It was one of those soggy Saturdays and, as I stepped out of my vehicle in the city parking garage, a huge drip from a crack in the ceiling hit my forehead. I thought this day would have been better suited for curling up with one of my books instead of talking about them.

When I volunteered to staff a booth at the Word of South festival of literature and music at Cascades Park, I imagined one of Tallahassee’s vibrant, azalea-dotted spring afternoons in which to celebrate our craft. Books, music, readers, revelers –bring it on.

Instead, we experienced another of our Florida Capital City specialties: spring showers.

As I walked up the sidewalk looking for the Tallahassee Writers Association booth, I saw white canopies, like you use for tailgating, lined shoulder-to-shoulder. Each one had tables underneath, neatly stacked with the latest titles. I ducked under one of them and closed my umbrella. As I brushed my hand over one of the books, someone next to me tripped on a tent pole and a collection of rainwater poured between the canopies. A close call for books and their admirers.

I was a little nervous about meeting the other TWA authors in person. Until then, I had been a phantom member of the group, hiding behind an email address when I volunteered for stints like judging essay contests. I wondered how these high profile, mostly fiction writers would accept a cloistered literary journalist.

But only minutes after finding cover under the TWA canopy, author and retired Navy Commander Dennis Baker had my name, rank and serial number. When he learned that I had co-authored a book about a Wounded Warrior, he rattled off a half dozen ideas for reaching readers through veteran organizations. I was tapping notes into my iPhone trying to capture it all, when he motioned toward me with military authority. “There’s somebody you need to meet.” Then he was off, sprinting in a direction that I was to follow, navigating the stacks of books, exhibitors and the continued rainfall.

Dennis stopped twice to give out hugs, before finally embracing the manager of an independent bookstore, Lori Roche, with My Favorite Books at Market Square. It’s one of Tallahassee’s handful of independents.

Indies are an author’s lifeblood. And we are theirs. Our relationship is symbiotic; writers are huge readers and we need them to connect to our own reading audience.

Sure, there is a place for chains – the Amazons and BAMs of the world. But to me, indies are more like a personal friend that I want to go hang out with on a free afternoon. For example, I’m a huge fan of Thomasville, Georgia’s Bookshelf on Broad Street. Co-owner and manager Annie B. Jones’ weekly emails are entertaining and informative. She’s one of the few retailers I follow on Instagram and she just makes me feel, well, more literary.

I felt the same personal connection to Lori when Dennis introduced us. And after that rain soaked Saturday, she welcomed me into her store to buy some of our books and talk about having a signing later in the year. As it turns out, she was able to arrange a Veteran-themed multi-author book signing with that retired Navy Commander who introduced us, Dennis Baker.

My co-author Luke Murphy can’t make it, as he’s entertaining other Wounded Warriors for the football game. But I wouldn’t miss it. Another chance to hang out with some of my favorite people: indies, authors and readers. Very often one and the same.