RT Recap 3

What I'm reading: Tears of the Moon, by Nora Roberts

First: Yesterday I mentioned hearing Michael Connelly speak at the Adult Literacy League Fundraiser. A local bookstore, Urban Think! recorded his talk and has shared it here.

Friday. Another free food breakfast mixer. I'd decided to play that one by ear, but since I was awake, I wandered down, got in line, and was even early enough for a bag of goodies from The Shadowdwellers. I had my stint in the "Club RT" room after breakfast, where authors get a table to sit at and hand out promo items and chat with anyone who comes by. Most of the traffic is people entering drawings for all the big raffle baskets donated by attendees. I think I chatted more with the cover models than readers, but heck – that wasn't exactly a hardship.

The next session I attended was, "Kill Me!" with Debra Webb, who I 'knew' from her Murder She Writes blog; CJ Lyons, Karen Rose, Andrew Peterson & Tom Lowe. Very interesting discussion when someone asked the men how they dealt with 'romance.' We segued off into 'romance' vs 'sex scenes'.
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Not surprisingly, when someone asked the male panelists (who wrote thrillers) how they worked romance into their stories, since this was a 'romance' convention, both spoke that they included sex scenes. How XY of them. One thing I enjoyed about the panels I attended was the opening the discussion to input from the audience rather than sticking to a formal Q&A pattern.

After that, I'd planned to hide in my room for a bit and grab some of my food stash (lesson learned long ago; I always travel with some kind of sustenance), but I bumped into Nancy Cohen who said Harlequin was hosting a "potato martini" luncheon in celebration of its 60th anniversary. Free food. I joined the line. She'd been expecting a sit-down lunch based on the menu description, but in reality it was a bunch of food stations. Having done many conference meal events from the other side, I would definitely have done this one differently, but eventually we got to one of the buffet setups. Too late for the book giveaway, though.

The deal: you get a martini glass. There is a huge vat of mashed potatoes. Scoop the desired amount into your glass. Then there were 3 'toppings' – bbq chicken, some sort of beef (I don't know what 'flavor': I don't eat dead cows), and a faux Creole shrimp dish. Also, for purists, the basic bacon, chives, cheese toppers.

Note: next time, go very light on the potatoes and fill the glass with mostly the bbq chicken, which was very good. After lunch, they drew 10 names for special commemorative tote bags (and I won one!),


and then two or three people won Sony readers. After the event, I got together with Sandra McDonald, my first writing mentor, who had driven down from Jacksonville just to scope things out and attend the Saturday book fair. We had a nice visit. Hubby joined us at the hotel for dinner—the Vampire Ball included a full meal, but that wasn't going to be until nine, and I needed something more, given that lunch had been a martini glass of mashed potatoes with a little bbq chicken – oh, and a special commemorative cookie (or two).

I changed for the ball and went back to --- yep, stand in line. But the company was interesting.

I'm not a costume person. I thought I might be out of place, but from the looks of things, I'd say about 30% of the folks showed up in "costumes". Most of the rest just wore some variation on black. We were treated to a theatrical production of a murder. The audience was supposed to figure out who did it and why. Well, the sets and costumes were great, but the skit seemed typically corny for this kind of an event. Until the music started and Heather Graham belted out "House of the Rising Sun" which brought the house down. Shades of Susan Boyle on Britain's Got Talent. And do you think it's fair that Heather can write AND sing?

Music and dancing commenced after the show. I lasted about another half-hour. I didn't recognize the music, being totally out of touch, and the noise made conversation impossible. As usual, I'm happy curling up with a book.

Saturday was yet another breakfast event. This time I did get another bag o' books and Barry Eisler was signing a copy of Fault Line for everyone as they entered. Note to self: learn how to do a scribbly signature instead of having to be careful with all those loops in the cursive version of Odell – go ahead: write it yourself. It's nothing but tall, short, fat and skinny loops.


After the breakfast, it was time to set up for the book signing. All three of my allotted books were there. Once again, I sat beside Jana Oliver and her stuffed ferret. The person on the other side of me was a no-show, so I kind of encroached on her allotted space and spread out a bit more. I've learned that sitting and waiting for people when you're a relative unknown doesn't do anything for meeting people or making sales, so I tried to talk to passersby. A lot of them did stop when I said my books were mystery-romance, because that's a genre they enjoy. I had chapter books, postcards, magnets and chocolate—more when I started than when it was time to pack up. I met readers and booksellers and figure making contact was well worth the time spent in that huge, crowded, noisy room.

When the signing was over, I packed up and decided I was too drained to hang around long enough for the Cover Model competition. Maybe if I'd been 20 years younger, I'd have had the strength and the inclination – but these guys were almost all younger than my kids. Not that they were hard to look at, mind you, but definitely not the kind of guys I'd fantasize over.

So … that's my first RT. If you want more details, leave a question in the comments.

This was a long post, but I wanted to get the blow-by-blow done to give Homicide - Hussey center stage tomorrow. I'll try to get the PMS (Phony Male Syndrome) notes up on Monday.

Authors and Inspiration

What I'm reading: Running Blind, by Lee Child

The promised a recap of last night's book signing event at Urban Think! Bookstore with Michael Connelly.

Last night's venture into the wilds of downtown Orlando was well worth the trip. Since we figured Michael Connelly would be a big draw even to the small indie store, Urban Think!, we decided to make an evening of it and have dinner first. Traffic was typical, which meant it took about 50 minutes instead of 25, and the interstate has new off ramps, so our poor GPS lady was very busy "recalculating route."

