The Long Overdue Blog About the Borders Perth Colin Taber Q&A
I'll say here at the outset that this was my first attempt at a Q&A evening. While I've done a few signings, this was always going to be something quite different. Firstly, it went well, and while it was a lot of fun, I also found it to be a great learning experience.
I arrived a little early, straight from the day job, not quite with the same level of nerves I had when I did my first signing at Borders Perth about 18 months ago. For any of you who don't know, I used to work at Borders Perth as a manager (and prior to that, at Borders Bondi in Sydney). In that sense, I couldn't have felt more at ease in regards to the venue as I know about a third of the staff, most of the management team, and feel just plain comfortable in the store. That's obviously a good starting point.
Now, I don't feel that confident about public speaking (despite people telling me I do a fair job), but I settled down as we set up, mainly due to the fact I felt comfortable in the venue and that, regardless of what the turnout might be, I'd recognise a few faces as some of the attendees would be from the Facebook fan page. So, with a few minutes to spare, we finished the set up at one end of the Gloria Jeans Café with help from Borders staff, taking the huge main table (which is also next to the fantasy and sci-fi section) and also a smaller table. Finally, we were ready.
By this time people had started arriving. I greeted them, helping to settle them into seats and arrange their coffees and cake. Then, shortly after our listed five O'clock start, with a fair audience gathered in front of me (about half from the Facebook fan page, as it turns out) we got underway.
All up, we managed to be a crowd of just over a dozen, which was a fair turnout for such a first event. Coffee in hand, I started by introducing myself and talking my way through my own background in publishing, writing and bookselling, from Australian Realms Magazine in 1988, through to the Unae project, which is of course the setting for The Ossard Trilogy (first begun in that magazine's pages in 1996). I then went on to talk about the Trilogy itself (briefly) and touched upon what comes afterwards, mentioning one specific (Unae based) trilogy and hinted at other projects. Such topics were backed up by me holding aloft the proof editions of these future releases (photos can be found at the Facebook fanpage).
The first questions quickly bubbled up; about how Unae had first taken form as a series of magazine articles, also through to the discussion of the Ossard storyline's first incarnation as a series of single page colour pieces spread over three consecutive magazine issues, all telling the tale of the great city's sad demise. While my audience was eager to dig deeper, some marvelling at how long Ossard had actually been around before finally seeing print (over sixteen years), they were also surprised to hear that the first draft of The Fall of Ossard was written as a writing exercise in first person, something I worked at fulltime many years ago and completed in just six weeks.
From there I went on to address the four questions I'd previously released regarding my feelings on the future of fantasy fiction. While this was an interesting talking point, I suspect it wasn't the highlight, as the audience seemed far more interested in hearing more about me and The Ossard Trilogy. Originally, we'd tried to style the big four questions as a way to broaden the event's appeal: The future of fantasy, comparing Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, what of Twilight, and which authors will be stars of tomorrow? Grand questions, all of them, but I don't think one person turned up to see them answered. Those who attended were either passing by and had stopped to see what was happening, or had come because they'd read The Fall of Ossard and wanted to meet me.
So, next time, the Q&A will focus much more on Ossard and me.
Now, the content of my answers to those questions will be in future blogs, and those aren't far away. I will post them very soon. For now though, let me continue to talk about how the rest of the evening went.
After covering my introduction and then the big four, we got back to Ossard. I spoke of the upcoming release of Ossard's Hope (late May 2011 for the USA and looking to be September 2011 for the Australian retail release). I spoke of the format of the story in the second book, it now split (via Juvela's blessing link with Sef) into two points of views as we chapter by chapter follow both of these characters' stories). While I didn't let any cats out of any bags, well, not hugely, I did mention that part of the book is set not in Ossard, but Fletland.
I also spoke about my expectation that the third Ossard book will be released within two years of Ossard's Hope publication, as a good part of it's written, and a good number of problems have been solved during Ossard's Hope's difficult birth. Having got that out of the way, I then talked about the next trilogy (which I had a proof copy of there) and how my expectation is that the first book of that (which is set in Unae, but a different part of continental Dormetia, and two years later) will be getting released within months of the third Ossard book's release as it's almost ready to go now. That whole second trilogy will be trotted out fairly quickly. At the latest/slowest, it will be at one release a year. Largely, as a project, it's already complete.
Following that (and the much celebrated coffee and cake) there were lots of questions. Quite a few times the focus fell upon some of the story hooks in the book, or hints at pieces of the setting that are waiting to be explored. The excitement of the readers there, particularly Linda, Lee, Andrew and Tanya was not only great to see, but absolutely energising.
Finally, we wrapped up, probably eighty minutes later, the last act the signing of more copies of The Fall of Ossard. That done, with goodbyes said and Borders and Gloria Jeans staff thanked, it was time to go.
