Guest Post from Diana Spechler at Book Group Expo!

You've already heard the interview with Diana Spechler, author of Who By Fire, now here's her take on Book Group Expo, from the author perspective. Stay tuned for the announcement of our November show with Diana later tonight!

If I’m bad enough in this life to warrant admission to Hell, I’ll probably spend Eternity at a Monster Truck Rally, or on a Greyhound bus, or in a kitchen where there’s nothing in the fridge but cottage cheese. But if I’m good, I will be plucked from Earth by angels who will deliver me to BookGroup Expo.

What more could an author want than to be inside a convention center filled people who approach reading with a reverence most people reserve for American Idol, people who traveled to San Jose, California just to glimpse their favorite authors and decide what their book clubs should read next?

I guess if I did want something more, it would be to sit on a panel with an author I’ve admired most of my life, like, say Andre Dubus III, with whom I got to squeeze onto a floral love seat, on a stage, looking out on a sea of book-lovers, while the book-lovers and the lovely Susanne Pari (author of The Fortune Catcher) asked us questions about our writing.

Then, if I could add one more detail to my fantasy, I would construct a break room I could retreat to between events with other authors, where we could chat about books and our book tours, and I could hear other authors’ amazing stories, like the one debut novelist Selden Edwards told about selling his first book at age sixty-seven, after having worked at it for thirty years, how his knees buckled and gave out when his editor called him with the offer from the publishing house. (Side note: Anyone who is lucky enough to meet Selden will want to hug him and be his best friend, and his novel, The Little Book, which I’ve begun, is almost as fabulous as he is.)

What I’m trying to say is that BookGroup Expo is Heaven. It is the opposite of a Greyhound Bus.

Comments

[Dawn]

This sounds like it was a great event! I've read a few posts from book bloggers who were fortunate to be able to attend; thanks for sharing an author's perspective. The oppposite of a Greyhound bus ... perfect.

[Susanne Pari]

You rock, Diana! What a fabulous post. Your words warm my heart. I'm thrilled to see you here, at this fabulous blog. Everyone should read WHO BY FIRE.

[Jason]

Greetings,

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Community Manager
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jason@booksprouts.com