This is the 5th year that Tucson has had the Tucson Festival of Books. While it is a festival dedicated to books, there are many things for non-readers to do. People should not be deterred if they do not like to read. This year, attendance was predicted at 100,000 people. That may have been difficult to believe on Saturday, due to the rain, but it was difficult to walk along the mall because of the abundance of people.

I was lucky enough to volunteer to be an author escort. I really enjoy that job because I can sit in on presentations that I normally would not attend, and I meet many cool authors. This year, on Saturday, I escorted Naomi Benaron, Heidi Durrow, and Bill Carter. I had seen Bill Carter speak about his documentary in 2006 and loved it. He wrote a new book about copper in Arizona. At first I thought it would be boring to read, but it is fascinating. The other authors were also interesting to hear about, having very different experiences and being very strong women.

I also escorted Nevada Barr, JA Jance, and Margaret Coel. Now, I don't read mystery. If I had, I probably would have asked these authors for their autographs. All have written many books and have had amazing lives. Nevada Barr is a hilarious rebel who does her own thing. She is entertaining and the comic relief. JA Jance is more serious, but told many moving stories about her life and how it intertwines with her work sometimes. Coel didn't speak as much, but she was interesting to hear as well.

I also heard Bruce Coville, Jennifer A. Nielsen, and CJ Hill. I read Coville throughout fifth grade and I absolutely loved his books. It was so exciting to see him in person and to hear him speak. He has a great sense of humor and taught us as well. We laughed when he told a story of him teasing the "suck up" in his class. While he was going for the laugh, he pointed out that making fun of overachievers is not good for a culture. We want the "suck up" to be our dentist, doctor, who builds our bridges. We want the people who are the best to help us when we need help. If we spend time making fun of them, they may stop putting forth the effort.

Lastly, I heard Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana speak. That was incredible. I loved hearing them talk about Hollywood and the challenges involved. They write daily, they work without the certainty of getting paid. Ossana also talked about how it can be more difficult to make it in Hollywood as a woman.

One thing that stood out to me was that the women who did become successful encountered many difficult situations in their lives. They had to be persistant and relentless. That was the second message to me this weekend. On my way to my personal success, I will encounter adversity and very difficult situations. I need to not take things personally and to focus on my work. Success is not easy: one must work hard at it. For me, it was a message to keep going. Even if there are 77 rejections, as some authors have found, persevere and things will work out.