Stephen King, Part 3

Stephen King’s talk was effing entertaining.  The man knows how to tell a story.  He had it all – humor, pacing, swearing up the yin yang.  And an appreciation for his audience – a bunch of readers hanging out in a bookstore.

Some stories I’d heard before – he used material from “On Writing,” which I’ve read so often I’ve practically memorized it.  Others I probably gleaned from other sources.  But there was new stuff.  Fresh stuff that gave insight into the man, the myth, the writer.

I particularly loved how he says he has three personas – There’s the guy who was up there in front of us, slightly schlumpy in jeans and t-shirt, shooting the shit with us, out in the world, selling books.  There’s the husband of oh so many years who goes to the grocery store and takes out the garbage.  And then there’s the creepy guy who has a cabin in the woods who writes the books.

That resonated with me.  As a writer, I want to be like Stephen King, with three personas.

He took questions from the audience and it was great fun to see just how excited some people were to be actually speaking to someone who was their hero.  Quivering with the excitement would be an accurate description.  And we were going along, having a good time.  People were asking good questions and he had great responses, until the idiot in the front row asked him to autograph her hat.  He said “No” and that was the end of the fun.

And then we got to stand in ANOTHER line to pick up the book we’d bought earlier.

All in all, a weirdly surreal experience.  And I’d probably do it again.

So, when is Janet Evanovich coming to Reno?

Stephen King, Part 2

After first one line and another, I left Barnes & Noble and got more coffee and something to eat, ran a few errands and then arrived back at the bookstore to stand in my third line of the day.

And this is where the confusion of the whole multiple-line process came to fruition.  For me, anyway.  I was 102^nd in line, but due to some confusion, #101 didn’t show up by the time the doors opened.  #101 was a lovely woman from Chico, and we’d had a nice time getting to know each other while standing in Lines 1 and 2, but alas, she’d gone back to her motel room to take a shower and The Line waits for no woman.

I got in and managed to get a chair facing the podium so I was quite tickled with my luck.  I didn’t realize it at the time, however, but the man in front of me had ridiculously broad shoulders and the need to record the event.  Every.  Single.  Second.  With progressively larger electronic devices that he held to one side so I had to not only crane around the shoulders, but the iPad-enhanced block head.  I probably would have been better off standing, but damn it, I had worked hard for a seat and I wasn’t giving it up.

For nearly two hours we waited.  Around me was revealed fandom of increasingly horrifying proportions.  People were live-tweeting.  A man cruising up and down the center aisle was revealed to be the creator of a Dark Tower-centric website.  Stephen King t-shirts were the norm.  Me?  I just wished I hadn’t had that second cup of coffee.

I finally couldn’t stand it anymore and asked the Tweeter next to me if he would save my seat while I hunted down a restroom.

I cruised the perimeter of the room and perused the huge crowd.  I found #101 leaning against a bookshelf in a pretty darn sweet location – there was no broad-shouldered dude blocking her view.

I did my thing in the ladies’ room and came out to find a security-type planted in front of the men’s room.  Across the narrow hall from the man in black, a woman leaned against the wall.

“Pssst,” she said, gesturing to me.  “Come stand here with me.”

I figured I’d at least get closer and see what she had to say.  Her eyes were a little crazy, but it had been a long morning.  I stood next to her.

“Why are we standing here?”  I whispered, leaning toward her.

“He’s. In. There,” she whispered, gesturing to the men’s room door.  Her eyes got a little crazier.

I looked at the man standing in front of the bathroom door.  I looked at the woman standing next to me.  And I shrugged.

“I’m sorry,” I said, pushing myself from the wall.  “I’m just not that kind of fan.”

And I returned to my seat. 

To be continued…

It’s Launch Day for Wilma’s Book

So, I opened my Kindle this morning and Wilma‘s new book arrived.

Ain’t technology grand?  Books delivered to your lap, much like milk was delivered in days of yore.

Wilma writes Regencies.  Good Regencies.  Not just bodice rippers in an era when they actually had bodices to rip.  No, she looks at history and the challenges of the time, women’s rights, labor conflicts and all the things that make for a fascinating, multi-layered, and thrilling historical novel.  And she does it with a sure touch and a sense of humor.

As an early reader, I was lucky enough to watch Wilma’s latest child grow from Page 1.  It was a Master Class in how to write a book.

I want to write like Wilma when I grow up.

Now, what’s up with this ad from Prilosec with Larry the Cable Guy?  Ah, technology?

Reading at Sundance Books

I did a reading at Sundance Books in Reno as part of the promotional hoopla surrounding Tahoe Blues.  I’ve never done a reading before.  I’ve never really attended a reading before, either, but I went to the book launch readings up at Lake Tahoe Community College and here are some tips I picked up:

• Print your story in large print to make it easier to read
• Read slowly, pausing for the laughs that are sure to come
• Occassionally, look up from what you’re reading
• Get your hair out of your eyes

You know, basic stuff.

But I mostly learned that if people are at a reading, they’re already happy to hear what you have to say.  They’ve probably already read your story.  They want to be there.  They’re on your side.  There’s no need to try to convince them of anything.

And that takes a lot of pressure off.

Earlier in the week, I sent an e-mail blast to my friends and family in the Reno area and was tickled to death when some of them actually showed up.  And bought the book.  And asked me to autograph it!  I mean how cool is it to have a posse of supporters in the audience?

My sister, serendipitiously, was visiting from Colorado and so brought my mother and a friend to the reading.  Mom wasn’t planning to make the trip. 

Another family member, a local musician, came and showed his support, just as we’ve visited divey venues to show our support of his work.  Support the local arts!

The Sundance Books crew are also my peeps, seeing as it’s my “home bookstore” so to speak.  They did an awesome job of making us feel welcome, supporting us and arranging the venue for maximum capacity.  Because we did have a crowd.  A very appreciative crowd.

Such fun.  And there was the autographing of books, the meeting of the other authors and spending time with Kim Wyatt from Bona Fide Books, the publisher, who is very cool.  I didn’t get nearly enough time with her.

My particular reading went well, except for a few stumbles and a muffed punchline.  I only had a couple of snorts out of that flask and I tried to remember the words of my friend Jodie:

“I wish you calm nerves and a bold voice.”

http://www.sundancebookstore.com/event/tahoe-blues-reading-and-signing