Quarantine Adventures: July Author Talks

When I said I was cutting back on virtual author events, I didn't realize that I actually did. Apparently I'm over the whole virtual author talks or I've listened to all my favorite authors. I only tuned into two author events, one or two Friends and Fiction talks, and I didn't even make it to my Brenda Novak Book club.

Both of the author visits were hosted by Murder By the Book bookstore. I found the first one which led me to my second one.

Susan Wiggs
I love Susan Wiggs' books. I've read several of them and actually received free copies of her last two books, The  Oysterville Sewing Circle and The Lost and Found Bookshop. During her Facebook Live Event, she talked about The Lost and Found Bookshop. 

Like most author talks, she talked about her book, life in Quarantine, her writing process, and life in general. It is always fascinating to find out what authors are doing during quarantine and how their book launches have been affected. Many of them have turned their actual book tours into virtual ones.

I was really glad I stumbled upon this author visit and bookstore. They are constantly doing virtual author events. I will periodically check to see who is the guest author and might go to more.

Beatrice Williams
I have not read Beatrice Williams but everyone keeps talking about her books. Her latest book, The Last Flight, is based off of Amelia Earhart. Many of her books are on my to read list but when you have over 4000 books on it, some of them get lost in the dark.

Beatrice talked about her love aviation and the back story to the book.It is always interesting to get a glimpse into the reason behind the book and how they went about researching the book.

Both events were really interesting. I know I have other author events that I'm interested in the coming weeks. We will see which ones I actually attend (and what I remember about them). Until then, I will just keep on reading.

Quarantine Adventures: Friends and Fiction Weekly Chat

Back in April, I discovered the Friends and Fiction Facebook page that is moderated by five wonderful authors: Mary Kay Andrews, Kristin Harmel, Kristy Harvey, Patti Harvey, and Mary Alice Monroe. I've been a fan of Mary Kay Andrews and Mary Alice Monroe for years. The others are new authors to me.

Once a week, the five of them do a Facebook Live event with their readers letting them know what is going on their lives, how they are surviving the pandemic, and to talk about their books. All of them have books coming out sometime this year. I think they do it to keep their sanity of not being on book tour.

I joined them for their first live event. It was right around the supper hour which made it difficult to get dinner on the table (or cleaned up) while watching these ladies interact with each other. They are an amazing group of ladies and the banter between them all makes joining worthwhile.

After several weeks, they decided to have guest authors come and join their show. What going me back on the Friends and Fiction Facebook live bandwagon was them having Debbie Macomber on. Debbie is one of my favorite authors and it is how I discovered Brenda Novak. Debbie talked about her new book, A Walk Along the Beach, which I can't wait to read. The five regulars take turns asking the guest author questions and then if there is time they pull questions from the comments. It is so much fun seeing the authors and guest author interact with each other.

This past week, the guest author was Delia Owens, who wrote Where the Crawdads Sing, which we read in book club last year. It was a wonderful book. Not only has Delia wrote Where the Crawdads Sing but several non-fiction books on wildlife including several books set in Africa. Not only did Delia talk about Where the Crawdads Sing but the non-fiction books as well. They also talked about how descriptive writing is dead and how the setting is really a character as well. The banter was alive and well this week too. Mary Kay killed her first person this week. Kristin didn't expose herself to anyone. The best part was them signing off. I think they forgot to the end the Facebook live feed and they were chatting amongst themselves and it was delightful to watch them interact "off-camera."

They have a guest author about every other week through the end of summer. One week, they are having the Twisted Sisters on. After that we will see if this continues. Even with just the five of them, it is very entertaining. As my schedule allows, I will continue to tune in especially now that the hubby has games again.

Quarantine Adventures: Elin Hilderbrand Author Talk

Elin Hilderbrand is another one of my favorite authors. I read most of her books. When I saw she had a new book coming out this summer, I was excited. When I saw she was doing a virtual book event with the Enoch Pratt Free Library, I had to attend.

Unlike most of the author events I've been to in the past, this one was on Crowdcast -- another virtual meeting platform I guess. It was the first time I used Crowdcast and it wasn't any different I thought than Zoom.

Elin's book, 28 Summers, follows tells the story of two people who promise to come back to Nantucket every summer on the same weekend. Elin loved the movie Same Time Next Year which she based her book off of. I can't wait to read it.

