Publishers Weekly Chooses Picture From The Outcast Signing!

Publishers Weekly Chooses Picture From The Outcast Signing!

Four years ago (or is it five?), I attended my first writerly luncheon. I was so nervous, I had to stop by the bathroom and run my hands under warm water to keep them from feeling dead.

Staring into the mirror, I recited what my southern fiction novel was about, but once we were all seated around the table, I found myself discussing my Mennonite heritage instead (should’ve known to start working on The Outcast then!). At that luncheon, a young lady named Paige Crutcher sat beside me, who was quieter than the rest of us but had the most radiant smile.

I asked if she was a writer as well, and she said that she was.

Later, once everyone else had left, the two of us stood in the lobby of the restaurant and talked about writing and our supportive husbands and whatever else came into our minds. We were the youngest writers in the group. Perhaps because of this, my kinship with Paige was immediate.

Two years later, Paige read the first draft of my southern fiction manuscript and gave me incredible feedback. Though that manuscript is now kept in a drawer, I am so grateful for her willingness to be an early reader of my work.

In November, Paige Crutcher became Publishers Weekly’s southern correspondent. I’m sure I am not the only writer with Nashville roots who knows that this could not come to a kinder, more deserving person.

Therefore, I was unbelievably touched when Paige attended my book signing at Parnassus Books on Tuesday, even though she had a PW dinner to attend that evening as well. She asked to take some pictures of me reading from The Outcast. Standing there behind the podium, I looked up at my friend, recalled that first writerly luncheon where I’d almost lost my lunch from fright, and smiled.

“Feels like we’re just playing dress up, doesn’t it?” I said.

Paige laughed and agreed.

On Friday, I received an email from Paige that said that the picture from the Parnassus signing had been selected as Publishers Weekly’s Picture of the Day! I couldn’t have been more excited, especially since the group shot was an opportunity to promote authors who have helped me take so many steps along the publishing journey….

From L to R: Bob Johnson, author of Child of Time, Wes Yoder, president of Ambassador Agency and author of Bond of Brothers, Lisa Patton, bestselling author of Whistlin’ Dixie in a Nor’easter, Eric Wilson, NYT bestselling author of Fireproof and October Baby, Jolina Petersheim, author of The Outcast; JT Ellison, bestselling and award-winning author of The Cold Room; Roy Burkhead, editor-in-chief and publisher of Nashville’s literary magazine 2nd & Church.