A writer’s festival, an open mic, and jumping out of the comfort zone to read her own piece for an evening of erotica and sensuality. This weekend was the annual NorthWords Writers Festival in Yellowknife. For years, I’ve been attending primarily as an audience member. If not simply observing, I’ve been working. I’ve sold books at events. As a volunteer, I’ve driven visitors around town. I’ve attended workshops. On a number of occasions, I’ve even hosted the open mic or panel discussions. These are all pretty well within my comfort zone. This year, I decided to push myself right out of that comfort zone. Not only would I read my own work for the first time in a very long time, I would read at Blush. Here’s the thing – every year, one of the most popular events at NorthWords is the themed open mic. It’s not any old theme, either. ‘Blush‘ is the evening of erotica and sensuality. Some very talented writers, both amateur and professional, have entertained the crowd with works that are funny, sad, intimate, and beautiful. And sexy. Always, always sexy. Public speaking is hard, and even though I’ve been lucky to have had training, reading […]

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