Continuing continued signing
AJLR says:
I don’t know if this was the case for any other forum members in attendance yesterday but I’d not been to an author signing before and didn’t know quite what to expect. There was a little hesitancy at the start of the evening, I thought, with many of us slightly freaking out (in a quiet, British, sort of way) at the thought that we were actually in the same room as Robin
And allow me to point out here that this is why I want to hide under the desk? I’m a person! I’m a person with hellhounds who rings bells and writes odd little fragments for the piano and digs in her garden and rides a lovely horse . . . and sees her husband occasionally . . . and writes books for a living. I’M A PERSON!
- who coped nobly
Thirty-odd years’ experience does have its effect. I can’t remember if this is something I’ve already talked about, but I was amazed when I found out I had a Public Persona button to press–when Harper & Row as it then was, sent me out on my first tour for BEAUTY. Hey, where did that come from? And who does it belong to? Whoever she is, whom the public Robin simulacrum is copied off of, I’m very grateful.
with it all and took charge well! And I also felt strongly how alarming it might be for any human being in Robin’s situation, faced with a packed mass of eager-to-be-friendly people who know a little of her life through the blog but about whom she knows very little in return.
Yep. I favour a nice roomy desk that you can sit under without banging your head. Maybe a cup of tea.
Yet another consequence of online communications I suppose.
No, having a few bloggers there–people I’ve had some kind of contact with–and who are making the considerable effort to show up–make it a lot less horrifying. But you could have volunteered to identify yourselves a little sooner. At least you did volunteer. I wasn’t looking forward to trying to drag it out of you.
Oh, and I’d also like to say to Southdowner and Robin how much I appreciated their patient acceptance of my unfortunate tendency to move into Mother Hen mode at the end of the evening. Yes, I know they’re both grown women and they didn’t need me fussing over them or their travel arrangements. My nearest and (allegedly) dearest informed me later that I was practically clucking. :sigh: It’s hard to switch these traits off.
You bought me hot chocolate. You can fuss over me any time you want.
One final thing – as I was standing in front of you, Robin, while you were signing my two books, I was so struck with the beautiful and unusual rings you were wearing. Stunning!
Oooh! Thank you! I could photo them too, and tell you about them. Most of them have stories.
Your entire outfit was so cool and appropriate
APPROPRIATE? . . . Golly, have I failed? No, wait, you mean appropriate for a slightly mad fantasy writer who finds public appearances moderately terrifying and takes her moral support where she can find it, right?
I was deeply impressed.
Snork. I think I’ll leave that one alone. . . .
| Louiz said: |
| and it surprised me that she has an American accent – I don’t know why, maybe because writing doesn’t have an accent |
Quite.
Heh. Only a Brit says ‘quite’.
It’s called DaMAR, and not DAY-mar, who knew?
It’s worse than that, because it’s DahMAHR but DahMAIRian. I have no idea why. They came that way. I will add, however that DAYmar sounds like paint solvent to me, and an artist friend once told me that there is something like a varnish or a solvent called Damar. You run into it occasionally elsewhere too. Somewhere I have a photo of the Damar Hair Salon, which is in Dorset, I think.
| AJLR said: |
| I don’t know if this was the case for any other forum members in attendance yesterday but I’d not been to an author signing before and didn’t know quite what to expect. There was a little hesitancy at the start of the evening, I thought, with many of us slightly freaking out (in a quiet, British, sort of way) at the thought that we were actually in the same room as Robin - |
Yes, didn’t we all go horribly shy! Poor Robin! But we loosened up in the end, I thought.
Yes, you wretched people! REMEMBER THIS next time!* I didn’t help, of course, by showing up late, but I had a very good excuse.**
Silveronthetree says:
Thanks for signing old copies of old books as well – I almost didn’t bring anything as I know some shops insist on only signing books that you buy.
I have my mouth all open/fingers all poised to say ‘yes, I hate that’, but sometimes they have to for time, queues, and the author’s hand’s sakes: which, as I have also said, is not something that happens to me. But I do dislike the automatic ban on books not bought that day at that store and will in fact flout it any time I run into it.
I can’t believe that I missed the All Stars especially since I’d worn my own especially (green with a pink stripe) but the coat was fantastic.
Oh, rats! I wish you’d said something! We could have waved our feet at each other! Green with a pink stripe sounds excellent. When I post a photo of the climbing-rose All Stars, post one of yours, okay?
Blackbear says:
I always have wondered about this. The few times I’ve felt a need to get a book signed, I figure that 1-2 is the safe way to go, both for the author and for the people behind me in line; and yet, the last time I did so (a comic con, where one my favorite artists had a table) the dude in front of me had approximately 200 comics–I kid you not, like the entire full run of two different series of this guy’s comics. And I thought to myself–seriously? If you genuinely liked an author/artist, would you WANT to ask them to spend 30 minutes signing your 200 comic books?
