How'd the Local Author Tea earlier today go?

Thank you for asking.  It went rather well, as best I can tell.

The audience, which included only one male who later shook my hand and apologized for not reading SF and then declared that his wife had forced him to come, numbered over 20.  Even better, the people I did not know greatly outnumbered those I did.  I couldn't fit the entire audience into one photo from where I sat, so here's a little under half the room.

Click an image to see a larger version. 

Sue Scott, the librarian who organized the event, had cookies and tea and water waiting for all, as she had promised, and did a fine job of kicking off the event and asking for audience questions.

Because the other two panelists, mystery writer Sarah Shaber and romance writer Erin Knightley, worked in different genres, among us we represented the three major genres and so provided a nice set of viewpoints for the audience.  As it turned out, we three shared one somewhat unusual feature:  each of our first novels won an award that is well known in its genre.  We took turns and frequently ended up playing off each other's answers, which makes for a good panel and which is entirely too rare.

Because I head out tomorrow for a two-week business trip, I left as soon as the panel was over, but that is no reflection on the event itself.  It was a fun time for all, audience and panelists alike.  The Wake County Public Libraries and Sue Scott deserve credit for making it happen.  I thank them for including me.

NaNoWriMo at the library

Our local libraries support aspiring writers who participate in NaNoWriMo by setting up sessions in which published writers talk with them.  Last year, I led two of these sessions.  I hadn't planned to do any this year, but when Sue Scott very nicely asked if I'd come to the lovely Cameron Village Public Library for one session, I agreed. 

I showed up five minutes late last night due to traffic being way, way worse than I had anticipated. That's no excuse, though, and I was quite embarrassed, so I began the session by apologizing to the folks there.  We then launched without hesitation into a story-creation game I call "Ask the next question."  (I borrowed the basics from sessions Orson Scott Card described and then customized them a bit.) 

Courtesy of Gina, and only because readers keep bugging me for photos, here I am talking to the group early in the process. 

As always, click on the image to see a larger version.

As you can see from the words on the board, we're starting by creating a character and have only just begun to dig into his background.

I'm never sure how much anyone can help another writer, so I don't know how useful this was for the folks who came, but our time together ran to nearly 90 minutes and passed quickly.  We created characters, from whom a story began to emerge, for about 50 minutes, and then I answered a variety of questions. 

I wish all of them well in their writing.