Who's your favorite author?

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

Are they in e-book? I'm too lazy right now to search, but I love those books!

(raises hand lazily in agreement with all of the above.)

[GeoffC]

Originally Posted by zelda_pinwheel

(raises hand lazily in agreement with all of the above.)

The 'books' have, apparently, been requested from Mobipocket...March 2008...

[vivaldirules]

Neither Sony nor Amazon have ebooks by Herriot available. However I did find "James Herriot: A Critical Companion" at Amazon for the Kindle:

"This study examines James Herriot's five major books as carefully crafted volumes of autobiography based on the building block of the short story. In each of these works Herriot explores the fundamental choice of values underlying a happy and successful life. In his vision the bonds of affection and mutual dependence between all creatures, human and animal, form an enduring theme that lies at the heart of the choices he makes in his personal and professional life. This study will help the reader to understand the relationship between Herriot's stories and each book as a whole and to appreciate Herriot's work in the context of twentieth-century anxieties about identity and meaning. Following a biographical chapter that describes the relationship between Herriot's life and literary work, Rossi discusses the genre of autobiography, the relationship between truth and fiction in modern autobiography, and Herriot's use of the genre. ...."

My heart aches at the thought. I would rather run madly with ten pairs of sharp scissors.

[pshrynk]

I am a booknerd, so i spend much of my waking hours thinking about books and a lot of my leisure time reading books or doing bookie things. So, one of the things I do is try to meet authors. I know that this sometimes makes me look like a name dropper, but I'll never be saying how I had a meaningful conversation with Paris Hilton...

That said, I once met Mr Wight. I was backpacking in Yorkshire and happened to end up in the small town where he had his surgery. The name escapes me at the moment, like so many other details of my life. Anyway, we were in a pub across the road, drinking lunch and there was a line around the block. I asked the barman what that was all about. He replied that Mr Wight was some sort of famous author or something and that this happened every Thursday. Wrote something about a vterinary, or something. Yeah, All Creatures Great and Small, that sounds about right.

We did not feel like standing in an interminable line, so we passed. LAter that afternoon, we were going back to the campground and no line. So we went in and asked to meet Mr Wight. He was standing there examinning a dog, and said, Well, the autographing was this morning. But he came out from the exam room and spent a few minutes with us telling him how much we adored his books and such. Very gracious man.

[vivaldirules]

I would love to meet (or to have met) many authors but I've always wondered if I wouldn't just stand there like a fool and blabber on about how I loved his or her book(s).

[zelda_pinwheel]

that's scarier than the squirrel.

MUCH scarier.

[pshrynk]

Originally Posted by vivaldirules

I would love to meet (or to have met) many authors but I've always wondered if I wouldn't just stand there like a fool and blabber on about how I loved his or her book(s).

My very first "Author Meet" was Robert Silverberg. I was at Chicon, my very first SF con. I was standing in the hall, trying to figure out wtf, and I get a tap on my shoulder.

"May I borrow your program for a moment?"

Turning around, I said, "Holy shit! You're Robert Silverberg!"

"Most of the time, I am. Right now I'm also late for a panel and have no idea where it is."

He looked for what he needed, signed the book without asking and walked off.

After that, it was relatively easy to just walk up to authors and chat them up.

Of course, it is also helpful to get to know authors before they get the big sales. I met Rob Sawyer back when he had just published his first work by being a part of CompuServe SF SIG. When he started winning awards, he still claimed to know me.

Also, I got to be friends with Sasha Miller, another author and Andre Norton acolyte. Never met Andre, but I did get invited into the SFWA Suite at the cons by being a friend.

Then, offering to buy a beer or supper is also a very good way to get to meet authors. terry Pratchett never took me up on the offer to buy a banana dacquiri, but he did spend some time talking about the nonsense that goes into taking care of psychiatric patients.

[basschick]

the author meeting that sticks in my head is the one i had with terry brooks many years ago at a now-defunct bookstore called change of hobbit. i told him i enjoyed his work and he told me that he was THE best in the genre. i suggested that dave eddings was good, too, and mr. brooks informed me that he was a far better writer than mr. eddings *LOLOL*

[zelda_pinwheel]

Originally Posted by pshrynk

My very first "Author Meet" was Robert Silverberg. I was at Chicon, my very first SF con. I was standing in the hall, trying to figure out wtf, and I get a tap on my shoulder.

"May I borrow your program for a moment?"

Turning around, I said, "Holy shit! You're Robert Silverberg!"

it's good to know we can count on you to keep your cool when suddenly confronted with famous authors.