Tuesday night I hopped on the Harley (on the back--I'm not that cool) and rode into Manhattan with my husband for the release and book signing of DEAD RECKONING, book 11 in the Southern Vampire Mysteries (True Blood) by Charlaine Harris. I will admit, I was a little bit starstruck. Most of the pictures that my husband took, I'm making crazy faces, or squealing like the fangirl that I am. So I'll just share these ones with you.
I took my smaller camera, which takes kind of crappy pictures, because I went on the bike and my big camera is...big.
Charlaine Harris was the author who got me back in to reading. The minute I picked up DEAD UNTIL DARK, I was hooked in the world she'd created, and totally in love with her characters. Because of this, I started writing. I even named my protagonist in my current WIP after Charlaine. Her books are for adults, and I write YA, but I didn't chose YA. It chose me, I suppose (in fact this is the ONLY adult series I read, ha!). There are so many great YA authors who have inspired me, but when I look back, Charlaine and Sookie were what made me realize I was a writer. My favorite quote from this signing was from Harris: "Writers are born, not made." She didn't mean that you're born a great writer, you do have to write and learn how to write well.
Charlaine answered questions for about thirty minutes and then for the next two hours or so she signed books. She is a signing machine. By the time she got to me, about an hour into signing, her signature was still perfect. During the Q & A fans asked the general questions about her writing process, which now consists of a lot of the business side and not as much writing as she'd like to do, how much coffee she drinks (three cups in the morning), and how she feels about the differences Alan Ball made between the books and the show (she thinks he's fantastic, and she wishes she had thought of Jessica).
The thing I found most interesting was that, despite the fact she'd written mysteries for years before she wrote the first Sookie Stackhouse novel, it took two years for her agent to sell it. Mainly because nobody knew where to put it on a shelf. When she wrote the book, she thought it would be fun to have a mystery series that involved the supernatural, melding mystery and urban fantasy together. Then she thought if she threw in a juicy sex scene for Sookie, she could get the romance readers too. And when the question "Where do we shelve this?" came up, Harris said "everywhere". A logical answer, for sure!
It was an amazing opportunity for me to be able to meet her. Her Sookie novels have inspired me in so many ways. I do believe it is important for writers to read and gather inspiration from "the masters" of literature, especially in your chosen genre, and not only the current super hits (Sookie, Twilight, Harry Potter, etc), but the thing that inspires me most about Charlaine Harris's Sookie novels, is just how much I love them. How immersed in that world I become when I sit down to read. That is what I want to do to readers. That is what is so inspiring. And that is how I knew I was a writer.
Have you had the chance to meet some o
6 Comments on Charlaine Harris in NYC, last added: 5/5/2011
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Lacey--I know how much you love Charlaine and am so happy that you got to meet her. I've yet to read a Sookie Stackhouse but love that kind of thing, so I'll check them out.
There are so many authors I love, but if I had to pick an author that I'd drive miles to see, it'd be Markus Zusak. The Book Thief is probably my all-time fave YA.
Thanks, Kristi! I haven't read The Book Thief yet, but I've heard so many great things about it.
That's awesome you got to meet her! I love her comment about shelving it "everywhere"! One day I will dive into these books. I've had them forever it seems. Love the tv show though!
It is sooooo cool that you met Charlaine Harris in person! I love the Sookie Stackhouse series. So much that I have every book and every short story collection that Sookie is featured in. She just creates an excellent world and excellent stories! I am so in awe of you :D
I would have been totally freaking out too! I'm such a huge fan of hers. I was lucky enough to meet and make friends with a few great ladies at a retreat before they got published who have now become two of my favorite authors. I don't really have the fan girl thing going because we were friends first, but I still think they hung the moon. :)
Valerie, she made so many great and funny comments.
Marquita, she informed everyone there will be two more books in the series, along with the companion novel that comes out in September!
Heather, that's so awesome! I'm sure someday someone will be saying the same thing about you.