By Karna Bodman
Have you had the pleasure of attending an event where a prominent author is giving a speech? I’ve been to several, Here are my favorite recollections:
First is Marie Benedict, whom I met when she spoke to some 600 people at the Ritz Carlton Hotel, sponsored by the Naples Library. Marie is the bestselling author of novels about fascinating women in history. One of her best is The Mystery of Mrs. Christie, about Agatha Christie’s disappearance in December of 1926. Her car was parked at the edge of a murky pond, and her fur coat was left in the back seat. English detectives unleashed an unprecedented hunt for the famous author, including an investigation into a possible motive for murder by her unfaithful husband. The Washington Post describes it as “A stunning story…the ending is ingenious, and it’s possible that Benedict has brought to life the most plausible explanation for why Christie actually did disappear.”
Second, I met R.L. Stine when he attended Thrillerfest some years ago. He is the most prolific author I’ve ever encountered, having sold over 400 million books worldwide! One of his recent endeavors is Red Rain about a travel writer who survives a hurricane on a tiny island off the South Carolina Coast. She rescues two orphaned twin boys and brings them home. Who could predict that within a few weeks’ time her husband will be implicated in two murders? The Associated Press says it is a “must-read for every fan of deviously inventive chillers.”
Finally, one of my all-time favorite authors was Nelson DeMille. I met him at Book Expo in New York. I went over and told him that when I read his terrific thriller, A Lion’s Game, about a young Arab known as The Lion who has vowed revenge against the American pilots who bombed Libya and killed his family, I said I had been in the White House Situation Room the night we did bomb Libya. Later I contacted his office with the hope that he might consider giving me a blurb for my next thriller. I knew it would be a long-shot. I received a nice email from his assistant saying, “Even though Mr. DeMille is on deadline, he did remember meeting you at Book Expo and said to send your manuscript along, he’ll try to take a look.” She added a PS, “Kind of makes your day, doesn’t it?” It certainly did since DeMille gave me a terrific blurb for my second thriller, Gambit.
I’ve made some of my best author contacts attending their presentations. What about you?
If you are an author, do you give speeches at clubs, churches, or bookstores? Where? Or, if you are a reader, have you attended talks by authors? Which ones? Tell us in a comment below!
I’ll talk anywhere people will have me!
As for listening, I heard Martha Grimes at my first Bouchercon in 2005, which was a thrill. As was meeting Peter Abrahams at another conference.
I had an academic background and gave talks/lectures to groups as large as 200 people. I had to learn how to be fun, and how to be brief and punchy, for book groups. I remember Dennis Lehane talking at a Bouchercon. He talks like his characters and dropped more F-bombs in his talk than I heard in the rest of the conference!