Finding Author Events Is Tough, Interviewing Authors Is Easy

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I love finding out that authors are visiting Omaha!  Books seem to magically have more meaning after meeting the writer. 

I have attended a few author events since living in Omaha, and I always walk away from the event feeling a connection with the author. My book club tries to meet with an author every few months, and those nights are special to all of us. I love that we get to do this because it can be challenging to find author events throughout the city. Without an official event calendar for the entire metro area, let alone coordinating all of the PR Agencies/publishers and event locations to gather the information, it’s almost impossible to have one central list. So, imagine my surprise when I received an email from a member of my book club letting all of me know that Jamie Ford is coming to town later this month. 

Have you read his book? It’s a wonderful story, click here for the synopsis and details.  Below is a wonderful review by author Lisa See:

Jamie Ford’s first novel explores the age-old conflicts between father and son, the beauty and sadness of what happened to Japanese Americans in the Seattle area during World War II, and the depths and longing of deep-heart love. An impressive, bitter, and sweet debut.
— Lisa See, bestselling author of Snow Flower and the Secret Fan

Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and SweetI am planning to attend the event on April 15th, you do need to reserve a seat, so don’t forget to sign up if you are interested!  I hope to see you there. From Jamie’s website: 

Jamie Ford is the author of ‘Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet’. He went to art school to become an illustrator, and ended up an art director/copywriter, winning several awards for his work. He is also an award winning author in the short story genre and can now add Best selling novelist to the list.

Be sure to check out Jamie’s blog.

Last year I had the opportunity to interview Jamie:
Do you write daily? Um, does Twitter count? I tend to do a lot of research first, months of reading, digging, interviewing, note-taking and wistful daydreaming. But once I start writing, I do try to write every single day—usually around 1,500 words, seven days a week––I hate to hen-peck my writing, so once I get going, I keep going.

What do you think of the electronic book (Kindles and such)? Well, the Kindle is au courant so let’s talk about that. The interesting (and confusing) thing about the Kindle is that it’s two things: a reader, and a method of purchasing books.

As way to buy books, I think it’s clever and convenient and the books are cheap. I think that alone probably has more publishers in a twist than anything else. But honestly, the pricing doesn’t concern me as much as the packaging. One distinction between major books and books printed at Kinko’s has always been the qualitative feel and look of the book—the cover especially. The Kindle levels the playing field, which is great for the bevy of unpublished writers crying out for a more egalitarian world, but might be confusing for consumers.

As a reader, I won’t be impressed until it has a touch-screen, and comes in a color other than battleship grey. (Kindle 3, anyone?)

What is one tip that you can share with aspiring writers? Don’t expect to get it right the first time. So many aspiring writers set off to write their magnum opus on the first try. And when they fail they say, “I must not be a writer.” Forget it. Writing is a craft. Think of it in musical terms. You wouldn’t sit down at the piano and expect to play Mozart your first time, would you? Of course not. You plink away with Twinkle Twinkle Little Star and work your way up from there.

Lastly, share one or two of your all time favorite novels read, excluding classics: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie, and the Harlan Ellison Hornbook, a collection of essays, are my literary comfort food.

So, what are you reading this month?  Are you waiting for any new releases for summer?

Happy Reading, Mari