Events
2020
ABA Winter Institute—January 22 & 23
What a thrill ride that was—the official kickoff event for Rules for Being Dead. My first “Winter Institute,” a huge gathering of indie booksellers from around the country. I was the featured title from Blair Publishing, here at my little table hand-selling my heart out. Having to come up with my “elevator pitch” for the first time. Little did we know then, after meeting so many great booksellers and promising to come to their stores when Rules was finally out, that in a few months the whole country would be in lockdown from COVID-19. And that ALL THE RULES would change!! And that we’d all become ZOOM experts!
1455’s 2nd Annual Summer Lit Festival: Varieties of Gay Experience—July 19
This is an incredible new literary festival based in Winchester, VA—that is, when people can actually attend in person. This summer, they couldn’t. Pandemic, you know. But that didn’t stop an incredible variety of panels, including one I was on hosted by that literary one-woman band Bethanne Patrick.
MPIBA—Mountains & Plains Independent Booksellers Association—July 21
As part of MPIBA’s “Summer Camp” series, I was thrilled to be on a panel called “Visionary Voices: Speculative Fiction.” When you have a main character who’s a ghost floating around in limbo, that’s pretty speculative!
Writers’ Bone Podcast Interview—August 7
Most radio interviews or podcasts are so short, but Daniel Ford and his iconic Writers’ Bone gave me so much time to really dig into Rules, as well as talking about a writer’s life and process in general. And he had actually read the book—and loved it—which was a big plus!
Marilynn Fowler—San Francisco’s KPOO FM 89.5 “Let Me Touch Your Mind”—August 10
Let me touch your mind—and she did! Great interview with DJ Marilynn about my book and dipping into my own life for this work of fiction. She’s got such a mellifluous voice that alone is reason enough for listening!
An ongoing series hosted by Wiley Cash and hosted by SIBA, Louis Bayard and I had a great time talking—as Wiley said, “Like overhearing two strangers talking in a bar and not being able to tear yourself away.”
Link coming soon
Bards Alley Bookshop—August 12
Bards Alley’s events manager, the ever-gracious Kim Stryker, conducted a chat with me—and 15 or 20 of my new best friends—that was so gracious and intimate, it felt like we were all gathered around a roaring fireplace (in August no less!) and sipping wine (well, I was!) while we chatted for an hour that felt like three minutes. Unfortunately, it wasn’t recorded, but I will always remember it for its generosity, and also for the fact that it was the farewell Zoom appearance of my sweet little Morkie Miss Frankie, who waved her little paw at everyone before she went to doggie heaven the next day.
The Bookloft Berkshires: “Writers Read”—August 20, 7 p.m. EDT
Pam, the owner of The Bookloft, has become such a fan of my little book that could, calling it one of the best books of 2020. So thankful for her support, and for inviting me to be a part of this upcoming reading series.
Susan Elia MacNeil, a great friend and author of the hugely successful Maggie Hope mysteries series set in WWII, will be joining me for an hour long conversation about writing and publishing during the pandemic. Hope you can all join!
Link coming soon
(photos from ABA Winter Institute)