Juniper Fest
This weekend, Meghan McCarron and I went to the Juniper Festival in Amherst, Massachusetts to see Alan DeNiro read, and to hang out with him, Gavin Grant and Kelly Link of Small Beer Press , and Holly and Theo Black . Alan read from "Home of The" from Skinny Dipping in the Lake of the Dead , and the audience was amused and enthusiastic, as was only proper. There was even cotton candy . More readings need cotton candy. The Juniper Festival is not something I was aware of before we visited, but it's a great event, and next year if I'm in the area, I hope to attend more of the readings and panel discussions, because Amherst is fun town and the mix of writers and readers is eclectic. (And Amherst Books is a marvelous bookstore!) Lucy Corin particularly grabbed my attention with her reading from Everyday Psychokillers: A History for Girls , a novel I now hope to read very soon. (Yes, I know I say that about a lot of books. And I mean it. I'm full of hope.