ok, at home i used to buy all, most, of my books at the tattered cover --its one of those great independent bookstores that you want to support so that they stay around to keep the bookstore tyrants on their toes. i used to go all the way to the cherry creek store because it had at least 4 floors of twists-and-turns, and nooks-and-crannies to find all kinds of literary treasures... not only on the shelves were there treasures to find, but the TC always has the best authors come for readings.
my best-home-town-friend, crystal and i saw amy tan (in the LoDo TC after a very fine meal at the wynkoop brewery) when she was touring with the bonesetter's daughter. it was 2001, and it was remarkably 
memorable night for some reason... i remember that i had a thai cobb salad (say it out loud, it's funny) and crystal and i talked about her baby that was coming soon. i think it was the last time she and i hung out sans bebes... but anyway, amy talked about being a daughter and watching her mother grow old, and the parallel relationship between the mother and daughter in the book. i don't know how to say this without sounding like a cheeseball, but hearing her talk about drawing on her real life to create a novel, made it so much more personal... so much better!oh, yeah... so much better... maybe because meeting the author creates a spark between the writer and book-reader, it makes 
the book come to life in the author's voice. when i met maeve binchy, my mom and i were in the old cherry creek TC store. it was the lent season of 1999, when i was expecting ryan and trying to give up chocolate for 6 weeks... did i 
mention that the TC had a wonderful coffee bar? it did, and i was able to enjoy maeve talk (with her lovely irish lilt) about her life, writing tara road and then read chapter three (the one where ria and annie are shopping) over delicious hot carmelly cocoa. in itself, it was great... but the best part of being at the TC with maeve was that we were last in line to have our book signed! what?! how is that good?! she took just 30 seconds beyond writing her name in the book said to me (me being 6 months pregnant) and say that mothers are wonderful people in world with very important jobs and SHE RUBBED MY TUMMY!
the book come to life in the author's voice. when i met maeve binchy, my mom and i were in the old cherry creek TC store. it was the lent season of 1999, when i was expecting ryan and trying to give up chocolate for 6 weeks... did i 
mention that the TC had a wonderful coffee bar? it did, and i was able to enjoy maeve talk (with her lovely irish lilt) about her life, writing tara road and then read chapter three (the one where ria and annie are shopping) over delicious hot carmelly cocoa. in itself, it was great... but the best part of being at the TC with maeve was that we were last in line to have our book signed! what?! how is that good?! she took just 30 seconds beyond writing her name in the book said to me (me being 6 months pregnant) and say that mothers are wonderful people in world with very important jobs and SHE RUBBED MY TUMMY! (i'm sitting here verklempt, just thinking about it!)
over the years, my "status" has offered me many opportunities to meet other authors and hear them speak, but there is nothing like the intimacy between authors and fans that is offered at the tattered cover. with this said, and again you are asking "what's your point?" well, my
point is that diana gabaldon is going to be at the highland's ranch TC tonight!!!!! i want to meet this woman who writes these HUGE and all-absorbing books, i want to hear her speak about her craft and i want to know if she writes these books to continue her (and ours) love affair with jamie fraser!!
point is that diana gabaldon is going to be at the highland's ranch TC tonight!!!!! i want to meet this woman who writes these HUGE and all-absorbing books, i want to hear her speak about her craft and i want to know if she writes these books to continue her (and ours) love affair with jamie fraser!!i also just finished reading voyager, so visions of jamie and claire are fresh in my mind... so many twists and turns! i know i'm not giving too much away when i say, we are once again led to believe that jamie has died. from dragonfly in amber, claire goes back to her time, has jamie's child, stays married to frank, becomes a doctor... and yet {not unsurprising to me} during those 20 years, she still yearns for jamie. after getting some news on jamie, claire gives up everything for voyages {again} thru the stones, scotland, paris and into jamaica... and setting us up for book four--in the states!
yep, i'd love to hear diana talk about the new (7th in the series) book, an echo in the bone.
here's my question... which author have you heard and loved! the one who really made an impact on you? never met an author... how about the one you'd really like to meet? or how about this, if you could have lunch with one author, who would you invite?!
happy reading!
