When a dream you didn’t know you had comes true

Luvvie and I at the Seattle Public Library event.

Luvvie Ajayi recently graced the cover of the weekly newspaper I report for. She’s a self-proclaimed supporter of shenanigans, a side-eye sorceress and social justice warrior. On the internet she’s known as Awesomely Luvvie and I never thought I’d get the chance to interview her. But as the title states, sometimes dreams have a way of finding you before you even know they’re there.

It began a couple months ago with Luvvie posting an event on her Facebook page. She and Lindy West (another talented writer who lives here) were going to be appearing together at Seattle Public Library for a conversation about Luvvie’s debut book, I’m Judging You.

WHAT!!!

Luvvie is coming here. To Seattle.

CLEARLY I NEED TO BE IN THE FRONT ROW FOR THIS.

I immediately marked the event on my (paper) calendar and on my phone (see I’m not behind on technology). A short time later I mentioned it to my editor who suggested I reach out to her for an interview.

Have I mentioned how awesome my editor is? No? Well he is.

I emailed her people. Then a couple weeks later they emailed me back with a link to an interview request calendar. They approved it and voila. I was going to interview Luvvie. To say I wasn’t nervous leading up to our chat would be disingenuous. I was equally excited and nervous. For the record I hardly ever get nervous because I’ve been interviewing people for so long.



Luvvie on the cover of Real Change.

When I received her book in the mail I began to read it furiously so I’d have plenty of questions for her about the book. As I expected, the first few paragraphs in the book had me cracking up. I was about halfway through when I spoke to her on the phone. The interview went well despite some technical difficulties I experienced. It was like chatting with an old friend.

The event at the library was a blast. Luvvie and Lindy together were a riot. The event ended up being more than just entertainment. It was empowering. I was surrounded by a group of more than 400 (mostly) women who were just as excited as me. Plus singer India Arie surprised all of us when she walked in.

Afterwards Lindy and Luvvie signed my copies of their books and took pictures with me. (I’ll have more on Lindy in an upcoming blog post.)

I walked out of the library feeling rejuvenated, energized, and confident about achieving my future goals.

A couple years ago I started following Luvvie on Twitter. I found myself actively seeking out her posts because I could always relate and they’d always make me laugh. From her Scandal and Game of Thrones recaps to her commentary on social media fails to her views on social injustice, Luvvie is a go to. I also receive her Awesomely Techie newsletter for blog tips, web strategy and other tech topics.

Never in a million years did I think I’d get the opportunity to interview Luvvie. It actually was pretty close to not happening. If her book had been released in the first few months of the year rather than the fall, if she hadn’t come to Seattle, if I was still working at the startup, if…

The stars aligned and I’m grateful for the experience.

Here’s the article I wrote :)  You’ve been judged: Luvvie Ajayi offers judgment, advice and plenty of wit in new book

"You want to be a writer? A writer is someone who writes every day, so start writing. You don't have a job? Get one. Any job. Don't sit at home waiting for the magical opportunity. Who are you? Prince William? No. Get a job. Go to work. Do something until you can do something else." 

-Shonda Rhimes, Dartmouth Commencement speech