I want to thank all of those who turned up, and again highlight the continuing support of Borders Perth. The support of all of you is not only fantastic, but as I said earlier, energising.
Until next time.
I arrived a little early, straight from the day job, not quite with the same level of nerves I had when I did my first signing at Borders Perth about 18 months ago. For any of you who don't know, I used to work at Borders Perth as a manager (and prior to that, at Borders Bondi in Sydney). In that sense, I couldn't have felt more at ease in regards to the venue as I know about a third of the staff, most of the management team, and feel just plain comfortable in the store. That's obviously a good starting point.
Now, I don't feel that confident about public speaking (despite people telling me I do a fair job), but I settled down as we set up, mainly due to the fact I felt comfortable in the venue and that, regardless of what the turnout might be, I'd recognise a few faces as some of the attendees would be from the Facebook fan page. So, with a few minutes to spare, we finished the set up at one end of the Gloria Jeans Café with help from Borders staff, taking the huge main table (which is also next to the fantasy and sci-fi section) and also a smaller table. Finally, we were ready.
By this time people had started arriving. I greeted them, helping to settle them into seats and arrange their coffees and cake. Then, shortly after our listed five O'clock start, with a fair audience gathered in front of me (about half from the Facebook fan page, as it turns out) we got underway.
All up, we managed to be a crowd of just over a dozen, which was a fair turnout for such a first event. Coffee in hand, I started by introducing myself and talking my way through my own background in publishing, writing and bookselling, from Australian Realms Magazine in 1988, through to the Unae project, which is of course the setting for The Ossard Trilogy (first begun in that magazine's pages in 1996). I then went on to talk about the Trilogy itself (briefly) and touched upon what comes afterwards, mentioning one specific (Unae based) trilogy and hinted at other projects. Such topics were backed up by me holding aloft the proof editions of these future releases (photos can be found at the Facebook fanpage).
The first questions quickly bubbled up; about how Unae had first taken form as a series of magazine articles, also through to the discussion of the Ossard storyline's first incarnation as a series of single page colour pieces spread over three consecutive magazine issues, all telling the tale of the great city's sad demise. While my audience was eager to dig deeper, some marvelling at how long Ossard had actually been around before finally seeing print (over sixteen years), they were also surprised to hear that the first draft of The Fall of Ossard was written as a writing exercise in first person, something I worked at fulltime many years ago and completed in just six weeks.
From there I went on to address the four questions I'd previously released regarding my feelings on the future of fantasy fiction. While this was an interesting talking point, I suspect it wasn't the highlight, as the audience seemed far more interested in hearing more about me and The Ossard Trilogy. Originally, we'd tried to style the big four questions as a way to broaden the event's appeal: The future of fantasy, comparing Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter, what of Twilight, and which authors will be stars of tomorrow? Grand questions, all of them, but I don't think one person turned up to see them answered. Those who attended were either passing by and had stopped to see what was happening, or had come because they'd read The Fall of Ossard and wanted to meet me.
So, next time, the Q&A will focus much more on Ossard and me.
Now, the content of my answers to those questions will be in future blogs, and those aren't far away. I will post them very soon. For now though, let me continue to talk about how the rest of the evening went.
After covering my introduction and then the big four, we got back to Ossard. I spoke of the upcoming release of Ossard's Hope (late May 2011 for the USA and looking to be September 2011 for the Australian retail release). I spoke of the format of the story in the second book, it now split (via Juvela's blessing link with Sef) into two points of views as we chapter by chapter follow both of these characters' stories). While I didn't let any cats out of any bags, well, not hugely, I did mention that part of the book is set not in Ossard, but Fletland.
I also spoke about my expectation that the third Ossard book will be released within two years of Ossard's Hope publication, as a good part of it's written, and a good number of problems have been solved during Ossard's Hope's difficult birth. Having got that out of the way, I then talked about the next trilogy (which I had a proof copy of there) and how my expectation is that the first book of that (which is set in Unae, but a different part of continental Dormetia, and two years later) will be getting released within months of the third Ossard book's release as it's almost ready to go now. That whole second trilogy will be trotted out fairly quickly. At the latest/slowest, it will be at one release a year. Largely, as a project, it's already complete.
Following that (and the much celebrated coffee and cake) there were lots of questions. Quite a few times the focus fell upon some of the story hooks in the book, or hints at pieces of the setting that are waiting to be explored. The excitement of the readers there, particularly Linda, Lee, Andrew and Tanya was not only great to see, but absolutely energising.
Finally, we wrapped up, probably eighty minutes later, the last act the signing of more copies of The Fall of Ossard. That done, with goodbyes said and Borders and Gloria Jeans staff thanked, it was time to go.
I want to thank all of those who turned up, and again highlight the continuing support of Borders Perth. The support of all of you is not only fantastic, but as I said earlier, energising.
Until next time.
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