Besides talking about her book, we learned why Elin moved to Nantucket... like everyone else she feel in love with the island. We learned how in second grade she was determined to read every book in the library and even wrote her own story which sits in her old elementary school library.

Then after Elin chatted for a while, she did a house tour. That was very cool. She didn't show us the whole house because she was in the process of remodeling. However we did she her fabulous kitchen with her huge stove. She was very proud of her stove. She also showed us her back yard with the gorgeous pool area and fence line. Her house was an old barn and it amazing to see what she has done with it.

Elin is also the first author I know that is going out and doing public book signing starting this month. Good for her. She is taking precautions and everyone has their own time slot. If I was in Massachusetts or Rhode Island I would totally go.

Okay this is the last virtual author event besides the Friends and Fiction weekly chat I have for a few weeks. I can say I'm not too upset by this. Sure there are a lot of virtual author events out there. I get an email daily from Harper Collins with their virtual events. I'm just not looking for any new author events at the moment. Life is slowly getting back to normal-ish and I want to enjoy it.

Quarantine Adventures: Cary Library Romance Hour

Somewhere I came across an event for a library event with Susan Elizabeth Phillips and Kristin Higgins at the Cary Library. I have read a few of Susan Elizabeth Phillips' books over the years and I may have even read Kristin Higgins at one point in time.

Because both authors had book birthdays today, the library thought it was a great to have both of them on together. It was a good time. They were a few technical issues but it made the event even more real and we all know technology isn't the greatest at times.

They talked about their books, how they are surviving the pandemic, and touched on the events that are going on around the country. They talked about their writing process and how they started their writing careers. Both have been writing for years.

It was a good virtual event. We hung out virtually for almost 90 minutes. It was very relaxing. It was fun to see that these authors aren't always "perfect" on virtual talks. They fidget, have people or pets appear in the camera. We got to see Kristin's husband. These are the things you don't get to see when you are at a live event.

These virtual events are also a fun way to visit other libraries across the country. I may have to keep searching for different libraries and virtual events across the country. Maybe something other than author talks...

Quarantine Adventures: Other May Author Talks

I've been to several author event this month.. so many that I can barely keep them straight. I talked about some already: Kristy Woodson Harvey and Jennifer Weiner.

Here are a couple other events I tuned into in May.

May 1st -- Janelle Brown
LaGuna Beach Books hosted a Zoom Meeting with Janelle Brown to talk about her new book Pretty Things. Again this was an author I was not familiar with but I was free so why not attend. I enjoyed hearing Janelle talk that Pretty Things has been added to the never ending to read list.

May 21st -- Elin Hildenbrand, Susan Mallory, and Mary Kay Andrews.
Three of my favorite authors together in one spot. Sign me up. This event was sponsored by Cuyahoga County Public Library as part of their Beyond the Book Jacket Series. I was a little shocked when the moderator (and librarian) was an older gentleman. I guess I'm not used to men hosting three women's fiction writers but more power to him. He was a great moderator (and truly enjoyed all the books). Even with a few technological difficulties, it was a great hour. The three women took turns talking about their new books that just came out or is coming out later this summer. This was probably one of my favorite author talks this month.

May 28th -- Alisha Rai
One of the Facebook groups I joined during the Pandemic, Book Club Girls has a monthly book club event where the author of that month's book joins and talks about their book. A winery also is featured and the wine maker talks about the wine at the beginning. You could pre-order the wine ahead of time so you could do the wine tasting as part of the event. This month was Alisha Rai who wrote Girl Gone Viral and The Right Swipe. They were going to discuss Girl Gone Viral along with tasting wine from Malene Wines. I listened to the book on audio book and loved it. It was actually nice being able to discuss a book I actually read. It was a great hour. This one is on the same night usually as my Brenda Novak book group so unless I want back to back author events it is hard for me to join this one all the time.

We will see what authors I find in June and the rest of the summer. I know Cuyahoga County Public Library will probably be one of my new favorite spots to check out authors.

