Deep Valley Book Festival Highlights
Book Festival Highlights
The Book Festival was a Blast!
There was a buzz of excited book lovers meandering through the Country Inn conference center at the Deep Valley Book Festival in Mankato last Saturday, Oct 7. Retired folk came to find a page-turner to read with a cup of tea in front of the fire that evening. Moms were pulled this way and that by little tykes enthralled by colorful covers displaying everything from dragons to cookies. Of course, who doesn’t love the licorice and lollipops, stickers, face paint and balloon animals which could be found around each corner? Moms, if they could quiet the hubbub from the kiddos, examined which book might deliver a quiet escape after the kids are in bed.
It was a blast!
Books, books, books! Why would we get so excited about books? There is something about a book, the feel of it, the weight of it, the smell of the paper and glue, the anticipation of delving into a new world hidden in its pages. A rainy October night, snuggling under a warm throw with a cup of cocoa, a couple cookies and a good book—life doesn’t get much better than that!
William Kent Kreuger, the keynote speaker at the event, said it this way: “There is heaven and earth in a book!” You don’t sell just 12 ounces of paper and glue; you sell a whole new life!” Stories provide the structure we long for in the chaos of life. We all want a happy ending, and life doesn’t always provide it. But, when we struggle through troubles and difficulties with the characters but come out the other side with it all wrapped up and tied in a lovely bow, it is so very satisfying! Ahhh!
In a book, good continues to triumph and is everything we are and long to be. Fiction is the lie by which we tell the truth and where outcomes we hope for are realized. It brings us to the quiet we long for.
Excuse me, but I’m in the middle of a new book, and I’m off to read another chapter. My mind is buzzing with ideas about my own novel!! Eeeek! Could I really do it???
