The Beginning of Something...Undead
Growing up all I had ever wanted to do was to sell books. Every summer I would apply to work at the only bookstore in town, a small Borders outlet in my hometown’s tiny mall. About four years ago when I first moved to Wichita I was thrilled to find out that the city boasted four bookstores and one of them was an independent. My first task was to apply to all of the bookstores and keep my fingers crossed that one of them would want an interview.
Finally Watermark Books and Café called me back and requested an interview for their café. I told them that I had always wanted to work in a bookstore and if their café was as close to books as I could get then I would take the opportunity. A few months into my tenure I was getting quite a reputation for reading paranormal fiction with an emphasis in vampires. This conveniently coincided with two realizations. One was the upcoming release of the first Twilight movie and the second was that I was realizing how hard it is to make friends as an adult in a new city.
It was then that my boss approached me about leading a one-time book panel on vampires in modern fiction. Watermark crows about its wide variety of book clubs that cover almost every category. However; none of them covered the vast genre of paranormal fiction. I told her then that I would love to seize upon the new frenzy of vampires in the media and run a book club based on paranormal fiction. I received the official “ok” to start what many considered a pet project, a flight of fancy.
I spent a lot of time pouring over search engines on “how to start a book club.” One of them even suggested that I hire a moderator. I wasn’t about to hire a moderator to control something that I passionately felt was mine. I set up our first date which was the first Wednesday in February and crossed my fingers. Only five people showed up and half of them were members of my family. We hammered out our very first book list and I have to admit that I had felt a bit let down. But I’ll tell you something that I hadn’t read on the internet.
Book clubs are slow things. They start very small and grow by word of mouth. These are things that you invite a hundred people to and only a handful is curious enough to show up. It’s this handful who tells other people who are interested in reading the same things that you are and that is when your numbers swell. Over time more people show up and with all things you lose some to growing families or the general hustle of life. But those who remain and insist that this is the one thing that they cannot let go of; those are the people who breathe life into something so small and fragile.
Four years later and Vampires Anonymous is one of the biggest book clubs that Watermark hosts. We are a family in the way people who’ve known each other for years often are and we are always looking for more people to join us in revelry and good discussions. If you are looking for a few good friends or a good time we will gladly welcome you into our fold. This is the best thing in my world and for many of us it’s the best night of the month.
Finally Watermark Books and Café called me back and requested an interview for their café. I told them that I had always wanted to work in a bookstore and if their café was as close to books as I could get then I would take the opportunity. A few months into my tenure I was getting quite a reputation for reading paranormal fiction with an emphasis in vampires. This conveniently coincided with two realizations. One was the upcoming release of the first Twilight movie and the second was that I was realizing how hard it is to make friends as an adult in a new city.
It was then that my boss approached me about leading a one-time book panel on vampires in modern fiction. Watermark crows about its wide variety of book clubs that cover almost every category. However; none of them covered the vast genre of paranormal fiction. I told her then that I would love to seize upon the new frenzy of vampires in the media and run a book club based on paranormal fiction. I received the official “ok” to start what many considered a pet project, a flight of fancy.
I spent a lot of time pouring over search engines on “how to start a book club.” One of them even suggested that I hire a moderator. I wasn’t about to hire a moderator to control something that I passionately felt was mine. I set up our first date which was the first Wednesday in February and crossed my fingers. Only five people showed up and half of them were members of my family. We hammered out our very first book list and I have to admit that I had felt a bit let down. But I’ll tell you something that I hadn’t read on the internet.
Book clubs are slow things. They start very small and grow by word of mouth. These are things that you invite a hundred people to and only a handful is curious enough to show up. It’s this handful who tells other people who are interested in reading the same things that you are and that is when your numbers swell. Over time more people show up and with all things you lose some to growing families or the general hustle of life. But those who remain and insist that this is the one thing that they cannot let go of; those are the people who breathe life into something so small and fragile.
Four years later and Vampires Anonymous is one of the biggest book clubs that Watermark hosts. We are a family in the way people who’ve known each other for years often are and we are always looking for more people to join us in revelry and good discussions. If you are looking for a few good friends or a good time we will gladly welcome you into our fold. This is the best thing in my world and for many of us it’s the best night of the month.
The Voice Behind the Cyber Curtain
My name is Colleen Kelly and this book club is my passion.
To find out more about me and my other interests please visit my blog.
To find out more about me and my other interests please visit my blog.