Monique and I had our first reading/signing for our book on Monday April 21, 2025. It was on Mercer Island with around 18-19 attendees, and went just delightfully. Honestly, it was magic. I suspect some departed souls were behind setting it up!
Months ago, one of my best friends, Divya, had just finished beta-reading our manuscript, and loved it. (Luckily!) She went to a party and “randomly” met Sarah, a wonderful woman who lives on nearby Mercer Island but had lived several years as a girl in Kenya, where her professor-father did much work in the villages with USAID. Divya passed Sarah our manuscript, and she too loved it. (blush, grin) Once the book came out Sarah served as our Fairy Godsister (she’s not old enough to be our mother 
) and set up a truly wonderful reading and signing event in her office, with guests from her friends and contacts. Monique and I and the guests all had a wonderful time. We briefly presented an introduction, read a chapter of Monique’s choice (“Fetching Water”), and Monique took Q and A with her typical verve, grace, and humor. It was just great. And we sold many books!
Why do I suspect departed souls were involved? Well, Sarah’s and Monique’s fathers both passed during the COVID years. They were contemporaries in the time Sarah’s dad was collaborating in Kenyan villages, and Sarah had even been to the very, very remote places in the book, with her father. Monique’s father was extremely prominent in Samburu County and heavily involved with a great many development efforts. The men most likely had met and worked together at least briefly. What are the chances their daughters would just naturally come in contact with each other? Especially at the humble, manuscript stage of the project? Near-zero. I think they delightedly set us up from the other side. But spiritual shenanigans or not, it was a wonderful, wonderful event.
Our next reading is at Monique’s main employer. We’ll be arranging public readings and cultural presentations at our library etc in future. If anyone around the Puget Sound area has book clubs or cultural programs and would like us to come read or sign–truly no purchase required–we’d be happy to try to fit you in! Photos are a few of our slides, and us presenting and frazzled but happy afterwards.
