How not to make a first impression
I went to the Sisters Festival of Books last night. I was honored to be one of the local authors. They gave each author a few minutes to talk about our work, and I sold a dozen paperbacks! And I really enjoyed meeting readers and other authors.
What not to do
At the event, I met author Valarie Anderson. Val writes narrative non-fiction. That means her history book reads like a novel, instead of a textbook. Her book, The Money Eater, is about Bernard Otto Kuehn, who spied for the Japanese in Oahu. During her presentation, she spoke of the research involved in writing a historically accurate book. Months of research, involving declassified CIA and FBI files, family records, local government documents, and radio broadcast transcripts.
The story sounded fascinating, so I picked up a copy of her book. And when I asked her to sign it, I started off with my usual charm: “Your work sounds horrible!”
That's not a nice thing to say to anyone, but especially not an author. We're a sensitive bunch.
Time to back peddle
Of course, I quickly explained that I meant the hours of research sounded like way too much work–especially for someone who makes up everything she writes. She said understood, and that she felt the same way about fiction. But I will never forget the look on her face when I first blurted that out!
I'm hoping this will become a funny story she tells whenever the subject of “worst fan ever” comes up.
The moral of the story
Of course, the moral of the story is to think before you speak. My mother told me that my whole life–you'd think I would have learned it by now! But this is why I'm a writer. I can edit everything. Many, many times.
If you live in Sisters, there are lots of amazing authors in town this weekend for the Festival, and events continue through Sunday. Check it out. Swing by our local indie bookstore, Paulina Springs. And pick up a copy of Valarie's book!
