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| Jill Sorenson, Tessa Dare, DeAnna Cameron, & Dee J. Adams |
Loose Ends, Nuts & Bolts, Sticky Notes…and of course Love Actually!
By Tari Lynn Jewett
The Festival of Books is a wonderful place for a writer to be, and a dangerous place for a book addict like me (no Dr. Seuss wasn’t there). Imagine the entire campus of USC, filled with publishers, stacks of books, and authors poised pen in hand…ready to sign. *sigh*
So anyway, my husband, Paul, chauffeured me to the Festival of Books, even missing Speed Merchants of Venice, the Shelby Cobra Mustang show, in Pomona to take me. I felt a little guilty that he missed his event, but just a little. It was fun walking around the college campus having him carry my books for me.
But what you really want to hear about is the writer’s right?
Saturday we started with a panel titled “Fiction: At Loose Endsâ€. I wasn’t sure where the discussion would lead, and apparently neither were the panel members, at first. It didn’t take them long to find a direction though, and they soon had me taking notes like a mad woman. Did I mention that I left my notebook at home, and ended up taking notes on the sticky pad that I keep in my purse??
The panel was an eclectic group of authors including author/moderator Rachel Resnick, and authors Eleanor Henderson, Seth Greenland, Josh Rolnick and Jervey Tervalon. The discussion was quick, witty, and intelligent, focusing on the idea that loose ends are what give us a story to tell. Clearly a plot must have loose ends that a character needs to tie together in order to resolve the issues in the story. The consensus was that if everything was ‘all neat and tidy’ it wouldn’t be worth reading.
We selected “Publishing: Nuts & Bolts†for our afternoon panel, new session, entirely different feel, and of course a different focus. We went from the craft of writing to the business of writing with moderator Patrick Brown of Good Reads, agent Betsy Amster, George Gibson, publishing director of Bloomsbury, John Tayman, founder and CEO of Byliner.com and Robert Weil executive editor of W. W. Norton. We all know how much turmoil there has been in the publishing industry the last few years, but the bottom line from these experts? Writer’s still need to write a good story, and to write a good story, we have to read.
No problem for me, as if I didn’t already have a pile of books on my desk and several downloaded onto my Kindle just waiting for me to turn to page one, I filled tote bags with…more books. Well, they kept giving me reusable bags, and I couldn’t leave them empty.
The highlight of the day for me was sitting in the beautiful Bovard Auditorium on the USC campus and listening to author Judy Blume talk about her life as a writer. Like so many women my age and younger. I read Blume’s, Are You There God? It’s Me Margaret, when I was twelve years old. I hid it beside my bed and read late at night under the sheets with a flashlight because I knew my mother wouldn’t approve. Years later I read the Fudge books and Tales of a Fourth Grade Nothingwith my boys. The auditorium was filled with adoring readers of all ages. When the lights came up for questions, fans flocked to the microphones placed in the aisles to tell Judy Blume how her books had motivated them to read, touched and even changed their lives. Now that’s inspiration!
Sunday, more tote bags, more books and more writers.
Once again we found ourselves seated in the lovely Bovard Auditorium, this time to hear Anne Rice speak about her writing career. It was fascinating to hear her speak after hearing Judy Blume. It’s fascinating to hear Anne Rice speak any day, but following Judy Blume was interesting. Both women began their writing careers in the 1970’s. Both women wrote stories that broke barriers and changed what made it to bookstore shelves and onto our bookshelves at home. Both women have multitudes of old fans lining up for their next story, new fans lining up for their backlist, all wanting their signature, all wanting to feel their magic. I was just one of many.
We attended only one panel Saturday, but it was, of course, the most important. The topic was “Fiction: Love Actuallyâ€. The panel members were author/moderator Dee J. Adams, authors Jill Sorenson, Tessa Dare and DeAnna Cameron. All RWA members, and Tessa and DeAnna are of course, OCCRWA members. It was exciting to see these women that I know, real women…I hope they don’t mind me saying that…up on stage talking about the topic I love best. Writing romance. The ladies discussed their writing processes, unique research methods, first sales, and the changes in the industry. Although we were told we couldn’t take pictures, my hubby, Paul couldn’t resist sneaking a few pics of these talented ladies. He said they were ‘the best looking panel’ at the Festival. He was right, but they also gave a fabulous presentation.
So I left The Festival of Books with tote bags filled with reading material and a sticky pad filled with notes…yes, I forgot to grab my notebook Sunday as well. I also left with a renewed motivation and plenty of inspiration. I’ve already marked the date for the 2013 Festival of Books on my calendar….fourth weekend in April. Hope to see you there!!
Author Details
Author Details
A Slice of Orange started in 2004 as a group of authors from Orange County, California. We have expanded to include authors from around the globe–from the UK, all across the US to New Zealand. Our authors include the multi-published and writers at the beginning of their publishing career. In addition to authors, we feature blog posts from editors, PR professionals, and cover designers.
The bright segments of the writing and reading community that make up one perfect entity—A Slice of Orange.
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A Slice of Orange started in 2004 as a group of authors from Orange County, California. We have expanded to include authors from around the globe–from the UK, all across the US to New Zealand. Our authors include the multi-published and writers at the beginning of their publishing career. In addition to authors, we feature blog posts from editors, PR professionals, and cover designers.
The bright segments of the writing and reading community that make up one perfect entity—A Slice of Orange.
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Thanks Jann and Lyndi! I'm so glad to be here.
Louisa-it doesn't start until 10am! Next time I'll come and drag you along with me!
DeAnna-I'm so glad I stopped by your booth and met you. It was so much fun!You guys were wonderful… and did I mention very photogenic! Started your book, in fact, I better get to my writing, so I can get back to reading!!
Hi, Tari! It was so wonderful to look out and see your friendly, smiling face in the audience. I admit, I was a little intimidated when they led us into that amphitheater and I saw all those seats. I had no idea they were expecting so many people! But it didn't matter, because you were there rooting us on. 🙂
Yay! Sounds like you had a great time, and I'm totally jealous I didn't get my lazy self out of the house. It was a crazy weekend!
Thanks so much for sharing. I love Rachel! Isn't she a hoot?
Welcome to Slice of Orange, Tari. Glad you enjoyed the Festival of Books.
Tari,
Welcome aboard the Slice of Orange Blog. So glad you enjoyed the Festival of Books. Thanks for sharing your experience and the great picture.
Nancy- The Festival of Books should be on everyone's short list of things to do!! Especially people who love books. Who knows, maybe your hubby will surprise you and carry those books around…
Geralyn-First of all there is no much thing as too many exclamation points!! (no one heard me say that right?) And, how exciting to be one of the panelists. Maybe someday, I'll be on that side of the experience, but you're right, there's plenty of magic for all!
Tari! What a wonderful blog! I remember the first Festival of Books I attended – during one panel, Susan Elizabeth Phillips's talk galvanized me to finally sit down and write the story I had in me! The second Festival of Books, which I participated in as one of the authors of a book of short stories, was one of the greatest days of my life! (My husband, who had to work that weekend, nearly killed himself getting there on time to see me on stage! And I remember Michelle Thorne came to see me, too!)
Magic can happen at the Festival of Books! For you, for me, for everyone! I am so glad you blogged about your wonderful experience and shared a little of that magic with all of us!
I know, I know. I use a lot of exclamation points. But when I am writing about OCC and its fabulous members, I cannot help it!
-Ger
What a wonderful experience. Thank you for sharing. I hope some day I can come to the Book Festival – and maybe even have my husband carry books for me. 🙂 That may be the fictional part of my response, because I can't picture him giving up a day or two for a book event. So, glad you had fun, Tari.