Yesterday I meant to post about my talk at the Wood Library at Canandaigua, but I ended up having a fantastic day of writing and was afraid to interrupt the momentum. But if you really missed me, you can catch up with what I posted on the group blog I'm a part of. Check out my post "I HAVE KILLED" on Writers Plot.
Now, back to our story....
The weather really sucked over the weekend, and they were threatening freezing rain, so Frank decided to drive and we headed out early under gray skies. Because the weather wasn't horrible, we arrived early and Frank decided to grab a coffee at McDonalds. We arrived at the library about 11:30 for my noon talk.
The Wood Library is in a former mansion, and it looks it. Wow, what a neat place. And the meeting room where I was to give my talk was gorgeous, with crown molding and marble fireplaces. (Yes, there were two.) A neat old oak lectern was at the front of the room and there had to be at least 50 chairs. I figured my audience would be between 7-15.
Talk about a welcome! The library had homemade cookies, coffee and tea available for its patrons (and me!). I was too nervous to eat (actually more worried I'd end up with cookie stuck in my teeth) so Frank enjoyed my fair share.
I spread out all my stuff (and believe me, I never travel light. I had three different brochures, bookmarks, a chapbook and parting gift, books, and my guest book for those who want to sign up for my newsletter) and waited. People started filtering in. More and more of them. They spread out, but Frank counted at least 30 people, plus library staff.
It went well. The audience assured me I didn't sound like Daffy Duck (I was wired for sound), but threw me a curve when someone asked me to read a passage from the book. Yikes! I've never read aloud to a group before. Usually I give my speech and take questions.
There's controversy among authors: should we or shouldn't we read from our books? The fear is you'll lose your audience if you read too long. Once they're bored, they can't wait to leave.
So it was with trepidation I opened a copy of the book and searched for my favorite passage. (The moment where Richard finally believes Jeff has some kind of psychic ability.) I was astounded I found it right away (a psychic experience perhaps?) and tried to read with some kind of dramatic flair. Nobody laughed, so I guess I did okay. I read just over three pages, which seemed to be enough.
Everyone seemed to enjoy the talk (and the cookies) and I sold a good number of books afterward. The library had their copy of the book out and somebody snatched it up.
The weather had closed in by the time we left and it was snowing big wet flakes. Still, we celebrated with a chicken sandwich at Wendy's (with a side of pickles).
Ahhh, can life get much better?
Fabulous! This sounds like your most successful presentation yet.
Posted by: Liz | March 21, 2007 at 08:43 PM
This is what it's ALWAYS supposed to be like! Congrats on a day to keep in the memory book!
Gwen
This should also inspire you to write more, more more so you can do it again!
Gwen
Posted by: Gwen Nelson | March 22, 2007 at 12:12 PM