Fiery Pen

Authors are the worst narcissists sometimes. It’s me; I’m “authors”.

For years, I have (and continue to) worry that I shouldn’t put Invisible Girls out there, that I wasn’t the right person to tackle those themes. In all that, I forgot the essential truth: the story lives on its own once it is out there, and it becomes something different with each reader.

This weekend, I went to an in-person book club for Invisible Girls, hosted by local wellness collective, Ixora.

I spend A LOT of time at Ixora for yoga, wellness, and belly dancing classes. I’ll even be teaching metal belly dance classes there in August. When they offered to let me sell books in their boutique, I knew they were the community for a book about girls burning things down. When they asked to do a book club for it, I was delighted.

Book clubs have always been one of my favorite activities as an author. It’s different than signings, readings, or speaking engagements because attendees usually have read the book and come loaded with the thoughts and reactions that I, as an author, crave.

This book club was such a treat. I can’t really express the compliment it is to have smart, badass women enjoy, question, and peel back the layers of a story that came out of me. This discussion and the laughs made my heart so happy.

They all saw different things, had a range of reactions, brought a variety of questions. They identified ends I didn’t tie up. They saw correlations to the real world my subconscious sewed quietly into the text. And it reminded me that I only put the words on the page and hope I’ve crafted the right message. The experience of the story is unique, variable, and relative. They made the book so much more than it started on the shelf.

Plus, I got to have an awesome conversation about generational character perspective with my mother and daughter afterward.

I needed this perspective, this reminder that once the book is out there, it’s not about me. I have to trust that not all readers have pitchforks at the ready and that my books will find their audience.

Christina Bergling

https://linktr.ee/chrstnabergling

Like my writing? Check out my books!

• Invisible Girls – Two girls must decide how far they will go to protect each other and if freedom can be found without fire.
• Red Walls – When Talia’s parents go after the monsters who hurt her, they never expected real monsters.
• Followers – You never know who is on the other side of the screen. Followers is a mystery and thriller that blends women’s fiction with horror.
• The Rest Will Come – Online dating would drive anyone to murder, especially Emma.
• Savages – Two survivors search the ruins for the last strain of humanity. Until the discovery of a baby changes everything.
• The Waning – Locked in a cage, Beatrix must survive to escape or be broken completely.
• Screechers – Mutant monsters and humans collide in the apocalyptic fallout of a burned world. Co-authored with Kevin J. Kennedy.
• Horror Anthologies