I've been thinking about author meetings lately. I'm not entirely sure why, since I'm years away from having to think about book tours (seeing those things generally involve this little thing called a book deal...), but I've had book signings, meet-and-greets, and school visits on my mind. And I have all these great ideas for contests and ways to interact with readers at functions instead of just talking or reading to them. They're all highly, highly pre-emptive, I know, but it's fun to think about sometimes. Not productive really (except that it makes the ironing go by faster), but fun. Anyway, somewhere along in the brainstorming/dreaming, I ended up flipping the idea and thinking about what I would want my favorite authors to offer as contest prizes or special events.
I would want there to be a way to win a day with that author.
Obviously, in real life, that can only apply to living writers. But here in the blogosphere, we can apply the idea to all writers of all time and we don't even have to compete for it :) So, if you had an entire day to spend with the author of your choice, who would it be? Why? And what non-writing-related activity would you do with him/her?
I finally decided on J.R.R. Tolkien. C.S.Lewis and G.A.Henty were close contenders in the past-authors category since Narnia is just wonderful and I grew up on Henty. Maggie Stievfater and Brandon Sanderson were the top picks for current authors, because Maggie is both hilarious and talented at all things creative, and Sanderson is, well, brilliant at storytelling. But, Tolkien surpassed them all. The Lord of the Rings is spectacular. And to spend a day with the man who created the world and history and characters of Middle Earth would be an incredible experience. His story is so full. Wouldn't it be amazing to be able to ask him in person how he developed it? How he created such characters? Why he bothered to develop a written language for the Elves and Dwarves? etc, etc, etc.
And if it was actually possible to spend a day with him, I would take him to New Zealand - the one place on Earth that looks like the world he created. And maybe, just maybe, he'd tell me what happens in the Fourth Age of Middle Earth.
I completely agree with you! I've found myself thinking about talking about my book on Oprah. Completely unrealistic, lol!
ReplyDeleteAnd I would absolutely love to meet J.R.R. Tolkien and go together to see New Zealand! Two of my dreams, to meet him (too bad I can't) and to see the beautiful county of New Zealand. If it would possible, that would be the best day ever!
Some writers I'd like to spend the day with include:
ReplyDelete1. Haruki Murakami, a Japanese writer whose novels flirt with the surreal. We'd spend the day in Tokyo eating teriaki and talking shop. He'd tell me, only me, where his books come from.
2. Joe Meno, a Chicago writer. I've been a fan since THE BOY DETECTIVE FAILS. Again his book borders on the surreal but with heart. We'd spend the day in a parallel world of Joe's choosing, talking about style.
3. And maybe Aimee Bender who specializes in a kind of pessimistic American magic realism. SADNESS OF LEMON CAKE. We'd spend the day sampling an array of cakes and coffees, reading passages of our novels to each other. She'd give me feedback.
Caitlin, I like the look of your blog.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Dwight :)
ReplyDeleteI've never heard of any of the authors you mentioned, but they all sound like very interesing writers with interesting stories. I'm going to add them to my reading list.
You're welcome, Caitlin. I read Murakami's SPUTNIK SWEETHEART which is good. THE WINDUP BIRD CHRONICLE is his famous one. I've long and ambitious. Haven't read it.
ReplyDeleteMeno's new book is with a big house. It's called THE GREAT PERHAPS. It's a trippy book with a big squid involved somehow. And I love the title of one book called HAIRSTYLES OF THE DAMNED. By the way, on my blog "The Guiding Dwight" (dwightokita2011.blogspot.com)-- I named your blog as my favorite of the week in the right margin.
I'm going to look up those titles (and several others that other followers have suggested) next time I go to the library. Thanks for the recommendations. It'll probably be a while before I get to read any of them, but they're on the list.
ReplyDeleteWhy, thank you! It's very kind of you to direct your followers over to my blog. I appreciate that :)
My pleasure.
ReplyDelete