Quarantine Adventures: Bingo Night

Authors have found ways to continue to connect with their readers whether it's a Facebook group, Zoom Sessions, or Q&A answer sessions. I discovered Brenda Novak a few weeks ago and joined her Facebook group. Every month she has a book club event on Facebook and everyone asks questions to the author whose book we read for that month. Well since the pandemic started, she decided to involve her husband and have a monthly bingo night. Yup Virtual Bingo. Sign me up.

Now I'm not a big bingo player mainly because I don't like losing money. I did play a few times at the Legion Post in Grafton with some of the old K-Mart gang when I still lived at home. However Bingo with Brenda was FREE. I like Free.  You could buy a Bingo kit with a cool laminated card, bingo markers, her latest book, and cool storage bag for $35 or you could sign up to play for Free and have your numbers sent to you via email. Obviously you know which option I picked.

I printed off my BINGO card, stuck it in a page protector, and was all set. I even grabbed the dish of M&Ms for markers. Tasty and useful. I told the hubby I needed to be home from seeing the fighter jets by 7 PM to play bingo. I was.

Bingo was great. We played 3 rounds. I didn't even come close to winning. It was a bit difficult to keep track of the numbers if you weren't paying attention because while Ted called the numbers, Brenda wrote them on a white board but could only write 5 at a time.

Yes there were actual prizes from Brenda.. books, book journals, and a surprise box. The first one to call Bingo in the Facebook Live chat (and was seen) was the winner. With the number of people playing it was difficult and additional comments in the chat, it was difficult for them to see the winner at times. Everyone did help everyone out. It is truly a fabulous bunch of women.

So now on top of my usual book club and my new Brenda Novak book club, I have added Bingo with Brenda and Ted to my monthly calendar at least through the summer. Luckily they are all on different nights. Maybe one of these times I will actually get Bingo.. doubtful but one can always dream.

Quarantine Adventures: An Author and Narrator Chat

These author talks keep popping up in my Facebook feed. I really should start to resist them. Really I should... but I don't.

Jennifer's novel Big Summer debuted May 5th. She and her narrator Danielle Macdonald was doing on a Facebook live gig hosted by Simon & Schuster Audio. I have attended several book talks and launches in the last two months but none of the featured the audio book narrator. I was kind of excited to hear about that side of things.

The hour long session was quite delightful. Danielle talked about the trials and tribulations of recording the book just as the pandemic hit. She would normally read ahead a chapter because that is what they were recording. All of a sudden the pandemic hit and now they recording scheduled got moved up and she is finishing the book as she is recording it.

I love Danielle.. she sounds like me. No Lie. I guess I'm really Australian.. With that being said I'm not sure I want to listen to the audio book because she sounds like me and it would get annoying fast.

I can't wait to read Jennifer's book. It sounds amazing.

The nice thing about these author talks is that most of them are Facebook live so they can't see you which means you can cook dinner while listening and no one would know.

The other problem with all these book talks and Facebook book groups I'm part of my to read list keeps growing. It's a tough problem to have.

Quarantine Adventures: Book Talk with Kristy Woodson Harvey

By the end of this quarantine I am going to ready to say no more virtual events. Facebook keeps telling me about all these great virtual author events. But how many virtual author events is too many? The hubby is slightly getting annoyed with all these author events especially since they are usually at 6 PM CST.

That does not stop me from clicking interested on the event for Kristy Woodson Harvey who's new novel, Feels Like Falling, just came out. I've never heard of Kristy before but the book sounds interesting and what's one more event. I may need rehab after this..

Kristy Woodson Harvey is an amazing speaker and I'm sure her book is going to be amazing. I added it to my ever growing to read list. It even made the short list. You can watch her talk here.

Feels Like Falling is about two women whose paths inadvertently who become good friends. The story follows the women as their friendship forms, the love lives grow and fail, and help them grow in the next chapter of their lives.

The hour flew by and I can't wait to read her book. She is just one of many new authors I've discovered over the last month or so. So despite trying to avoid these virtual author events, I keep getting sucked into more and growing that to read list.

I have to admit that these virtual events are great since most of these authors would never make it to northeast Wisconsin and allows the authors to connect to readers all over the country and world. So don't mind me while I keep boring you with these author event posts. I'm sure the fun bucket list adventures will begin soon agian.

