
A special thank you to the library for making sure all of our tables and chairs were set up and that the audio/video equipment was up and running. They did a marvelous job and the facility was beautiful.
We started out with a wonderful pitch-in lunch organized by Sue Myers and Annie Hansen. Then we set up our author tables and got ready for the fans.
I was privileged to participate in the Ladies of Mystery Panel along with Helen Macie Osterman (Emma Winberry and the Evil Eye) and Lydia Ponczak (Who's After Samantha?) with moderator Susan Myers (Deception coming in 2013). It’s always great to be with these three wonderful authors. They all made me feel comfortable as I am not used to speaking in front of an audience. I guess I’d better get over that, huh?
Scot Savage and Eric Bieche (Have Vampire Will Travel-Case File: Ruby of the Rails coming in March 2013) gave a very interesting presentation "Using Actual Cities and Local Sites in Fiction". They spoke about their collaboration in creating their novel and the research they conducted around the area, scouting out locations for their book. The most interesting part for me was their research on hobos, who are primary characters in this horror novel. I didn’t realize how many hobo gangs there are. Apparently, this is so they have a means of protecting themselves. Some of these gangs can be as vicious as any inner-city gang.
Annie Hansen gave us a sneak preview of her murder mystery Give Me Chocolate coming in April 2013. She also shared some of her life experiences with the audience and what led her to become an author.
Sue Myers presentation dealt with how authors can “Get Your Life Back”, dealing with the attempt to juggle our everyday lives with our need to write. She gave helpful hints on organizing your life in order to accomplish everything you need.
Other Weaving Dreams, True Grit and Magic Dreams Illinois authors attending included the Publisher, L. Sue Eggerton who wrote Life is Like Making Chocolate Chip Cookies (non-fiction); Caroline Bezik - BooBoo's Wish (children’s picture book); Diana Boone - Growing Up Black in the Jim Crow South (non-fiction); and Anna Grob - A Coyote Who Wished He Lived in a Zoo (children’s picture book).
AND, my wonderful husband, Paul Banasiak and fabulous friend, Barb Dworak, came along and volunteered to take care of the book sale table. This freed up our authors to do their presentations and be available to speak with fans. A huge thank you goes out to them for their help. Barb has also volunteered to help with this task at my book launch for Perfidy on November 17th. She is always anxious to give a helping hand.
All in all, it was a successful day. I met many people who are very interested in purchasing my book. I hope to see them at one of my upcoming book signings (see the My Schedule portion of my website for details).
Next week, Murder & Mayhem in Muskego!
Until next time.