Still Digesting?
One big holiday down, how many more to go? 'Tis the season.
Three things before I share some tidbits from my web perusing this week--
First, Mario's blog entry on Monday got an A+ from me. Good job, pal!
Second, our mutual friend and fellow Leaguer , Stacia Kane , is recovering from a horrific couple of months in a UK hospital. It's good to have you back, Stacia. We missed you.
And third, pal Cherie Priest's Boneshaker is headed for the big screen. Details here from Variety. Congratulations, Cherie!!
Anne McCaffrey, author of nearly 100 books, co-author of more than 30 and best known for the Dragonriders of Pern series, died on Monday ( Nov. 21) at her home in Ireland. She was 85.
McCaffrey was the first woman to win a Hugo Award (in 1968) and the first woman to win a Nebula (in 1969). She was the daughter of an army colonel, was born in Cambridge, Mass., and grew up in Montclair, N.J. She was inducted into the Science Fiction Hall of Fame in 2006.
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There was an interesting article in yesterday's WSJ about rethinking the book signing. Readings are out. Evidently, readers want to be entertained with power point presentations and stand up routines. What do you think? I do know I've come to realize after eight books that I must have some remarks prepared before each signing--which can be a challenge since I'm basically a pretty dull girl. The good people who come to see me every time deserve my best effort and new material.
So I put the question to you out there: what do you want to see/hear at a signing?
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And another topic near and dear to a writer's heart-- rejection. Flavorwire offers up some of the harshest rejections sent to the likes of Gertrude Stein, Ursula LeGuin, Kurt Vonnegut, Vladimir Nabokov, and my personal favorite—Hunter S .Thompson’s note to his biographer, William McKeen :
McKeen, you shit-eating freak. I warned you not to write that vicious trash about me Now you better get fitted for a black eyepatch in case one of yours gets gouged out by a bushy-haired stranger in a dimly-lit parking lot. How fast can you learn Braille?You are scum.HST
So see, my writer friends,no matter the rejection-- it could be worse!
Wow.. a powerpoint production at a book signing event. You could document your writing process in pictures and graphs and even put it to music. the climax could be shots of you crying after critique group... Nah... I need to think about this a little longer.
Yes, yes, I'm seeing this at YA signings -- Q & As, games, cupcake contests, art contests, song contests. Group signings also seem to be gaining popularity, too.
Personally I like readings at signings. It's always interesting to me to hear the author read from their work. Q & A is nice as well.
The only other things I've seen are games, but those have mostly been at the YA events I've gone to, I think mostly at the group events. Kelley Armstrong likes to encourage audience participation at events.
Terry-- you are assuming I know something about powerpoint. I don't :-)
Suzanne--a cupcake cannon? Love it!!!
I guess, Michelle, the best is a combination of reading and presentation interspersed. I did that myself, using short readings to illustrate a point in the development of my last book. It was fun, too. But I would like to come up with something for more audience participation. I am open to ideas.
I'm a mixture chick, I guess, a little reading and little show us whatcha got. I am just so pleased and thrilled to meet a favorite author and I can't even speak coherently most times.
I like readings with a Q&A. I can handle drawings but I’m not sure how I feel about games. Swag is fun but I’ve never left a reading disappointed if there wasn’t any. I’m always thankful when there are people willing to ask questions. I’m the shy type so I usually keep my mouth shut. Yet I’ve learned some of the most interesting or entertaining things during Q&A sessions.
I’m very excited for Cherie Priest. I think I “liked” every FB post I saw related to it yesterday. Vickie, I don’t remember if you’ve read it yet or not but I think this is one you’d enjoy on CD.
Jeanne ~ It is from Star Trek: TNG and novel. I picked it when I was having the hardest time getting a screen name that wasn't already being used. I never did read the book though. Just an interview with Magel Barrett when it came out.
Great article in Shelf Awareness about author parties, at bookstores or ortherwise. It seemed like a fun idea - it honors the author, but allows the fans to get a little more personal than at a traditional reading/signing.
And then there's Gregory Maguire, who sang during his reading at Tattered Cover recently. Not sure I have the cojones for that...