Diane Gaston
Picture this – dusk fast approaching, a glass of wine, a comfortable chair and an author reading to you from her book. Could you want for more? Last night, Maria and I traveled down to the West Village in Manhattan to Lady Jane’s Salon for a book reading with 4 terrific authors. We sat next to Barabara Vey from Beyond Her Book Blog on Publishers Weekly, Brooke Borneman and Tim Deyoung from Dorchester Publishing, Jodi Rosoff from Penguin, Kwana from kwanawrites.blogsot.com, as well as a room full of people who love books. Of course our hosts for the evening Ron Hogan and authors, Maya Rodale, Leanna Renee Hieber and Hope Tarr were as gracious as ever.
First up were two of the three authors from the anthology The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor, a regency period romance which features three sisters and three house parties. Diane Gaston read from her story Justine and the Noble Viscount; followed by Amanda McCabe reading Charlotte and the Wicked Lord. Both Diane and Amanda rocked the house. It’s interesting hearing an author reading
Amanda McCabe
their own words. What inflections they make, the nuances they deliver; almost like hearing an audio book. And the fun thing is sharing it with a group of readers who all laugh when you laugh and sigh when you sigh. You get to experience a communal understanding and sharing of an activity that is usually a solitary one. The interesting thing about The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor
is that all three authors (Deb Marlowe couldn’t be there last night) are friends. In 2003 they took a tour of Historical England going to London, Bath and Brighton and subsequently all sold books to Harlequin. When they were offered this anthology they got together in Williamsburg Virginia for a weekend to brainstorm and the three sisters were born. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall for that creative brainstorming session. All I can say is after a taste of these two stories I really want to find out what happens to each sister.
Wendy Corsi Staub
The third author to read was a new to me author, but seriously, not for long. I’m not sure what cave I’ve been dwelling in but Wendy Corsi Staub is a local author who has written over seventy books. She read the prologue from her suspense thriller Dead Before Dark and I was hooked. I want to know who the killer is and how the heroine, renowned psychic Lucinda Sloan, is going to capture him. For those of you who are romantic suspense fans, like I am, seriously check her out, you too may have found a new author with a serious back list.
The program ended with one of my favorite authors Marjorie M. Liu. Maria and I had the pleasure of doing a video interview with Marjorie at the BEA which we’ll start posting in July. Marjorie has two
Marjorie M. Liu
new books and a new comic coming out this summer, busy lady; so we were treated to a reading from both of her books. She first read from Darkness Calls the second book from her Hunter Kiss urban fantasy series which comes out in July. Seriously, this book had me chomping at the bit to get home and place my order on line. Wickedly strange and appealing characters from the moment she started to read. Of course when she started to read from the Dirk and Steele paranormal series I was all ears. The Fire King is the 9th book in the series and is Soria and Karr’s story and Marjorie promises that much of the dark history of the shape shifters will be revealed. In my opinion, August can’t come soon enough.
So – four things you need to know.
1. I applaud Lady Jane’s Salon for bringing us such wonderful authors in an atmosphere that fosters camaraderie, creativity and conversation!
2. Barbara Vey from Publishers Weekly was asking questions and filming, so visit her site Beyond Her Book Blog today to check it out.
3. If you find yourself in NYC on the first Monday of the month – you must make it your business to stop by at Lady Jane’s Salon. It will be an evening you won’t soon forget and all for the cost of gently used romance novel.
4. Today we’re giving away an autographed copy of The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor to a lucky random poster.
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PJ
on Jun 2nd, 2009
@ 6:43 am:
It sounds like a magical evening, Marisa. Those of you in the NYC area are so fortunate to have these readings in your back yard.
I’ve been wanting to pick up a copy of THE DIAMONDS OF WELBOURNE MANOR. Diane, Deb and Amanda are all terrific writers!
Louisa Edwards
on Jun 2nd, 2009
@ 9:10 am:
Sounds beyond wonderful. These are the things that make me sigh and sob and miss living in NYC terribly.
And a new Dirk & Steele book! Yay!
