The Sunday Salon and Getting Lost in a Good Book... or Finding One After Getting Lost...

Welcome to Sunday... It's cloudy and rainy here, in South Carolina. It's the last day of the weekend, but it's the day I typically hunt for those wonderful crafts fairs and artist markets. None of that is happening this weekend, but last weekend we were in Lake Lure, NC. I had read about this crafts festival in the beautiful town of Lake Lure, NC, home to Chimney Rock, a 315 ft. granite monolith with a waterfall . It was a bit of a drive for us, about 90 minutes, but so pretty as we navigated through some mountains and towns that looked interesting enough themselves. Thank goodness for good ole GPS, because without it we definitely would have gotten lost finding this town, but when we finally found our way there I also found an author and a book.

I find books in a lot of ways... I walk into a bookstore and look at what just came in or is turned facing out on a shelf, I read Kirkus Reviews or Publisher Weekly or any numerous publications about what's coming to a bookstore near me, I go to flea markets and/or tag sales and a book may catch my eye on a table, and going to the library is always a great way to find interesting books and you don't even have to spend a dime there. I also talk to other book bloggers and see what publishers have sent them and I talk to them about what great books they are reading. What I didn't expect this past Sunday was to find Rose Senehi sitting behind a table with her books on display.

I was talking to the Oregon artist who made these beautiful desk lamps in the style of Frank Lloyd Wright, when out of the corner of my eye I saw what I thought were a pile of books. "Yes... there are piles of books on that table...", then I noticed my husband stopping to talk to her... yes, I know he's going to be mentioning the blogger and book lover he's married to... and then I walked over. And I was hooked. Not on the books at first, but the wonderfully friendly woman behind the books, Rose Senehi. Almost as though we were already friends, we started chatting about books and writing and how she came about being an author. Yes, she was interested in selling her books, but you could see that she loved books just as much as I did. After a half hour or so, off I went with two books, one of which was a gift, and a promise to let her know (and all of you know) what I think of her books. And I will do that... in the next couple of weeks.

What struck me about finding Rose, was where I found her. I don't think I ever met a writer at a crafts fair before. Writers are definitely craftsmen, they have a skill and they design their pieces very carefully. They polish them and display them and we admire them. But usually not at a crafts fair. And why not?! Why don't we find more of these writers mingled in with the craftsmen who create their works with metal and fabric and wood? (Well there's good reason for Rose being there, her books  revolve around the Blue Ridge Mountains and the area we were visiting today...)

While I am now getting lost in a good book (Carolina Belle by Rose Senehi), after finding one after getting (almost) lost, I would love to know where are the places you find your books?! What was the most unusual place you have found a book and/or author?Leave a comment below and let me know!

Happy reading... Suzanne