"The Johnstown Book Festival

"The Johnstown Book Festival - It Was A Hit!"

On Saturday, August 29, 2015, I went on a road trip with a fellow author to the Johnstown Book Festival at Lorain Burough Park in Johnstown, PA. This wasn't the typical book festival chock full of authors selling their books. Instead, it was an intimate group of authors (many of them I already knew) who ventured to Johnstown for a literary event created by Sharon Lucas, President of the Reading Divas Book Club. She thought it would be a great idea to add this component to the Johnstown 50 & Over Reunion. And it was a fantastic idea.

When we arrived, the warm welcome we received made us feel right at home. Throughout the day, the activities were nonstop: the DJ was bumping old school music, folks were singing karaoke, line dancing, playing bingo, etc.

All the authors (from left in the photo below: Dionne Peart, Me, Dr. Hattie Washington, Renee Daniel Flagler, Nanette Buchanan) had a great time singing along with the music, dancing and drinking our coolers (Jamaica Me Happy) as we enjoyed the delicious meals. What can I say...the fried fish at lunch was da bomb! And dinner was very delicious too!

Overall, it was a great day. We had a chance to read from our novels, meet new readers, and laugh and chat with them. We networked with each other and traded writing tips and tricks. I was also impressed with some of the authors who could churn out two novels a year. And guess what? Well, now I'm inspired to get my projects off the ground! It was the reality check that I needed.

As we made our way to say our goodbyes to Sharon Lucas, all we could say was, "This was hit!" Until next time, check out some photos from the event:

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