“What the hell is a sex pistol?” I asked, as I admired my
husband’s Chuck Taylor Converses. The shoes were white and I had NO on one shoe
and FUTURE on the other. A true millennial, I took to Google to see what I
could find out about sex pistols. I learned that Sex Pistols were an English
rock band who pioneered the punk rock genre. I also learned that the Sex
Pistols only released one album and that one album is all it took for them to
be considered one of the most influential groups of all time, according to
multiple music publications. That was enough to inspire me about the recent
release of my first book. The Sex Pistols did not sell very well out of the
gate and they never released a second album but they were still held in such
high regard amongst music aficionados. The band was inducted into the Rock and
Roll Hall of Fame in 2006! Of course, I plan to release more than one book, but
knowing that these guys made their mark off of only one album inspired me.
A few days later, I ventured to the Los Angeles Times
Festival of Books at the USC campus. It was my big debut of my first book,
which I self-published myself. I met other authors, publishers, and a swarm of
undiscovered creative geniuses undiscovered. I sold my very first book to a
person in real life and followed up with selling more copies, to people who I never
thought would buy anything from me. That’s when I realized that books have the
same power as music. Art truly crosses all cultural and demographic lines.
That energy carried over to the second day of the festival,
where people continued to celebrate the stories that we share with each other.
I went to the festival hoping to sell books, and I did, but what was more
amazing was meeting people from all walks of life, who wanted to hear my story,
share theirs, and celebrate literature. The festival reminded me of what
writing meant to me. I wrote my book to share my story with the world, and that
is the most powerful way to connect with other people.
During the last two hours of the festival, I snuck away from
my booth to use the restroom. As I made my way to the indoor bathroom inside of
one of the school’s buildings, I noticed a line of people wrapped in a line
around the building. Is Steven King here? I couldn’t think of any other big
name authors at the moment. What writer could draw such a rock star line of
people, waiting to get their book signed. Finally, I asked someone standing in
line. The answer blew me away. It was Steve Jones. Steve Jones of Sex Pistols!
Just days after I first found out that this group existed, I
was at a book festival, where Steve Jones was promoting his book, Lonely Boy: Tales from a Sex Pistol. Did
I care that he was a celebrity? No. I had just learned about this group the
other day. I was blown away that the universe had presented me with yet another
example of how it operates. The law of attraction is very real, and I wrote about
its power in my first book, From Scratch: Book One (Inheritance). As I worked
on book two, I continued to work on myself and the ways that I utilize the law
of attraction. Perhaps, the universe just wanted to remind me of its power and
to keep on going!
Steve Jones wasn't the only celebrity at the festival. I didn't leave my booth very often thanks to the heavy foot traffic, but following the #bookfest hashtag I saw that Chris Hayes, Rep. John King, and Foo Fighter Dave Grohl were just some of the famous faces who came out to celebrate books. BOOKS ARE LIT! Pics from the festival are below.
Steve Jones wasn't the only celebrity at the festival. I didn't leave my booth very often thanks to the heavy foot traffic, but following the #bookfest hashtag I saw that Chris Hayes, Rep. John King, and Foo Fighter Dave Grohl were just some of the famous faces who came out to celebrate books. BOOKS ARE LIT! Pics from the festival are below.
Order my book at dennishuffington.com
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