9-21-13 RMB Authors Reveles, Pegas and Winters

9-21-13 RMB Authors Reveles, Pegas and Winters

Dear Rita Mae Brown,

On this sunny Saturday afternoon a coworker friend and I travel to the outskirts of the small town of Tecate. It is a border town on the Mexican side. We remain on the California side and wait patiently in the Post Office parking lot for the author Daniel Reveles to meet us. 

The feel there is akin to something out of an old western, where men wear cowboy hats and a dusty wind caresses the ground. Life moves at a slightly slower pace.

We are driving him to a library event, where he will chat with readers young and old, charming them all. Some will go on to read his tales of life, love and magic in the town of Tecate.

Two other authors are already set up at our tables when we arrive, Bette Pegas and Gary Winters. The library is full of people. The promoters have done a good job. We sell a few books, but as with many author appearances, it is more about the authors’ presence than the sales. The sales dollars don’t begin to cover the gas to get there. My time is volunteered.

But this is one of those days that I will remember forever. To sit among three talented authors and discuss what they are working on, what inspires them, what they are doing to promote their work, it is a fulfilling experience. It is what encourages them, and me, to write.

I’ve watched YouTube videos of your appearances, talks, and interviews. Each one offers insight into human nature, animal nature, language, history, and more, including possibilities for our future, for our potential. One of my favorite lines on animal intelligence from a talk you did on the book Animal Magnetism in 2011 is:

“If a thunderbolt comes down, the dog isn’t going to say ‘Ah, this is a punishment from Thor’. It’s just a thunderbolt, you go for cover.”

Paring down to the essentials of life, exchanging insights, exploring concepts of fiction and reality, this is what I love about hearing authors. There are no boundaries. There is an openness.

All too soon, it is time to return to the edge of Tecate, to say our farewells and carry on in our lives, richer for our time together, inspired by our exchange and motivated to write.

Bless the libraries and all they do for our communities; our neighborhood communities and our author communities. And bless you RMB, as well, for all your contributions.

Write on,

Loraine