Tucson Festival of Books

It was the last thing I expected. I received the email on the 12^th of January, an invitation to participate in one of the largest book festivals in the United States—without having to be there in person. With my fixed income that does not include a travel budget, this arrangement offered me an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.

The Tucson Festival of Books will take place this year on March 14-15 on the University of Arizona campus. It attracts an estimated 135,000 attendees, a diverse audience of book enthusiasts and families from Southern Arizona and across the state and nation. The festival’s primary mission is to celebrate literature and promote literacy, making it a gathering point for anyone interested in books, reading, writing and community engagement. My publisher, Wheatmark, Inc., is one of the many participating independent publishers. My three books, written under my pen name EsthersChild, will be displayed in their booth for easy browsing by Festival attendees.

I’ve never been good at marketing, never really committed to pursuing the endeavor though urged to do so by good intentioned friends. My writing has always been organic, cathartic, spontaneous and deeply personal, like music being emitted through my pores. My latest book, Before the Bow Breaks, epitomizes the truth of my authorship: I wrote it to give my daughter the voice she never found in life.

Welcoming in the new year I did not imagine such an opportunity would present itself to me. Always a little on the shy side, I’m pleased with the prospect of sharing my books with whoever finds their way to the table on which they're displayed. Meanwhile, I’ll be here at home waiting for Spring to arrive, and for warm breezes to carry many feathered visitors to my newly hung bird feeder.

P.S. My mother's name was Esther.