Last Wednesday I had the incredible honor to accompany my friend to a book reading/signing by Wade Rouse up in Grand Rapids. Wade, who writes under the pen name of his grandmother, Viola Shipman, has just released a new novel entitled ‘The Summer Cottage’ – the story of a girl who returns to her Lake Michigan childhood home after her husband has an affair, and proceeds to ‘fix it up’- which quickly becomes a metaphor for her own life.
Rouse is also the author of several memoirs, including ‘At Least in the City Someone Would Hear Me Scream’ and ‘American Boy.’ Under Vioia Shipman he has written the ‘Heirloom Series’ which includes ‘The Recipe Box' and ‘The Charm Bracelet’ (my Mom’s favorite).
I was unfamiliar with Rouse’s work when I decided to attend, but thought it would be a good idea to meet up and chat with a fellow writer, one who was a ‘little further down the pike’ so to speak- and I’m so glad I made that decision.
Not only was Rouse a phenomenal speaker, talking about the Missouri cabin nestled within the Ozarks that inspired ‘The Summer Cottage’, but he also went into deeper territory, talking about his ‘emotional ‘writing, and how hardened critics have responded to it.
He encouraged the writers in the room to never, ever compromise when it comes to writing what ‘calls to’ them. He also stressed the importance of following their own voice, and as an artist I not only found him inspiring, but incredibly relatable.
From the moment I walked in the room, Rouse made me feel like a welcome member of his own family. He welcomed me, talked to me about my own writing, and even accepted a copy of my book! I left the reading feeling refreshed and invigorated, with a spring in my step when it came to writing and the whole process that had gotten me where I was. It also made me look at things through a different lens.
Up to that point, I’d been taking what I like to call the ‘buckshot’ approach to promotions- which means casting a wide (and sometimes indiscriminate) net, accepting any opportunities that came my way and spreading myself too thin. After a few minutes with Rouse, I realized I needed to narrow my focus. I also began to understand that I didn’t want to work harder at being a writer, I wanted to work smarter.
I wanted to accept opportunities that would take me where I wanted to go. I wanted to reach out to an audience that would ‘get’ the heart of my book, one that would understand what I was trying to communicate. I wanted to one day stand in front of a room full of readers and feel the same love that Rouse must have felt from us.
Because every single person in that room loved him. Every. Single. One.
And here’s why.
While hosting an event for his second book, only three people showed up to the reading/signing. One was a mother and son duo who didn’t speak English and thought they were in the children’s section. When Rouse began reading the mother shouted ‘Thomas the Train!” But instead of getting down and calling it quits, Rouse spent an hour reading to the mother from one of his books, making her feel like one of the family, once again.
And guess what?
The next time he was in town the mother and her son came back- with twelve of their friends!
The moral of the story is… stay humble. Stay Loving. Stay Smart.
And keep writing. Keep believing. Keep going.
I plan to do just that.