Last Saturday, the hubby and I spent a delightful day in beautiful Tumwater, Washington. I’d never really thought to visit Tumwater before, and the only thing that drew me there was the fact that I’d agreed to be part of the Teen Author Showcase at the Tumwater Timberland Library. More about that later. First let me share our gem of a find: Tumwater Falls.

At Tumwater Falls, the Deschutes River makes an 82-foot drop into Capitol Lake. The river is bordered by a walking trail that takes you through lush greenery with scenic vistas at every turn. After walking the trail (or parts of it, as some sections were closed for renovation), we continued oohing and aahing over the beauty as we ate lunch at the Falls Terrace Restaurant.

After lunch we headed to the library for the Teen Author Showcase, a panel of seven debut YA authors. Pictured from left to right are: Stasia Ward Kehoe (AUDITION), Marissa Meyer (CINDER), Kiki Hamilton (THE FAIRIE RING), Me (FLYAWAY), Megan Bostic (NEVER EIGHTEEN), Daniel Marks (VELVETEEN), and J. Anderson Coats (THE WICKED AND THE JUST).

You wouldn’t know it from this picture, but there was actually quite a crowd. Each of us introduced our book, and then the librarian, Sarah Jaffa, asked us a series of questions, my favorite of which was “What advice would you give to someone who wants to break in as a YA writer?” The most popular answer, hands down, was “be persistent.” Then there was an audience Q and A, followed by a book signing. Thanks to the awesome teacher who bought copies of each of our books for his classroom!

We got home in the late afternoon, tired but happy. Now I’m looking forward to my next event, a Teen Author Night reading at the downtown Los Angeles library on May 23rd!