For someone who can’t pass a bookstore without wanting to go in and buy a book (only one, I can hear my wife say…but she’s just as bad), attending the GCLS Conference and being in the Vendor room for most of the time was pure torture. Aware of how little space I had in my suitcase, I was constantly balancing the number of my books that I sold with the number I could take back home.

But there were three books I wasn’t going to leave Washington DC without purchasing.

Curious Wine by Katherine V Forrest – not just because the book was this year’s recipient of the Lee Lynch Classic Award, but also because I lent the original Naiad Press copy I had to a friend many years ago and it was never returned. (An ex-friend, needless to say.) Katherine very graciously signed the book for me as well. Last year I had brought my old and oft-read copy of Daughters of a Coral Dawn with me for KVF to sign, but I somehow missed connecting with her at the conference.

Curious Wine

The Amazon Trail by Lee Lynch – well just because Lee is wonderful and this book is a classic in itself. I heard her read from it at last year’s conference and was very much moved by her words. Her experiences as she has expressed them in this book will continue to resonate over time.

The Amazon Trail

After the GCLS 2016 Awards Ceremony with the fabulous Lee Lynch (and thanks to Lainie for taking the photo)

(And extra special thanks to Lee’s wife, Lainie, who purchased two of my books to add to the two she already has.)

I said there were three, didn’t I? Because there’s always three, as Sandra would say. The third book, which I would have purchased even if it took my suitcase weight limit over the top, was State of Grace by Sandra Moran.

I finished reading it only two days ago and it will stay with me for a long time. The publisher that originally turned down the opportunity to publish this book could go down in history as making the most serious editorial misjudgment since the one that passed up on Harry Potter.

State of Grace is an amazing story and told with such finesse that it is hard to believe this was Sandra’s first novel. Well, maybe not that hard, as her subsequent novels, published prior to this one, attest to her fabulous talent.

State of Grace

I could easily have bought twenty books at the conference and had them personally signed but, with my already overloaded suitcase in mind, I settled for making note of ones I will buy now that I’m back home (and have finished reading the ones on an already lengthy ‘to be read’ list). I won’t be entering a bookshop anytime soon (don’t tell the wife, but I may pop on to a certain website in the very near future though).

Where to buy my books:

The Circle Dance: Affinity eBooks /Amazon US / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / Bella Books/ Smashwords / Apple iTunes

The Starling Hill Trilogy:

Starting Over: Affinity eBooks / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / Bella Books / Smashwords / Apple iTunes

Arc Over Time: Affinity eBooks / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / Bella Books / Smashwords / Apple iTunes

Carved in Stone: Affinity eBooks / Amazon US / Amazon UK / Barnes & Noble / Bella Books / Smashwords / Apple iTunes