Wednesday night, Shannon read from her new book to a bookstore full of friends. As Shannon wrote on her own blog, the reading went very, very well: she read several funny and poignant excerpts, the audience liked those excerpts, the Q&A period included lots of interesting exchanges, and – yes – the bookstore shifted some units, at $14.95 a pop. (Semi-related reflected-glory observations: Shannon has a great voice for this kind of thing, and she looked amazing, despite suffering with the tail end of her yearly mega-cold.)
I expected to enjoy the event, and I sure did. What’s not to like about listening to your smart, wonderful, gorgeous wife reading from the book she wrote? This is pretty much made of win.
What I didn’t expect was to find the event – and Shannon – so inspiring. By the end of the night, I was suffused with pride and happiness and enthusiasm about The Book and The Author. The Book itself has been a big part of our lives for so long now (honestly, mostly Shannon’s, of course) that it had become almost like furniture – nice, and even necessary in some ways, but part of the daily rhythm of our lives. In parallel, The Author’s work on The Book had become almost like any other household responsibility – time-consuming, effortful, but part of what she does as the homemaker.
Wednesday night’s reading, though, brought The Book and the Author into sharp relief, reminding me – pretty much a bystander/enabler to the writing/editing/publishing process – just how hard Shannon has worked, day in and day out for years. As she said at one point at the reading, she willed this book into existence. She got up up at 5 a.m. for weeks and months straight to pound out sentences and paragraphs and chapters. She hunted high and low for a way to publish the manuscript. After she secured a publisher, she toiled for months to revise the manuscript – and then had to redesign the book herself at the last minute. And now she’s working equally hard to publicize and market the book – leading to events like this and other readings.
It’s incredible, honestly. Sitting there on Wednesday night, I was so amazed and impressed and inspired by everything she’s done. She’s an amazing and impressive and inspiring person. I’m glad she’s my wife.
A few photos:
Joking with Jerry, the owner of the bookstore, during his wonderful introduction.
Talking a little bit about the book.
Reading her last excerpt.
Signing books!
I want to buy a copy!!!!
Awwwww……so sweet! Especially the so-not-true part about looking amazing despite my cold! 😉 (I looked pretty sickly, you guys.)
Thanks, babe. I couldn’t have done it without you. Actually I wouldn’t have had any book material without you, either.
We’re glad she’s your wife, too! Thanks for your love and support!!