We arrived about 90 minutes prior to the scheduled time and hubby picked the restaurant since he was doing me the favor of driving. (Night driving issues for me). His choice of Tortilla Flats meant we were in and out in another 30 minutes, so we took advantage of the shared space of Infusion Tea at Urban Think! and it turned out it was the first anniversary of the tea shop cohabiting with the bookstore, so drinks were two for one. And their chocolate biscotti was excellent. Unlike the Janet Evanovich signing we'd tried to attend about a year ago, lines didn't go outside and around the block. However, the store filled up steadily.

Mr. Connelly shared some of his writing background. It seems he moved from New Jersey to Florida as a 12 year old and had to deal with not only culture shock by climate shock. The summer hangout was a local park, and it didn't take long for a pressing need for shade. A small building sat at the edge of the park, and the boys watched a banner unfurl proclaiming "Now Air Conditioned." They went inside and the librarian was gracious, saying they were welcome, but there were 2 rules. One, keep it quiet, and Two, they had to be reading. She asked Michael Connelly how old he was, and he said 13, wanting to sound older. She gave him "To Kill a Mockingbird" and told him there were several copies on the shelf, so he could continue to read it each time he came in. He admitted to us that it took all summer to finish the book (and that included getting caught with a Mickey Spillane tucked behind his assigned book—the librarian said he could read that one when he was 14).

Did "To Kill a Mockingbird" inspire him to become a writer? No. But it laid the seeds for what he feels is an underlying theme in his books: someone who has a tough choice to make and does what he thinks is the right thing.

Since he was at the store to promote his newest release, The Brass Verdict, he told us about the inspiration for Michael Haller, first seen in The Lincoln Lawyer. It happened at opening day at Dodger Stadium. The day every seat is filled, and there are more people in suits and ties than t-shirts (because the stadium's location is convenient to the downtown crowd.) The man sitting next to him was an attorney, and when Mr. Connelly asked where his office was, the man replied, "my car." He was quick to add that it didn't make him the world's worst lawyer, that it was a luxury car, with a driver (someone who couldn't pay his legal fees), mobile fax and a trunk big enough to hold two file cabinets. It also meant he could take cases at all 40 of LA's courthouses.

The two men stayed until the end of the game (in LA, most people leave early to avoid the traffic) and Mr. Connelly says he still relies on the man for advice for making his writing accurate.

Accuracy was another topic he touched up. Mr. Connelly lives in Florida now, and he has many contacts in Florida law enforcement and judicial systems. However, Harry Bosch lives and works in Los Angeles, and Connelly also has people there who vet his work because the two states have different laws and procedures. Even the big guys have to do their homework.

The man who introduced Mr. Connelly was a local AP English teacher, and the store was full of his students. Yes, they got 'extra credit' for showing up, but they also asked questions and seemed truly interested. It's gratifying to see young people making the connection between school and real life.

Which brings me to Today's Gratitude List:
1. Teachers, so many of whom go the extra mile for their students
2. Urban Think! Bookstore for its support of Page 15
3. Hubby for driving.

Thanks, Urban Think Bookstore

What I'm reading: One Crazy Summer by Jenyfer Matthews

What I'm writing: Chapter 22 and next-round edits of Hurricane Breeze

Thanks to Jim and everyone at Urban Think! Bookstore for hosting a marvelous evening of chat, questions, and discussion of the writing world. I know I speak for everyone when I applaud the work you do for local authors. Anyone who lives in or passes through Orlando needs to check out this delightful store.





From left to right: Darlyn Finch, Nancy Robards Thompson, Terry Odell, Catherine Kean, Louise M. Gouge, Dara Edmondson.








And my post on reviewers and review sites generated a lot of discussion both here and on other groups. The timing seemed appropriate, as one writer received a review that was all plot summary, even going so far as to give away the surprise twist of the book. While what I posted previously was intended as a forum for discussion, I have to voice my opinion here and say, that was just plain WRONG. I don't think a review, by definition, should dwell on story details. It turned into a book report (and not a very well-written one, but that's another topic!)

A Review Survey

What I'm reading: When We Touch, by Shannon Drake; Lying With Strangers, by James Grippando

What I'm writing: Chapter 21

First -- anyone in Central Florida -- tomorrow's the panel discussion & book signing at Urban Think! Bookstore. Check my Sept. 11th post for more info.

I've been thinking about book reviews lately. This isn't about dealing with good or bad reviews, but more with the ways different review sites approach reviewing. I'm inviting everyone to share a comment and add to the discussion.

I'm curious, and full of questions. What do you look for when you read an on-line review? Do you rely on certain sites over others? Why? If a review is filled with typos and grammatical errors, does that bother you? Most of these on-line sites rely on readers, not writers, and isn't it about pleasing the reader, whether or not they can express themselves? Or should their reviews be edited for "quality" before being posted?

I've noticed that some reviewers spend 90% of the review summarizing the story with a line or two of their own feelings at the end. Others paint a more specific picture with things that they liked or where things fell apart for them. Some sites won't print anything other than favorable reviews.

But what is favorable? Many sites have a ranking system, usually in the 1-5 range. Often, however, I've read numerous reviews and could find nothing in them that indicated why the reviewer chose to give one book a "3" or "4" and another a "5". To read the review without the rank, I'd be hard-pressed to tell which the reviewer liked better, and why. These, of course are great for authors, because they can snag a positive statement for their promotion and nobody need know the overall score was less than stellar.

And what about sites that don't rank reviews at all? Is that a better system?

I'd love your opinions here.