d never talked about my writing in front of a group of people, particularly not mostly-strangers, and as I’ve said before, I’m not the greatest at thinking/speaking on my feet. So I was pretty nervous. But they were a lovely group of women, and I was overwhelmed and humbled by their enthusiastic support of my writing, and the book.

It was gratifying to hear their questions and ideas, and to talk about some of the themes of the novel, including prejudice, oppression, and the stigma of mental illness. I asked what questions they have for the sequel and loved hearing their answers, plus how many of them would like to read a sequel! Several women said they would suggest their tween/teen children read the book and proposed having a book club meeting with them to discuss it. I’d be thrilled to attend.

So thank you to Cheryl and Ali for hosting the meeting, and Rachel for suggesting that the group read my book. And an especially big thank you to Rachel’s daughter Alexis for baking a cake for the occasion! Chocolate frosting and green frosted trees were employed to evoke the dark, forested setting of the book, and “T.S.” represented “The Scourge.” It was tasty, too. Definitely a memorable evening.