2017 was a great year for the Rose Glen Literary Festival at the Sevierville Convention Center in Sevierville Tennessee where authors from around the state and country came to sell their books and speak about the books they’ve written!
Here I am, preparing for the arrival of the attendees. These are not all the books I have written as you can tell from perusing other tabs on this blog. But I only had so much room on the rack, and decided to be a little selective this year with my offerings for that reason. One of the books displayed here is by a different author: Adelaide Urqhart.
Author Elyse Bruce was right next to me. Most of her books were from the Missy Barrett series, but she was also marketing books she’s written which are targeted for an older audience.
She and I are also artists. Each year, we collaborate on a painting that is used to advertise the Festival. We both sponsor the Festival in this and other ways because we believe in promoting, reading, literacy, writing, and our fellow authors. Other sponsors are the Sevierville Chamber of Commerce, the Sevier County Public Library System, the Friends of the King Family Library, the Sevierville Convention Center, Old Mill Pigeon River Pottery, and WVLT 8 Knoxville.
Here is an advertisement that includes our painting. It was seen in print and television media in a multi-state area.
The crowd was packed, and for good reason.
There were a number of presenters there which were held in high regard. This is June Hall McCash, author of “Titanic: A Love Story.” Here she is alongside our painting. And within the painting, is a young woman reading her book.
Also present was Dr. Bill Bass, co-author of the Jefferson Bass “Body Farm” books. His and co-author Jon Jefferson’s book, “Death’s Acre,” is the one being read by the fellow on the porch in the painting.
And here is Jon Jefferson…
And this is a picture of Elyse Bruce and I with Pulitzer Prize nominee (and the event’s keynote speaker), Ben Montgomery, author of “Grandma Gatewood’s Walk: The Inspiring Story of the Woman Who Saved the Appalachian Trail.”
Lunch was Beef Wellington with the appropriate accompaniments. Before and after, there were a lot of opportunities for people to interact with local, regional, and national authors.
ArtieQ fans will be pleased to see that “Spectral Septet” was on sale at the event. One of the stories within the book “Alien Invasion” has ArtieQ as one of the main characters.
All in all, it was a FUN Festival.
Remember that it happens every February folks, and so if you’ve missed it, you’ll have more chances in the future to attend meetings with well-known authors, browse among the books being sold by even more authors, and… you’ll probably get a chance to meet me, too!
Thomas
Author Thomas D. Taylor's Official Blog 