Is this an obsessive teenage boy we’re talking about? Then, yes. But this is the sort of thing I’m talking about, that sometimes it’s necessary to limit.*** But the rest of the time . . . it varies from writer to writer of course but I’d be willing to guess that most writers who aren’t big and hot and blase would be happy to sign a few extras.
Lianne says:
Quite. It’s called DaMAR, and not DAY-mar, who knew? |
She’s said at least a couple of times in the blog entries that she still has an American accent, so that doesn’t surprise me. (It surprises me that she’s managed to retain it after so long, though – when I went over there for two weeks I was struggling to talk and not sound like I was trying to be a British copycat or something, because I was sure I was messing it up in some way and didn’t want to be seen as some condescending American. I just found the way of talking so easy to fall into
I’m not trying to keep this accent, it just doesn’t go away. This is one of those divisions of all people into You Are Either One of These or One of Those rules. There are people who automatically and involuntarily pick up the way the people around them speak, and the ones who . . . don’t. I’m a don’t. I still kind of wish I had a British accent I could turn on and off so that people wouldn’t offer to help me with the money, but in fact they rarely do any more. I flourish my £2 coins with authority I guess. And while when I was first over here I longed to sound more British, I’ve come to the conclusion that I’d rather go on sounding American. That means anyone dealing with me knows what they’re getting into. The culture chasm still yawns. And I’m still an American. Well, no, I’m not. But I’m not British either. Have I blogged about this yet? The Ex Pat Experience. This is home but I don’t belong here.
Maren says:
| Quote: |
| when I went over there for two weeks I was struggling to talk and not sound like I was trying to be a British copycat or something, because I was sure I was messing it up in some way and didn’t want to be seen as some condescending American |
I had that problem when I moved to Louisiana after growing up in the upper Midwest. Actually sometimes it’s easier to just affect a slight accent, particularly when ordering at drive-ins and referring to local geographic features. One of the main streets in town here is Louisville, and I quickly had to learn to say it Louwuhvull in order to be understood.
I’ve found that the way not to be identified as American is to talk without opening my mouth. In a kind of rapid nasal mutter. I do this when American tourists ask me directions. There is nothing more lowering than to ask directions in a gloriously foreign place and have one of your countrypeople answer you.
Southdowner says:
Thank you for your discussion of how Damar came to be two rather than 3 books
Okay, stand by to hold your hair on: DAMAR HAS NEVER BEEN A *&^%£$”£!”!!! TRILOGY. It was always going to be a Series of Indefinite Length. I admit the indefinite length was not meant to be two but I do in fact believe that I’ll get at least two more Damar books written: BELLS and . . . it doesn’t have a name but it has another really good horse in it. And a half-yerig half-sheepdog. I might even get KIRITH out from wherever it’s hiding† and think about what to do with it–that’s the one I told you about that was turned down. That’s an awful lot of work to say ‘oh well’ about and throw on the compost heap.
- I understand so much more of the tribulations of authorly life now, since reading your blog; I used to think it went “write book, publish book, people read book”. I never contemplated books being kept unreleased in specific geographical areas, the stresses of book signings/tours…
NOT TO FORGET THE STRESSES OF WRITING THE DAMNED THINGS. Although that’s still to be preferred because it’s only you. You can argue with yourself. You might even win occasionally.
We were lucky* enough to get tickets
Tickets? Cheezum wow. I’m sitting here trying to decide whether I envy him or not. Not very much. But it would be nice not to be worrying about paying for the Loft Conversion at Third House. Or the hellhounds’ next trip to the vet.
for the last stop in Neil Gaiman’s Graveyard book tour last Friday, and he did look very tired when we got to “meet” him at the signing afterwards.
Do read the book though. It is seriously, wildly, spectacularly wonderful.
* He was a great McKinley prelude, but no real competition.
Darling. I am your slave.
R and B says:
To all the blog readers–although I join you in impatiently waiting for new McKinley books I just want to point to the BLOG itself. The blog gives the impression you are having a conversation with someone you know really well (remember, it’s an impression) with all the little rabbit trails that people run up and down–it is so skillfully done it seems easy ( a nice chat with Robin to see what she is up to ). It may have started as a Marketing Tool and preferable to the dreaded Tour BUT (and here is the unapologetic sucking up) it is a marvelous creation. Whether the blog is something Robin dashes off or sweats over I’m in awe of her skill. I think the mark of a good writer is the tucking away in the piece the mechanics so you don’t see the props–unless you WANT the reader to see them.
