Wine and Words by Liz Flaherty

I sold my first book in 1998. Alway Annie made its Precious Gems debut in 1999. There have been 20 since then, along with some novellas. While I don't often chase down book signings, I do a few of them every year. Sometimes they're hearteningly successful and sometimes they're...not. Sometimes I spend more money at the venue than I make from book sales. 

And sometimes they're just fun. My friend Nan Reinhardt and I had one of those this weekend. We sat in Whyte Horse Winery for several hours and didn't sell many books. We did drink some good wine, eat some good pizza, and talk to people. 

Nan Reinhardt and Liz Flaherty

The talking to people is what makes me happy. It reminds me that most people are nice, that we're more alike than we are different, that family businesses are special in a way I can't define, that the world--at least in central Indiana--is small indeed. Conversations were cluttered with the words "do you know..." and "that is so exciting." Because other people's good news is even better when it's shared.

I was reminded, as I have to be quite often, that just for fun is a good enough reason for anything you choose to do that doesn't hurt anyone else. Your bottom line isn't anyone else's business. Your friends and family aren't going to love you less on a day you sell three books than on a day you sell three dozen. You'll have those conversations to keep in your memory bank. 

Now I am reminded, once again, that while writing on life's downhill slope is different than it was on the other side, it's still just as much fun. And that's all the reason I need to keep doing it. 

Books2Read: https://books2read.com/FlahertyBlue

Amazon: https://a.co/d/eyEjPDA