KatiDancy
on Jun 2nd, 2009
@ 9:38 am:
Fun! I wish I lived closer to NYC so I could go! Thanks for a terrific write up. Can’t wait to see the interview w/Marjorie!
azteclady
on Jun 2nd, 2009
@ 10:23 am:
*checking Mapquest*
Four hours and change?
*sigh*
Megan
on Jun 2nd, 2009
@ 10:57 am:
It was great, and great to see you two, too.
Lady Jane’s Salon − Another Great Night At Lady Jane’s Salon
on Jun 2nd, 2009
@ 12:13 pm:
[...] and Marjorie M Liu. Reviews of the readings are written up all over the web! Check out posts at Romance Novel TV, Maya Rodale’s not-so-secret online diary, and Kwana Writes. If you blogged about Lady [...]
Lisa from Temple
on Jun 2nd, 2009
@ 12:15 pm:
Hi Marisa and Maria!
It was so lovely to meet you both last night at Lady Jane’s.
If any of you get a chance to go to Lady Jane’s, by all means, do! I have been wanting to go for months, and my schedule finally worked out so I grabbed the opportunity.
All four authors were lovely. And like Marisa said, it was really interesting to hear them reading, putting their own nuances and emphasis to the words.
Marisa
on Jun 2nd, 2009
@ 12:29 pm:
PJ, we are lucky to have such wonderful opportunities here in New York. But this particular reading series is all due to Maya, Leanna, Hope and Ron. The series is a big success and they told us they have authors booked until 2010. So lots of fun in store for us.
Marisa
on Jun 2nd, 2009
@ 12:31 pm:
Louisa, You said a mouthful – August will usher in a new Dirk and Steele book. Got my order in.
Kati – yes we wished you lived in NYC. But I’m thinking you need to come for a visit – hop on the train and we’ll all go to Lady Jane’s one Monday night. We’ll convince Azteclady to join us.
Megan thanks so much for stopping by. It was great seeing you and I look forward to the next author event where we run into each other. We’re going to head on over to the Harlequin Cover Exhibit this Sunday – perhaps we’ll run into you there.
Marisa
on Jun 2nd, 2009
@ 12:33 pm:
(((Lisa))) it was great meeting you last night! So glad you got to come to NY and experience the uniqueness that is Lady Jane’s Salon.
And no worries, between Kati and I we’ll get Maria to read Whitney My Love by July 23rd!
Tessa
on Jun 2nd, 2009
@ 1:09 pm:
I keep hearing about Lady Jane’s Salon. I am hoping that my move to the East Coast will get me one step closer to actually attending.
cyclops8
on Jun 2nd, 2009
@ 2:53 pm:
I will definitely have to visit Lady Jane’s Salon soon.
Diane Gaston
on Jun 2nd, 2009
@ 4:48 pm:
Marisa,
Amanda and I are back in my house in Virginia and tomorrow I take her to the airport to return home to Oklahoma, but we’re still talking about how special it was to be at Lady Jane’s Salon. It was so wonderful to see you and Maria and Barbara Vey and old and new friends of Romance! Thank you for all the kind words about our appearance there.
I so want to do this again!
Marisa
on Jun 2nd, 2009
@ 6:46 pm:
Tessa, if you’re in the neighborhood, definitely drop by.
Cyclops8 – you absolutely must come and let us know when you do so we can finally meet.
Diane, next book you’ll have to come back to Lady Jane’s.
Marisa
on Jun 3rd, 2009
@ 4:35 pm:
THE WINNER IS…
we put the names in a hat and the winner of the autographed copy of The Diamonds of Welbourne Manor is Lisa From Temple.
Congratulations Lisa! Please send your snail mail address to alphamail@romancenovel.tv with Wlbourne Manor in the subject line.
Burning up the Blogosphere | Hope Tarr's Blog
on Jun 10th, 2009
@ 12:58 pm:
[...] (Photos courtesy of Web Manager, Rob) Barbara Vey, Beyond Her Book for Publishers Weekly Romance Novel TV Megan Frampton Kwana [...]