What better way is there to spend a Friday afternoon than with your fellow writers ... unless it's also with readers?
That's where I was last Friday, with about 20 authors at a First Friday at the Jesse Stuart Foundation in Ashland, Kentucky, where I live. It was an eclectic group, with a number of people who wrote local history or memoir and a few of us plain old fiction writers there, too.
Sharing the question "So what do you write?" is so much fun, because it really gives you an insight into people, and you quickly learn a little of their history and a lot of their philosophy toward writing.
Chatting with readers is an experience I love and introducing them to the world of e-books is something I often get to do. Of course, there are a whole lot of people who ask "Is it available on Kindle?" which means they're already reading digital books.
Ten years ago, when the e-book phenomenon first started, who would have imagined where it would be today? I figure books are doing what music did a long time ago, creating a format that allows people to use electronic devices for their enjoyment. Remember when MP3 players first became big? Yeah, and look at them now.
I must confess I like to hold a book in my hand and have an author sign that front page. But for sheer convenience, you can't beat a device that lets you carry hundreds of books on vacation and fits in your carry-on!