News from Heidi

I had to keep choking back tears on this night. There I was at my dear friend, B.'s home, in Austin--just falling apart because there was just so much love in the room. B., husband, and family put together a beautiful book party for me in their home. Their friends came out in force for the evening. It just meant so much--my friend celebrating the journey. See, still, I'm getting choked up and don't have the words. Daughter Mattie (age 7) introduced me. (Yes, video to come!) She was so adorable. To top it all off, my high school English teacher came with her daughter. She was the best teacher--it was so amazing to be able to share the moment with her. Someone at the end of the night told me that every tear I forced back would take a year off my life. Let the tears loose. I like that advice. Because they were all happy tears.

My very dear friend Sue went to crazy lengths to celebrate my long journey to publication. I think she scheduled some half a dozen events around town from a meeting with Girl Scouts to a reading at Borders and a lovely reception to cap off the weekend. It was amazing. Unfortunately, the cold that had threatened to take me out all week--finally took out my voice. I couldn't speak for the Saturday night reception. But it was totally worth it. My husband, Sue, and her 12-year-old daughter all subbed for me and each read a small excerpt from the book. It was truly beautiful. Here are some of the wonderful moments from the weekend.

These guys put on a first class event. The crowd was warm and lovely (and big). Lisa's introduction was amazing. (I'll post the video soon.) And I had my voice back! Hooray! Marisa Mattarazo really rocked with her reading from her excellent book Drenched.  Check out the photos from an awesome evening!

Okay, the author green room was really cool. But I felt like the un-cool kid --everybody seems to know each other--a writer's mafia of sorts? I got to meet Terry McMillan--she was so lovely! And had a fun time on the panel with Alison Burnett and fellow Bellwether Prize winner Gayle Brandeis.

I was just blown away by this wonderful evening. My Philly family held a beautiful reception for me. Well, you can see the photos yourself. It was an amazing night. Thank you Hart, Hariette, Doug, and Irene. Thank you to the whole family and to my friends who joined in the celebration too.

Oh, man, do I love the Groux family or what? You really can't imagine what a wonderful night this was. Did you see the cake? Beautiful but also delicious. I had the best time and just hope that everyone else did. Thank you Bill, Susan and Elizabeth for such a lovely night.

Thank you family, Swirl Philly, and even people I didn't know. You guys were great. Thanks for all of your great energy. I loved it!

I went to Stanford just down the street from Kepler's and I really had a dream that one day I would be a writer and I would read there. The dream came true. And what an amazing night it was. Two of my favorite teachers came that night: Professor John Rickford and my English writing instructor Alan Isaacs. They were both so important to me--both encouraged me and both recognized the work I was doing as something special. There's no greater gift from an instructor because it makes you, as a student, want to do more. Be more. You want to make them proud. I hope (and think maybe I did) that night make them proud. Oh, and don't get me started on my love for Laura Selznick, and my old Casa Zapata peeps who came to cheer me on. I love you all!

Thank you to Open Books. And Ragdale and Becca of Open Books. And Jerry's Elizabeth, the young girl who touched my heart that night.

Thank you Alba for writing this. It's beautiful. Please read Alba's write-up of my Open Books reading in Chicago here. It was a really special night.