So I was blessed to be able to go to this event where part of the proceeds from the sale of the books goes to help increase literacy rates and reduce crime in Robeson County and Lumberton, NC.  75 authors under one roof, many breakout sessions, and a celebrity chef all add to the enticement to go. 

With such a nice weather prediction for the day, nothing planned, and a drive which is about 3 hours away but it was well worth it. I set off for Lumberton and added a few stops on the way back - mainly to Books A Million which is a good 40 minutes from home. I also stopped at the big pottery and crafting area.  

I first heard about this from Regina Jeffers a very Austen-esque writer who carries the characters of Jane Austen into new journeys.  I've been a fan of her books for a while and tried to go to this event last year but couldn't. She sat on a panel with three other authors and I will soon read their books as well. 

Authors from all genres and a good selection of children's authors as well. The most ironic encounter was with Chip Putnan, a teen sci-fi author from my town who had also traveled down for the event. His book is the first in a series called The Guardians of Knowledge. Some of the other authors I met were: Sherry Rentschler - Midnight Assassin, Hector Miray - Finding Faith in Geek Culture, Sandy Bruney -A Question of Boundaries, Elizabeth Burgess (children and adult writer) - The Twins Cafe and Helen McLeod Rogers - God Loves You Better than Mac and Cheese. 

I talked to so many more but these ones, were special. Helen told me we all have a story and I should write mine. We were talking about our Scottish history and my grandparents meeting. She also said something like "God writes her stories, she adds the mistakes (or typos).

This event is wonderful and I recommend it to all who want to attend.