Meeting an Author

Last night I did something that that I have never done before. I attended an author’s event at our local bookstore. Since I have often dreamed of being a real author someday, my curiosity drove me to this event. A curiosity of what it would be like.

I anticipated the rows of audience chairs in the tiny bookstore but no way did I expect that the author would have to sit in the window, up on the display area, surrounded by storefront glass. Nor did I expect that she would have to speak with a microphone to this small group of middle-aged women and one middle-aged man.

Elizabeth Buchan spoke with eloquence in her strong UK accent about here life as a publisher turned writer. I was fascinated to hear about her process of churning out seven novels over the last eighteen years. It was especially intriguing for me to hear her perception of herself as a “once shy person.” While the thought of a microphone in my face brings sheer dread, she seemed not the least bit intimated.

Lizzy (as we came to know her during the evening) concluded the presentation by reading three selections from her latest book, Revenge of the Middle-Aged Woman and answering a few questions about her writing career. Lizzy seemed genuinely pleased to sign the hardbound copy of her book that I purchased. It now sits on top of my growing tower of books to read.