Townsend Prize

On April 16, my publisher and a friend and I attended the awards ceremony for the Townsend Prize. It was held at the Callanwolde Arts Center, which is on the home and estate of Asa Candler, the original Coca Cola man. It's a beautiful setting, and we were celebrities with a red carpet and fluted glasses of champagne (which gave me a headache). By Friday I was back to digging in my garden!

I was sort of out of my depth as a nobody from Northwest Georgia, the dark horse of the competition. However, last week the AJC featured my book in its Arts section.

It was one of those "I don't belong here" moments, although they assured me I did. Especially Ann Hite, one of the judges, who told me how well regarded my book, Lying In, was in the competition (although I didn't win).  I was in esteemed literary company and have the photos to prove it.

The Georgia Writers Museum and the Atlanta Writers Club were and are gracious hosts, and it was quite a celebration of writing in Georgia. I owe them  thank you notes; today would be a good day for that.  With the end of the semester and retirement pending and life in general, I am overwhelmed right now.

Denene Millner won for One Blood, which I purchased. I will read all of them eventually.  

However, one thing I know: you cannot rest on the laurel of one recognized book. I must get back to writing; my fiction brain has been dormant, maybe comatose, for a year.  Not good.  I have ten to twelve ideas--what should I pursue? That's the big question. Lying In will be a hard act to follow.