With the official launch of my book coming up, I couldn’t turn down the offer of a ‘practise run’ at talking about it in public at a recent event at Red Books in Wexford town. Red Books is a new addition to the town, having recently expanded operations from Bridgetown – where the ‘Smallest Bookshop in Ireland’ still operates from its quirky, floor-to-ceiling stacked premises on the main street of the village. The Wexford shop, in St. Peter’s Square (by the band-stand), is considerably larger and Wally O’Neill, the proprietor, runs a packed schedule of writing and reading groups, live music, as well as regular readings/launches/events for local authors. He is an avid supporter of locally produced music and writing, and this is reflected in the stock held in the shop. Wexford is so full of creativity right now that a de’Medici character like Wally (who is also a talented, hilarious writer in his own right) is just what the place needs!
The event in question was a ‘Support Local Authors’ event, where 18 recently published books by 15 local authors were highlighted in the run-up to Christmas. I was invited to read on the night, and it was only after I agreed to do it that I realised how difficult and complicated it was going to be. To start with, the idea of speaking in public in any kind of formal way terrifies me. I’ve spent so much time alone over the past few years, and that doesn’t do your social confidence any good at all. Secondly, my book is so personal. It’s one thing writing something and imagining somebody else reading it – I had fully prepared myself for the likelihood that people who did and didn’t know me would be reading about some of my deepest, darkest secrets. But I had never imagined being around as they read it, and I certainly hadn’t imagined what it would be like to read passages of my book aloud to a crowd. I was unsure about what chapter to read on the night – I knew that I wanted to send out a strong message about particular themes, but I wasn’t at all confident about how I would manage reading some of the content aloud with an audience present.
Thankfully, it all worked out just fine. There was a difficult moment, when I was reading about some of the horrors my children endured. It was impossible to read without being brought right back to that terrible time. My voice faltered and emotions overtook me briefly. But I pushed through my nerves and the grief and continued to read to a packed crowd, comforted by the easy company, friendliness and encouragement of the other local writers – and the kindest group of readers a writer could wish for! It isn’t easy to expose yourself like that, but I’m glad I did it and I’m looking forward to doing it again.
The event attracted local and national media coverage – and I got some incredible feedback on ‘This is Me’. I’m delighted to have it stocked alongside books from other local writers there on the night, such as Billy Roche, Eamonn Colfer and Emma Ennis, to name just a few.
Next up – the launch!
For more info on the book please visit my amazon author page :
http://www.amazon.com/author/margaretbyrneauthor
Media coverage of the ‘Support Local Authors’ event:
https://www.irishmirror.ie/whats-on/arts-culture-news/gathering-authors-wexford-support-local-21068045?
The Accidental Writer 