Richard E Kelly

I had the privilege of meeting with the Treemont Readers Book Club last night from 7:00 to 9:00 PM. This newly formed book club of 14 people chose to read Growing Up In Mama’s Club for their September read and organized things so that my book was placed on the “Book Club Selections” table at Schuler Books on Alpine. What an honor for a first time author’s book to be included with Betty Smith’s classic A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Khaled Hosseini’s A Thousand Splendid Suns, etc.

Pat Preston, the group’s facilitator, opened the meeting by telling me how much she and the group enjoyed Mama’s Club. Since no one knew much about Jehovah’s Witnesses, the book was an eye opener. Attendees told me that the book was very well written, compelling, and hard to put down once you started reading it. Sarah Van’tHof said she was surprised to learn how an intelligent person like my mother was so willing to sacrifice her thinking skills, believing she’d earn eternal life for her efforts. Her previous perception was that people attracted to this group were not very intelligent. Barb Weaver said the book was a good reminder that regardless of what religion you belonged to, you need to be able to question church beliefs without being made to feel guilty. It was non-stop questions, answers, and comments before our host, Anne Johnson, signaled that it was time to stop. Her home-made pumpkin cake and fresh apple cider still needed our attention before the evening was over. This was my first meeting as an author with a book club and I can’t remember enjoying myself more. Now I look forward to my next Grand Rapid’s book club meeting on Monday, October 15. 

I love to write and tell stories, and much prefer that over marketing. However, my book, Growing Up In Mama’s Club, is not able to sell itself. And so, for the last few weeks, I’ve spent most of my time promoting my book, and not writing, to a variety of new market niches.  A very daunting task for me.

Thank heavens for pleasant diversions. And I have two of them. I try to walk at least four miles a day and I play bridge on Wednesday and Thursday while I’m in Grand Rapids.  While the bidding and play of the cards can be challenging, one of the best parts of the experience is the neat people you meet. What an interesting dichotomy of retired teachers, lawyers, accountants, bankers, housewives, etc. One of those special persons is Annette Vogelsang. She was an excellent school teacher in her previous life, or at least that’s what I’ve been told, and brings that “I’m in charge!” attitude when she directs or makes chit chat before and after playing bridge with her. While some members may be intimidated, I like her a lot. She is a caring person who tries her best to make the bridge experience something positive for new players and folks like me who need a healthy diversion. And Annette loves to read. Her eyes light up and her face sparkles when she starts talking about a good book she’s just read. As an author, I love seeing and feeling her positive energy. In fact, it’s Annette’s animated, enthusiastic demeanor that I visualize when I’m hard at work marketing and promoting Mama’s Club. Annette is my “poster child image” for how I want people to react after reading my book. Good visualization of a happy reader is a must for any new author who believes they can write well and tell compelling stories. 

Last night, my wife, Helen, and I had dinner at our daughter Kim’s home. I had expected the highlight of the evening to be the always delicious New York strip steaks that we buy at Costco paired with special vintage 2004 Rosenblum Zinfandel from Sonoma County. Now mind you, the food and wine were as good as it gets. But when my 11-year-old granddaughter, Erika, who is one of 60 sixth-grade students enrolled at the prestigious Grand Rapids Zoo School, told me that she was going to do a book review on my book, Growing Up In Mama’s Club – A Childhood Perspective of Jehovah’s Witnesses, that was the highlight for my day. It seems that Erika told her teacher, Mr. H., about my book and he suggested she do a book review on it. Now that I’ve had time to think about it, if Erika gives me a good review, perhaps, she’ll submit it to the New York Times.