Laughter echoed down the fourth floor of the Alachua County Headquarters Library on Saturday.
Victoria Christopher Murray, a best-selling author, told the story of her life as she taught and entertained about 50 people over the course of an hour.
Murray has published 25 novels since 2000, when she finished her first story, “Temptation.” Murray said she was born a writer, but she faced a reality without her passion in college.
She said dreams of writing resurfaced after marrying a man who convinced her to start writing before she grew too old.
“I always tell people, ‘Well, everybody has dreams, but you have this desire; you have this dream and you have this resistance, and life is resistance.’”
Murray said everything changed when her dreams outgrew life’s resistance.
“I started imagining that I was going to be 80 and I would’ve never done it, and that scared me,” she said.
Artise Grant, a 78-year-old Gainesville resident, said she was happy to see an author she enjoys.
“Her books always have a message,” she said. “Most of them are what I would call contemporary Christian. There’s a little bit of everyday life in them, but they have a plot.”
Nickie Kortus, the marketing and public relations manager for the Alachua County Library District, said the Opinionated Ladies Book Club helped bring Murray to the library for its Author Series.
“It’s an ongoing goal for us to bring in diverse authors to give people the opportunity to expand their reading options,” Kortus said.
Meshon Rawls, a member of Opinionated Ladies, said club members regularly read Murray’s books. Rawls said the event strengthened the community.
“We want to promote reading,” she said. “We think there are other folks out there who are avid readers, and it gives you some different insights and perspectives when you can really talk to authors.”
Chanice Dos Santos, a UF hospitality and tourism junior, said she was excited to hear Murray speak, despite never having read her novels.
“I really like to read, and I thought that this would be a great opportunity for me to learn about a new author,” Dos Santos, 22, said.
She said the Authors Series is a good way to bring like-minded people together.
“I would absolutely come back,” she said.
