Are you out there?
I’ve been feeling kinda lonely lately. Of course, I have several friends here. Lots of people I can call up and say “Let’s hang out” or invite to a movie or to lunch or supper. My husband and I are part of this great round robin group with our couple friends where we cookout every weekend and rotate who’s hosting. They’re great people, and I love them. But a lot of times I feel like they don’t “get” me. They’re not writers. In more ways than one, I sometimes feel like I lead a double life. Normal life under my real name, and a writer’s life as Kait Nolan. There’s no question as to which I prefer.
I’ve got numerous awesome online writer friends as part of that Kait Nolan life, but I’ve really got a yen to find someone local to hang with sometimes. I had such a fabulous time with the Diamond State Romance Authors chapter of RWA that I hung out with for that writer’s retreat several weeks back, and I guess that’s got me thinking about having local writer friends.
Right now I simply don’t know of any where I am. Starkville is not exactly known as a writer’s town. That designation belongs to Oxford and is centered around the various and sundry arms of Square Books. I loved being a part of the writer’s community in Oxford when I was in college. But Oxford is a particular type of writer’s community. It’s very heavily devoted to literary fiction and southern literature–and there is an attendant level of snobbery that goes along with it. There is nothing literary about what I write. I write romance–paranormal and suspense. And I’m proud of that. But I haven’t found anybody else anywhere around me that does the same.
I was approached a while back by the Mississippi chapter of RWA, and they seemed like lovely ladies. But frankly, I can’t afford all the dues related to belonging to RWA, and the chapter is based in Jackson, which is two hours away. That’s not the answer for me. I’m not exactly certain what is. A quick Google search for Mississippi writers brings up mostly that southern literary fiction I was talking about. We’ve got this incredible, rich, literary heritage in Mississippi, and I’m very proud of that (particularly given that there is so much else NOT to be proud of). But again, it’s not what I’m looking for.
So I’m making the call. Mississippi fiction writers, are you out there? Anybody in the Golden Triangle area in particular? Dash me an email! I want to get to know you!