New Faces In This Journey

I hope everyone reading this is doing well. I’ll jump right in. We have had better years in the Campbell household but Amy and I are both working diligently to keep our little piece of the world turning. Suffice it to say, it has been somewhat of a struggle. The one thing that has helped me has been this outlet of writing. Tales that were inside of me that needed to get out so that I could remain sane – you really have no idea how true this is.

I have met some pretty cool folks along the way. When I was working for Morris Communications (the 2nd time), I hired a lady that I knew but never worked with before, Jamie Turner, to come in and be a professional copywriter only to discover during the interview that she was an actress (9 to 5, Blood Money – Aiken Community Playhouse) and a romance novelist (pen name Jae Johnson) and had already released a novel entitled Always. Jamie also got a new best friend out of the deal – who happened to work with me at ADP before I hired her on at Morris as well.

Next up was David Baruch Hutchison, owner of The Book Tavern in downtown Augusta. David was a breath of fresh air as far as I was concerned because he really encourages local talent and will make local authors’ books available for purchase in his store. Getting your printed work in legit bookstores isn’t an easy feat when you are self-published and David has always been super generous with his bookings and his time.

Then, I met another local author named Victoria Hardy (Kicking the Goat Silly, Rotten and The Thing Inside Lucy Doyle, just to name a few) through my first book signing gig at The Book Tavern. This was at a Halloween book signing and it was friggin’ awesome. I also had the wonderful opportunity to meet her husband, the super talented musician, Chris Hardy (read up on him because he is legit). He would play and get the folks listening as they walked by.

I got to reconnect with a wonderful local artist, Erica Pastecki. She painted…yes, painted…the cover for my third self-published novel, Just Breathe. I had worked with Erica during my first stint at Morris Communications and could see her talent back then.

Then, one day out of the blue, I received a Facebook message from another local author named Bryce Gibson (Unclaimed Acre, Perennials – Perennials will be out in June) asking me if I might be interested in sharing a table with him at the Georgia Literary Festival that was held last November. I am so glad that I responded and connected with him. Through this connection, I got to meet his awesome wife, Natalie Gibson, who invited me to join a book signing where she works as a librarian at the Columbia County Public Library back in February. Bryce and Natalie have also been super supportive. Bryce actually lined me up to get a solo book signing at 2nd and Charles on April 16 which, for me, was pretty successful. I met some really cool people throughout that awesome day - looking at you, Kervin.

I am working on something now that is a complete 180 from what I am accustomed to. It is a true story chronicling the lives of the parents of someone that I grew up with – she was my very first best friend and her mother passed away last year. Talking with her father and gathering information for this twisty true tale has been a joy. We have only scratched the surface.

My thanks again to all that I have met on this re-awakening. My thanks and love to the people that continue to support my writing even though I know it isn’t always the best, but it’s always from me.

Last, but not least, thank you, Amy. I love you.

Charlie