I was now almost dreading the Friday reading. I knew there were going to be more people there as there were established authors on the 6-author panel. And Mimi Gonzalez had mentioned it in her show. I woke up at 6 a.m. and changed the reading. Then changed it again. Practised it, checked the timing. Finally I found a section of Falling Colours that fit into the five minutes I knew we would be kept to in this reading. I decided to use the minute of intro time I had to thank Mimi Gonzalez for what she had done for me, for my confidence, for her support of others. The morning passed in a flurry of preparation. I attended the reading that was held just before ours. Excellent readings, though erotica read aloud in public at 10 a.m. in the morning was a bit unsettling. The room emptied and then gradually filled up again as the time grew near. I saw Mimi arrive, slightly the worse for wear after the Idol show and after party, trying to hide at the back of the room.

Mimi Gonzalez, me, and Liz Bradbury just before the readings started

I sat on the high stools at the top of the room with Liz Bradbury, Joan Timberlake (who had promised earlier to serenade me with her saxophone playing), Melissa Brayden, Susan X. Meagher, and Barbara Sawyer.

Susan X. Meagher, Melissa Brayden, Joan Timberlake, Liz Bradbury, Barbara Sawyer, and me. Mercedes Lewis at the podium

I was reading first and I spent the first minute talking about the show the evening before and thanking Mimi (and hopefully embarrassing her just a little) and the last few minutes reading quickly through the section in Falling Colours. I’m not sure how it came across to the audience, but it did feel rushed and a little distracted to me. All the authors read in the five minutes allocated to them, but there was no time for the discussion afterwards that we had enjoyed in the reading panel the day before.

Fran and Lucy getting a signed copy after the reading

The audience was supportive and after the panel, I again experienced the wonder that comes with being asked to sign a book that readers had just bought, especially as they were now friends too.

Womenscraft

Liz Bradbury and I signed books at Womenscraft, and while Liz bemoans the fact that she didn’t think of the hug for booklet exchange idea, I now bemoaned the fact that I hadn’t thought of her idea to give away those tickets at the readings.

Book signing at Womenscraft with Liz Bradbury

There was a queue to exchange the tickets for her booklet and signing, and I twiddled my thumbs beside her at the table until some customers thankfully took pity on me and asked me who I was. I had run out of booklets so I signed business cards and chatted with them.

I was determined to pay it forward and after the signings, Liz and Trish and I decided to go to see Mimi’s show. We were joined by Lauren and Tina. This time, I was more relaxed and able to just enjoy the high-energy comic craziness. And after watching Karen Williams emceeing the Idol show, I had to go to her show, which was another excellent one. She was warm and funny and was about to use me as material, along with Gladys and Anne, but decided to be gentle on me and let me away with my dignity intact.

I got to hang out with Lauran and Tina and Michelle and Nancy at the party later that night. And with Tina’s parents, who didn’t officially know about them. I’m hoping this blog isn’t what informs them, but I think I’m safe to assume that a week at Women’s Week in Provincetown meeting a lot of lesbians, lesbian authors, and lesbian comediennes, might just have done the trick already.

I love stand-up comedy. I watch the UK comics, mostly male, on the comedy channels. I hadn’t heard of many female comics and only one or two of the lesbian comics By now, I had been to a lot of the comics’ shows in Provincetown, yet I still hadn’t seen Suzanne Westenhoeffer’s. I’d heard she was on crutches after an accident. In all the years in Ireland since listening to her tape, I’d never had a chance to actually see her live. For some reason, it became a big deal to me to get to see her show before the week was over. I finally managed it on Friday night. Rushed home to change after Karen Williams’ show and got to the venue a little late. I was let in through the back door and passed a blonde woman sitting on a stool who made a motion with her hand as I walked by. So I stopped and tried to hand her my ticket. Yes, it was Suzanne Westenhoeffer. She just looked at me in horror and said ‘Oh no!’. Now thoroughly embarrassed, I made my way through all the couples and sat by myself a few rows from the front. Suzanne was in a body cast of sorts and had to do the show while sitting on a chair on the stage. She was funny, yet I have to say I was left with a slight bitter taste in my mouth after her show, one I didn’t have with any of the other shows, even the one in which I was teased mercilessly by Mimi Gonzalez. Suzanne Westenhoeffer may have been one of my idols before PTown, but I’m glad I got introduced to some incredibly funny, generous, warm-hearted comediennes I had the luck to see, like Mimi Gonzalez, Jessica Kirson, Karen Williams, Kristen Becker, Jami Smith, who with others like Kate Clinton, Jenny McNulty, Vickie Shaw, Poppy Champlin, made the week so much more fun than I had ever expected.

Next, lovely lunches, being serenaded, and throwing ducks