I am swooning

I have just returned from an extensive trip to Switzerland, my country of origin, where I met family and friends, and my editor of course - and all these inquisitive and curious readers of my German books. It was a wonderful journey and I thoroughly enjoyed it. Actually, I had book readings in both English and German which was an extraordinary experience. It sometimes seemed to me that I was a different persona, depending on the language I used.
In Zurich, I was invited by the English Readers Club, and when I started to give the introduction to my mystery novel "Stormy Cove", the questions started coming and coming. So I just kept talking and explaining and reminiscing about Newfoundland and its people and my experiences in a tiny fishing community in Eastern Canada. In the end, I had not read a single word from my novel because there were so many interesting questions from my audience. So I thought: Bernadette, go with the flow! Which I did - and I had no regrets. It was such a lively exchange that we didn`t want to interrupt.
Really there is no rule to what an author reading should be. I just love to meet readers and hear their voices and feel the energy that is coming from them. I especially loved the fact that there were some young language students in the audience. So cool!
These kind of encounters are the icing on the cake for an author after long periods of voluntary reclusion. Very rewarding and utterly delightful!