Bull Spec and Flyleaf

This past weekend I was back in my old stomping grounds, North Carolina. Robin and I had lived there for twelve years and it was interesting to be back again, trying to remember things that were only vague recollections.  We started out on Saturday night by meeting with local writers at a dinner hosted by The next day we were in Chapel Hill, North Carolina at Flyleaf Bookstore with fellow Orbit author, T.C. MaCarthy (who was also at Mark’s house the night before) for a dual reading/discussion. This all came about due to the efforts of Sam Montgomery-Blinn, creator of Bull Spec Magazine in conjunction with Flyleaf Books. Together they have been scheduling events with such writers as Brandon Sanderson, Steven Erickson, Michael Chabon, and Brent Weeks.
I met T.C. at Balticon a few months earlier, so it was great seeing him again, and wonderful to met Sam who did such a fantastic job of organizing, presenting, and keeping everyone off their diets.
I did something I rarely do—I read from my books. I don’t think I read well aloud, and have avoided it for the most part. That said, if you’d like to hear me read from the start of Avempartha and witness some of the presentation, the folks at Stuck in Traffic , videotaped the thing and posted it to their site.

The reason I’m making this post however is to thank a young woman who lives in Baltimore who—along with her entire family—came all the way down to Chapel Hill just to see me. (That’s like a five hour drive depending on traffic.) She is a young writer who recently published her first work. This is the sort of thing that makes public appearances worth doing. Thanks so much for coming, Lindsey.