Yesterday I had lunch with two amazing authors, Chris Bohjalian and Stephen P Kiernan. This author event was set up by Subtext bookstore in St. Paul.
I arrived at Fabulous Fern's restaurant at exactly 11:30 and met up with a bunch of like minded, wonderful book women and two men. Three ladies drove over 150 miles to come to this event.
Chris and Stephen arrived around noon to much applause and joined two different tables for a lunch of soup and sandwich. Then Chris was introduced and he told some "non-glamourous" stories of being an author on tour. He then explained the premis behind his new novel, The Light in the Ruins. He defines the novel as a modern retelling of Romeo and Juliet in Tuscany, set around World War II in 1943. There is a parellel storyline which takes place in 1955 with a female detective with scars from the war investigating murders in the area. This is Chris Bohjalian's 16th book.
After Chris read from his book, he introduced his good friend, new fiction author, Stephen P Kiernan. Stephen talked about how he got the inspiration for his book The Curiosity from the song Frozen Man by James Taylor. The main plot is when a frozen man from 1906 is awakened in modern day society. Stephen states at it's heart The Curiosity is a love story and it is filled with important elements of science and scientific discoveries. I totally love the cover! After Stephen read from his book they opened it up for questions. They even gave away several T-shirts with the covers of their books imprinted on it. Sadly I didn't win but that is OK as I was able to ask two questions. One of the questions I asked is what authors influence them and what are their favorite books? They answered this questions so fast I couldn't get all the names of authors and books down fast enough. Luckily after the event ended, I walked over to SubText Bookstore and spent sometime looking at books when Stephen and Chris walked in the door. We ended up talking about books and sharing titles and authors. It was cool. Chris walked me over to one of his favorite books and told me it influenced his next book called Close Your Eyes, Hold Hands being released next summer. That book was ROOM by Emma Donoghue. I have not read this book and frankly I have been avoiding it. Have any of you read it?
Here are some of the books and writers each author recommended.
Chris Bohjalian's List
Room by Emma Donoghue
The Joyous Season by Patrick Dennis
The Great Gatsby by Fitzgerald
Atonement by Ian McEwan
Vampires in the Lemon Grove by Karen Russell
Help for the Haunted by John Searles
Schroder. A Novel by Amity Gaige
Joyce Carol Oates,
John Irving,
Tom Perotta
Stephen P Kiernan's List
Lonesome Dove by Larry McMurtyEven Cowgirls Get the Blues by Tom Robbins
The Orchardist by Amanda Coplin
The Dog Stars by Peter Heller
The Last Nude by Ellis Avery
The Twelve and The Passage by Justin Cronin
Frances and Bernard by Carlene Bauer
One Hundred Years of Solitude by Gabriel Garcia Marquez
I had both authors sign my new books and they both wrote very thoughtful inscriptions. I had a great time and I can't wait to sit down and read both of their books. I loved this author event!
