Jewels along the way

I was not the most popular kid at school.  I didn't even run with the popular crowd.

I was the quiet one who sat in the middle of the room and tried really hard not to be noticed, which, in a small town is harder than I wanted it to be.  I was skinny and wore glasses and had no eyebrows and I tended to stutter when I got called on.  I was horrified of making mistakes and I never wanted to be the center of attention.

I know, hard to picture now, isn't it?  Except for those of you who knew me back then.

I had a solid group of friends and we weren't the total losers, but we knew who they were and we didn't make fun because we were always painfully aware of how close to them we stood. 

But we were known to and acknowledged by the cool kids, so we weren't total outcasts, and we all had our strengths. 

It was our involvement with theatre that finally helped everything gel.  We spent time learning not to be afraid of making mistakes, we learned that we were just as capable of succeeding as they were, and we learned that the cool kids didn't have any more advantages than we did.  They just had a bit more confidence.

Or at least they pretended they did, which from our point of view was the same thing.

Still, I remember my "a-ha!" moment, when I realized that I was just as smart and just as capable as any of the kids in the top tier.  It still makes me smile. And it all revolved around a book, not theatre.  Well, okay, not one book, but a trilogy.

The Lord of the Rings.

Everyone was reading it and there were long conversations in the halls about Mordor and mithril and orcs and all kinds of words I'd never heard before, and believe me, that was a huge surprise because I read voraciously.  At one point I had a purse that was actually more of a briefcase and I had a minimum -- MINIMUM -- of six books in it.  Generally eight, often as many as ten.

And I was reading or had read all of them.

So this new series of books with words I didn't understand scared the crap out of me.  What if I wasn't smart enough to understand it?  Then I would be solidly set in my place in the world and nothing would ever change that.

But it was a book, darn it, and I loved to read.  So I had my mom check the first one out of the library (I couldn't, what if someone saw me, and then if I didn't understand it everyone would KNOW and that would be too awful to contemplate!), and I read it at home, tucked up in my room, curled up on my bed, ready to hide when I just. Didn't. Get. It.

Except of course I did.  Tore through all three in one weekend.  Ohmygod.  Then went back and read The Hobbit.

And the veil was lifted and I was profoundly relieved and thrilled.  I did understand.  It wasn't a complete mystery.  I got it.

In our senior year, we even put on the play The Hobbit, and I played the female troll.  I was stronger in who I was and had no problems playing a raggedy, warty old troll.  Not only could my ego take it, I had a blast.  And I could speak with the conviction of knowledge about how the script was different from the book.

It was one of those transformational moments, and I have a fantasy series to thank for it.

So I've always had a fondness for fantasy and science fiction.  Ever since then, I've viewed the genres as my allies, my friends. And I still read voraciously. 

Granted, nowadays I read mysteries most, but that's my job, and I love it, make no mistake!  Still, when I need a break from mysteries and thrillers and cozies and police procedurals, I go back to fantasy and science fiction.  Fantasy mostly, but some hard science fiction is always fun.

One of the thrills of my life was when I was out of college but still hanging out there and got to attend a lecture by Roger Zelazny.  I'd read all his stuff, but I'd first found him because of the Amber series, which I'd read year by year as they came out, and when I discovered he lived in New Mexico, I wanted to track him down and tell him to stop talking to me, he needed to write more, write faster!

Of course I would never have done that.  I was still the shy, gawky girl, although I'd gotten much, much more confident in other areas.

But I know how hard it is to write, to keep plot lines and plot points all lined up and not let things, subplots and themes, dangle like yesterday's laundry.  So I've always had a reverence for published authors, especially the ones I seriously admire.

My first day on the job at Seattle Mystery Bookshop was the same day that Brad Thor came in to sign, and while I've never read his stuff, I knew his name and I was tickled pink to meet a published author.

Over time, the thrill has toned down.  It still never goes completely away.  And there are always unexpected moments that stand out like jewels in my mind.  Like meeting Stuart Kaminsky earlier this year.  I was deeply saddened when I heard he died because I'd just met him, and his reputation had far preceded him, but I was honored that I had had that pleasure, and it truly was.  He was a Gentleman, in the classic sense of the word.

Today was another jewel moment, and it was all the more special because it was unexpected.

We had Jess Walter in to sign, and he's a local-ish mystery author who's been in several times before.  He's an absolute charmer and his new book is great fun.

But this older couple came in and wandered around the shop.  They'd already bought his book from somewhere else because it was part of their reading group.  JB explained that it's really better form to buy the book from the shop hosting the signing because that encourages publishers to send the author back, which is what we want.  They were most kind and understanding, and they bought more than one or two books. 

Jess showed up and got to talking to the couple, and the man introduced himself to Jess.  I was busy doing something else when JB leaned over and asked, "Did he just say his name?  Is that. . .?"  And I looked at the credit card slip I'd just processed, and yes, it was.

Terry Brooks.

The Sword of Shannara.  Magic Kingdom For Sale: Sold.  And my absolute favorite series, The Word and the Void, beginning with Running with the Demon. 

I've been meeting authors for almost six years now, you'd think I'd have developed some class, some couth, some panache.

Nope.  

I was a little groupie girl all over the place.  It was amusing to my colleagues and I was vibrating with the jazzed energy for hours afterward.

I LOVE HIS WRITING!!!

Always have. 

One of our long-time customers and a personal friend, Jim, knows this and has been attending Terry Brooks signings here in Seattle for years (Terry's a local), but I never did.  In fact, knowing how much I love the Word and the Void series, Jim got me signed first editions of the first three books!  I cried when he gave them to me.  I still have them wrapped in plastic, carefully tucked away.

So to meet this man who has so enriched my life since the early 1970's was beyond fabulous!

And he's total class, as is his wife.  He cornered me about Book Fest, got my input on it, tossed around some suggestions about what might be done to improve it for next year.

Like maybe a really good draw, a Name that people will recognize and come to see.  You know, like that vampire girl.  He might be able to get Stephenie Meyer to attend next year, if I thought it might help. . .

*gulp*

This is a league I'm not really prepared for.  MY input?  On this?  Um. . .yeah, I think she'd be a great draw.  But a different venue might be more appropriate if she's gonna be there.  And advertising, publicity. . .

Wow.

So tonight I'm still all aglow, having casually met one of my favorite authors of all time.  Completely unexpectedly. 

And, yeah, I've met Lee Child and Michael Connelly and James Ellroy and Martha Grimes and Sara Paretsky and Sue Grafton, and they're all class acts and completely fabulous people, and I'm thrilled and honored to meet each and every one of them.

But Terry Brooks has been a part of my life for just over thirty years now.  His writing has gotten me through some seriously rough patches in my life.  For me, it's like meeting Ann McCaffrey or Peter Beagle.  I'd be a puddle.

I may not make much money and there are only a few financial benefits to working at this job (and health care isn't any of 'em), but let me tell you, my job ROCKS!

 

 

Comments

[Deanna]

I am so freaking jealous!!

[Cate Culpepper]

Excellent, Fran! What a great thrill.