THANK YOU VERY MUCH. There’s more sweating goes on over this thing than I want you to know, yes. And while it doesn’t count the way the books do, in terms of my input, commitment, hair-tearing, etc, it counts.
Ajlr
| Quote: |
| After twenty years the British are still a mystery to me. Frequently a good mystery. |
Is this where we get out our black cloaks and slink into the shadows, doing the Mwahaha! bit, or would you prefer just a murmured ‘Oh I say, steady on there’ and a mild blush?
Definitely the latter. Americans invented Mwahahahaha. (The ghost of Chekov–no, no, not that Chekov!–is standing at my shoulder saying, No, the Wussians invented it! The Wussians!)
Diane in MN says:
And there was this computer on the desk . . . maybe next time find a helpful hardware person and set up a webcam; with suitable instruction from the technologically up-to-date, we could have long-distance sharing. ::ducks FAST:
You will be killed shortly. It’s too late: protestations will do you no good. The winged monkeys have already been dispatched.
Jmeadows says:
The computer was an iMac and, as far as I know, they come with webcams built in. It looks like that’s a slightly older model than mine, but…still should have had a webcam. IF ONLY WE’D KNOWN.
And you will be tortured extensively. By ferrets. With tiny little whips and chains. Mwahahahaha. Speaking of Mwahahahaha.
Mrs Redboots says:
And Hazel’s toy was definitely a ferret.
Fiddlesticks. Don’t listen to her, Miss Suzi and the rest! She’s just winding you up! I never saw a less ferrety ferret in my life! Dachshunds, now, Dachshunds might be offended.
| Lucy Coats wrote on Thu, 06 November 2008 14:41 |
| ….. Place was PACKED OUT….. |
Doooo remember, as you all pick up on this comment, that the store is rather smaller than some vegetable bins I have seen, and already dangerously wedged full of books. It only takes about three people and a small dog to pack it out. And Hazel is a medium sized dog.
The strangest thing was at the start, when we were all filtering in and looking at each other out of the corners of eyes…’is she someone I know from the forum….do I take a chance and say something…’. Being British (mostly) we were all a little reticent but slowly things got chatty – and then Southdowner and Hazel arrived so we were all on safe ground there
YES, AND YOU ALL WENT SILENT AGAIN WHEN I WALKED IN. THANKS A LOT. Thank the gods for Hazel.
And on a topic nothing to do with book signings
Diane in MN says:
Today I heard stories on National Public Radio and Canadian public radio about the puppy promise and its ramifications. Apparently Obama told his kids some time ago that they could get a dog after the election, when things were more settled one way or another, and since then the American Kennel Club has had a web site up where people could vote for what kind of dog it should be
Vote on it? How rude and idiotic–not to mention off the wall–is that? Let them have the dog THEY want! They’re going to have enough that they don’t want, the next four years!
And, speaking of the critters that run many of our lives:
Jmeadows says:
| southdowner wrote on Fri, 07 November 2008 21:22 |
| All I can really add is that I realised the price of fame when I entered the bookshop to be greeted with a group of people who said as one ” It’s Hazel!” Next time I think she should take a bow lol |
I know what you mean. Any time friends come to visit, they’re coming to visit the ferrets. I, apparently, don’t have any friends.
Yes! I have very few friends either! And the ones I do have to like hellhounds or they stay away! At least you keep your ferrets in a room, right? The hellhounds mob the front door. So it’s like people come in, have a good time (or not) with the hellhounds, and then go away again! I sort of stand around being backdrop and thinking about other things I could be doing!
* Yes, I said it! Next time! Okay, you guys, you’ve effectively magicked me a bookstore signing, you want to take on the task of magicking me a British publisher?^ I’m not sure how to organise this . . . at a prearranged time I suppose we all face London and Think Publisher Thoughts.
After we get that out of the way we can tackle the really gnarly issue of hellhound digestion, so I can come to the States sometime in the next decade.^^
^ Which is how to go about another bookstore signing, you realise. Oh, well, the reissued SUNSHINE selling 1,000,000,000,000 copies would probably also do.
^^ To say nothing of Australia. Or Sweden. Or South Africa. Or . . .
** The dog ate my homework.
*** However, don’t get me started on rare book dealers. I will not sign for rare book dealers if I catch them at it, which is a quite common reaction among live authors, and most of such dealers have therefore developed strategems to trick you into it, which makes me want to kill them. There was one partner of a Used Dealer (so to speak) at the signing who asked me to sign two books, and one of them was to the partner himself who happens to be a fan. I have no problem with this. It’s the fifty copies that they’re going to take home and flog that I object to.
†† If I can find it
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