Speaking at Quail Ridge Books
I always love speaking at Quail Ridge, one of my two favorite Independent Bookstores (the second being Quarter Moon Books in Topsail Beach). Quail Ridge does a good job getting the word out and it has a wonderful setup for the audience. I had such a good time. My favorite part of a speaking engagement is always the Q and A, because I love knowing what's on people's minds and there were lots of good questions from this audience.
If you've followed my blog for a while, you know I've been angsting over how to talk about Secrets She Left Behind without giving anything away in both this book and the prequel, Before the Storm. I think I pulled it off, but it was dicey! On the way to the store, I told John the things I planned to say and when I was finished, he said, "but you left out the danger!" I realized that I did. I'd left in the sort of warm cuddly parts--the introspection, the heartfelt struggles of my characters, but omitted the suspense that's so much a part of the story. If I spoke about the danger, though, I thought it would give too much away, so I simply told the audience ". . . and there's danger, too!" I think they got the point. I believe Secrets She Left Behind is a suspenseful book, not only because of the literal, physical danger inherent in the story, but also because of the emotional and psychological danger the characters must overcome.
By the way, I don't know if anyone besides me cares about Dr. Jakes in the book, but he is one of my favorite characters. I think he's the first therapist I've written about, and having been a therapist myself, I loved his scenes. I hope I was half as wise as he is.
I've heard from many of you that you're enjoying the book, and I'm so happy about that. When you write a book, racing toward deadline, you begin to wonder if it's any good at all. Then those reviews and reader comments start rolling in and you breathe a sigh of relief. Can you hear me sighing right now?
If you've followed my blog for a while, you know I've been angsting over how to talk about Secrets She Left Behind without giving anything away in both this book and the prequel, Before the Storm. I think I pulled it off, but it was dicey! On the way to the store, I told John the things I planned to say and when I was finished, he said, "but you left out the danger!" I realized that I did. I'd left in the sort of warm cuddly parts--the introspection, the heartfelt struggles of my characters, but omitted the suspense that's so much a part of the story. If I spoke about the danger, though, I thought it would give too much away, so I simply told the audience ". . . and there's danger, too!" I think they got the point. I believe Secrets She Left Behind is a suspenseful book, not only because of the literal, physical danger inherent in the story, but also because of the emotional and psychological danger the characters must overcome.
By the way, I don't know if anyone besides me cares about Dr. Jakes in the book, but he is one of my favorite characters. I think he's the first therapist I've written about, and having been a therapist myself, I loved his scenes. I hope I was half as wise as he is.
I've heard from many of you that you're enjoying the book, and I'm so happy about that. When you write a book, racing toward deadline, you begin to wonder if it's any good at all. Then those reviews and reader comments start rolling in and you breathe a sigh of relief. Can you hear me sighing right now?
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