I’m in Maine right now, enjoying the lake and the lobster and an astonishing crop of mushrooms (it’s been a little damp) and not enjoying the mosquitoes and the deerflies. But before I left, I was invited to be part of two online forums to publicize Daughter of the White Rose. The first was hosted by my beloved local bookstore, Oblong Books and Music, to celebrate the launch of middle-grade author Alysa Wishingrad’s fabulous new novel, The Verdigris Pawn. My agent Jennifer Laughran moderated as authors Rebecca Ansari (The In-Between), Heather Kassner (The Bone Garden) and I talked with Alysa about our books, our writing process (or lack thereof), and our lives as writers. After spending over a year in near-isolation, it was strange and wonderful to connect with people who weren’t close relatives (and challenging to speak in full sentences). You can view the whole video here (and yes, I know my lighting was terrible! But I improved it for the next event.)
The second was a Zoom session hosted by Symphony Space/Thalia Kids Book Club Camp, which has a book club for young
readers that features an amazing assortment of renowned middle-grade authors. I was honored — and more than a little terrified — to be part of such company. I think it went well, though — the kids were all really engaged, their questions were thought-provoking, and their responses to the writing activity I gave them were wildly imaginative. There’s a blog about the event here.
I know that a lot of people find Zoom events distancing and difficult, but I’m way more comfortable sitting in my writing nook in a comfy chair talking to a screen than standing in front of a group talking to their actual faces. I have a feeling I’m not the only one — many writers tend to be solitary, introverted types who perspire profusely when speaking to real people. Right? Or is it just me?
