I was thrilled to be invited as keynote speaker and panelist at the Ponte Vedra Beach Library’s celebration of Indie Author Day.
While in St. Augustine the day before, my husband and I lunched at AlA Ale Works at the end of King St. facing the bay.
Across the wide grassy square outside was The Treasury on the Plaza, where our daughter got married five years ago. We found a cute mini donut place down the street from this location. Then we strolled down Saint George St. to window shop. The weather was windy and drizzly so we headed to our hotel to huddle in for the night.
The next morning, we drove north along Rt. A1A toward Ponte Vedra Beach. This was a half hour trip along a two-lane road with occasional glimpses of the rough surf to our right. I had been craving a view of the ocean and wished we could have lingered but we didn’t have time.
The library staff were very welcoming. The room was crowded as I gave my speech talking about my career struggles and how to conquer the doubt demons that plague all authors.
A panel followed where we answered questions about self-publishing. My fellow panelists, Melody Pendlebury and Ken Overman, write in entirely different genres, so it was interesting to hear their responses. Vic DeGenti, an eminent member of Florida Writers Association, moderated.
We sat at tables next to sell and sign our books, while the Friends of the Library supplied sandwiches for lunch.
The rest of the day included a book fair with other indie authors. As I did not partake in this, we ducked out to head home. I was glad to meet the friendly library staff and so many inquisitive writers. I hope they gained what they’d come to learn.