Quarantine Adventures -- A chat with Karen Slaughter

Browsing Facebook, since I had nothing better to do, I discovered an author event that sounded interesting. It was hosted by the Charlotte Mecklenburg Library Foundation and the program was called "Final Draught: Home Edition -- at Home with Karen Slaughter." I barely heard of Karen Slaughter. I figured I had nothing better to do and could tune in.

Karen writes popular medical thrillers and is published in over 100 countries. I'm not sure how I missed hearing about her.  Her latest book, The Silent Wife, doesn't come out until July. It was really exciting to get a sneak peek of her book. The book is a continuation of The Last Widow but I was told I don't have to read the previous books to understand what is going on the book.

The Facebook Live event was very interesting. Karen talked about her writing process and the research involved into writing medical thrillers. She talks about the input she gets but she is very careful about it because she doesn't want to exploitative about the more sensitive topics such as domestic violence.

I really loved learning about Karen and her books. Her books have been added to my to read list but with all the author events I'm finding on Facebook my to read list has grown quickly. It will be years before I get to all of them.

I will keep an eye on the Charlotte Mecklenburg library Facebook page to see what other authors they are hosting. Since authors aren't touring they are doing a lot of Facebook live events with libraries and bookstores. It is a great way to meet new authors.

Quarantine Adventures -- DJ Palmer Book Launch

I managed to get an Advanced Reader's Copy (ARC) of DJ Palmer's new book The New Husband. I read it in about a day on the way to Arizona. It is an excellent thriller that is somewhat predictable but have enough twists and turns to keep you interested.

When I saw that Gibson Bookstore in New Hampshire was offering a free virtual book launch with DJ Palmer via Zoom. I RSVP'd and was sent a link.

Prior to getting a copy of The New Husband, I never read DJ Palmer before or even heard of him. The cover grabbed me to request an ARC. I never read Daniel Palmer before either.

I learned a few things from this book launch

1. DJ Palmer and Daniel Palmer are the same person. His editor wanted to signal that Saving Meghan was not what came before so DJ Palmer was born. Thanks to Noelle to reminding me of the connection

2. He is a funny guy and has many talents including guitar playing.

3. I can't wait to read more of his books. They are all medical thrillers or thrillers which is fine with me. It's a good break from romcoms.

The Book Launch lasted about an hour but possibly could have gone a lot longer. I am grateful for these bookstores and authors taking the time to doing these virtual book launches. It has allowed me to discover new authors, "meet" some of my favorite authors, and keep me from going stir crazy.

I have a few more book launches coming up in the next few weeks and I'm sure I will find others.

Quarantine Adventures: Lindsey Hamel and J'nell Ciesielski Book Launch

Facebook never ceases to amaze me when it suggests events for me. Scrolling through Facebook, I saw a Facebook Live Author Chat with two authors that I never heard of. It said there would be giveaways. I was hooked. Who doesn't love a chance to win free stuff.

Like the event page said, it was a very informal discussion with both authors who actual never met before doing a trial run of the event. They just happened to have books coming out at the same time by the same publisher.

Both Lindsey and J'nell are wonderful ladies. The hour sped by with them talking about their lives, writing careers, and their books. They talked about what it was like to write during quarantine while still doing the mom thing and home school thing. It is not easy.

Lindsey's book, The Joy of Falling, follows two sister-in-laws and their husbands' friend through the training and completion of an Ultra-Marathon in New Zealand. J'nell's book, The Socialite, is set in WWII and follows two sisters and their lovers across Europe while the sister is trying to bring the other sister back to England. Both books sound really good and went on the to read list.

I'll be honest the sole reason The Socialist went on the to read list (or at least the shortened version) is that everyone has tea at Hitler's place in Bavaria. That sounded like an amazing scene to read about especially when J'nell talked about the research involved in making sure she got the color of Hitler's patio umbrellas right in the book.

After going to a couple of these book launches and hearing the authors talk about the process of writing a book, I never realized how much research went into even a fiction book. Historical fiction, crime fiction, and other books with specific topics I get. I never would have thought about researching what happens to your toenails when running an ultra-marathon. It does make me appreciate a good book a whole lot more.

Doing virtual book launches does allow more readers to connect with authors easier and allows a peek into their homes. It is always fun to sit back and listen to an author talk. I find it much more comfortable to do so while sitting on my couch or bed than a stiff chair in a bookstore or a library. Maybe this trend should continue after the pandemic.