Kathryn Williams' Birthday Week (guest blog)

Hey guys!

Let's all give a warm welcome and lots of birthday wishes to Kathryn Williams, author of THE DEBUTANTE and THE LOST SUMMER, as she celebrates her birthday with us

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Happy Birthweek to me! Intentionally or not, I’ve always found myself celebrating the day I was born for a full week. I think it started in elementary school, when, if my birthday fell on a weekday, my family would celebrate the day of and save the big balloon clown-scavenger hunt-aerobics party (yes, I had an aerobics-themed birthday party -- it was the eighties) with my friends for the weekend.

When I went to college, my birthday in May always seemed to fall during final exams. At first this seemed like a bummer -- until I figured out I could use that as an excuse to stretch the celebrations out, telling my friends to jump in whenever their test schedules allowed. My 21st bday turned into “Kathrynpalooza,” a term my friends still (lovingly, I hope) call the five to seven days surrounding May 3 each year. Starting a few days before May 3, I start to get text messages, emails, and Facebook posts asking me how I plan to celebrate this year and wondering if Kathrynpalooza has already begun. It makes me feel pretty loved.

You’d think by the tender age of 28, I’d be over the need to celebrate myself for a quarter of a month. You’d be only halfway right. This year, I decided enough was enough. People are busy, money is tight, and birthdays, unfortunately, seem less cool as you get older -- that is, for most people. I still get excited. And despite my repeated proclamations that my birthday would be low-key this year, I found myself celebrating for my Sunday birthday on Thursday with a cook-out with friends, on Friday at a special fancy dinner with my mom, on Saturday with my extended family and another birthday girl, and now on Sunday with more calls, emails, and texts from friends around the country. As a stubborn Taurus, I guess old habits die hard. My dad is coming to visit me in a couple weeks, and I’m already trying to figure out how to drag my birthday out until then… Like I said, Happy Birthmonth to me!

If you want to help me celebrate, the best birthday present ever (other than a trip to Spain, maybe) would be to check out my first novel, THE DEBUTANTE, and my new book (coming in July), THE LOST SUMMER! Thanks! You shouldn't have;)________________________________________________

Thanks so much for doing this Kathryn!

I personally think you've got this whole birthday thing right. It should totally last a whole week!

And happy late birthday!

-Jill

(leave your comments and birthday wishes below. Thanks)