This week is a special one for me as my book Creating a Salon: The Magic of Conversations That Matter officially released on Tuesday (9/9). Though they’ve been around for centuries, salons are experiencing renewed popularity across the planet, including in bookstores. At NVNR, I was part of a “Beyond Book Clubs” panel and learned that several of my panel mates are hosting a salon series at their stores and having a lot of fun with them. Salon-style author and authorless events are springing up everywhere, in restaurants, bars and pubs, and in bookstores with cozy meeting spaces.

The journey from idea to book took years, beginning during the Covid era. I quickly realized the irony of shopping my book proposal for in-person gatherings during a time of enforced isolation, and waited until 2022 to try again. In 2023, I signed a contract with Agate Publishing, and two years later my book is now making its way into bookstores. I’m honored to have come full circle from a former author event coordinator at an indie bookstore to earning a spot in a bookstore’s event calendar. 

One of the absolutely wonderful aspects of our industry is the way we cheer each other on as we follow our dreams. I’ve experienced this grace as I’ve witnessed a collective effort to support my book’s launch into the world. I’m grateful to the SIBA Board for supporting my appearance on the NVNR education panel, and to Ingram/PGW for sponsoring my first official signing for this book during NVNR’s Indie Press Reception. I’m so very appreciative of my regional partners at RAMP: GLIBA, NAIBA, and CALIBA and director Suzanne Shoger for amplifying visibility of my book in their holiday catalogs, and to industry partners Shelf Awareness and Publishers Weekly for spreading the word about Creating a Salon in ways that were a delightful surprise! Beyond the in-house cheerleading from SIBA staff, I’ve also been blessed with many bookseller and author friends in SIBAland who blurbed my book, placed it on their staff picks' shelves in their stores, and shared the news on social media. During a time of cultural turmoil when feelings of disconnection and even loneliness can weigh on many of us, such meaningful support means everything. Thank you all for being part of my author journey, and part of our very special SIBA community.