Laurie R. King Book Signing
3.06.01
Due to a comedy of errors that wasn't all that funny, I was happily in
San Francisco for Laurie R. King's book signing at Stacey's on Market.
I say happily because in a few short months, I've become a devoted fan.
I reviewed her latest paperback, A
Darker Place, last month and she's on tour now supporting her newest
hardback, Folly. These are both stand alone thrillers, but she also
writes wonderful mysteries that feature Mary Russell and her partner, Sherlock
Holmes. These are the books for which I started loving her.
On this fine Tuesday at lunchtime, Crystal, Gina, and I sat in the cozy
reading area on the second floor of Stacey's to hear Laurie discuss her
new book. She was a great speaker, warm and funny. Something about her
wit and sensibleness reminded me of my aunts, who are not alike in any
way except for being loving and very capable. I don't know why I wrote
that. It's just kind of weird that I felt a strong and instant sense of
liking and respect when I heard her speak.
Anyway, she spoke about how she writes (long hand, yes with a pen on
paper, but she recently got a laptop so that might soon change) and writing
about what she knows (Folly is the first book she's tried this with - she's
done a lot of building herself and the main character is restoring an old
house). Laurie also read a short passage from the book - one of the journal
entries from the man who originally built the house that is being restored.
After the reading, Laurie took questions from the audience. Some were
good, like the person who asked Laurie's views on the metaphor of building
a house while building/rebuilding your life, especially with women of a
certain age. This started a nice discussion on the mind of the main character
and segued into humorous stories about Laurie's research trip to the San
Juan Islands off the coast of Washington State.
Thankfully, someone also asked about the new Russell/Holmes book so
I didn't have to do it. Laurie just finished the first draft of Justice
Hall, which will feature the two Arab guides from O Jerusalem in
England. There are still several drafts to go, although her editor liked
the first one, and it should be out next year sometime. One audience member
asked if Russell and Holmes will ever have kids and got a very emphatic
"No" which I heartily agree with.
Laurie also spoke about the difference between writing the Russell/Holmes
books and her other mystery series starring Kate Martinelli which was basically
the difference between historical and modern mysteries and English instead
of American spelling.
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