Meeting Jamie Ford - AWESOME!

I finally got a moment to share my experiences meeting Jamie Ford in person.  Jamie was in Broomfield, Colorado on Saturday (a suburb on the outskirts of Denver), and he was conducting a writer's workshop in the morning as well as a presentation/meet & greet in the evening.  Since Saturday was my 18th wedding anniversary, I couldn't blow off the whole day.   I did manage to make it to the writer's workshop however, and I'm really glad I did.

First off, I could use a hundred adjectives to describe how cool it is to meet THE Jamie Ford but as I was thinking about it afterwards, one word in particular came to mind - gracious.  

Allow me to explain.  As I entered the library and headed towards the right conference room, Jamie saw me and immediately called me over to say hi.  He was cooler than words, and even though I might have been squealing like a starstruck teenager inside, he made me comfortable enough that I think I managed to maintain some kind of intelligent conversation.  He then jumped at the chance to sign my copy of his book before I could even ask.  Before I knew it, we were chatting along like two colleagues.

Yes, I know it's a huge stretch of the word considering I'm the aspiring writer and he's the bestselling author of a book in who knows how many languages at this point (not to mention it being optioned as a potential movie maybe).

So even though it's a stretch, it was awesome nonetheless.  After we headed into the workshop, Jamie launched into a presentation on how to get our writing past the slush pile and into the zone where agents are requesting partials (see Jamie, I bet you thought I wasn't paying attention).  And I have to say that what Jamie put out there was spot on and made perfect sense.  We went through an exercise by reading poorly written first pages that Jamie had pulled out randomly from a critique site, and it was incredibly useful.  

Oh, and guess what Shaun?  I plugged your book The Deathday Letter as a recent favorite book I really liked, mostly because it has stuck in my mind as a perfect example of good characterization.   So a whole room of aspiring and published writers got to at least become aware of your book (if they weren't already, that is).

The two hours of the workshop went by quicker than I realized, and then it was time to go.  I could have sat there all afternoon and gleaned knowledge from Jamie (assuming he had nothing better to do and my wife could forget that it was our anniversary LOL).  I had brought my camera to get a picture with Jamie, but after the workshop there were a bunch of people huddled around and I didn't want to push my way through.  

There was another author (Clare Austen) at the workshop, and she and I ended up chatting for a while outside anyway.  Then just as I was getting into my car, here comes Jamie out of the library.  Wouldn't you know, he waves at me as he's walking towards the parking lot.  I managed to stumble out with a "would you mind", and he was overly gracious once more.  The person walking with him took the camera and quickly snapped a couple photos for me.

No comments on my lumberjack shirt.  Yes, I realize my wardrobe could really use an update.  And Jamie's shirt is actually a bright red, though the sun (or camera) turned it more of a bright pink.  

Getting a picture was more than I was actually counting on, so thank you Jamie very much.  For taking the time mostly, but more than that, for being an inspiration in so many ways.  And for making it a memorable day.

To quote your own words:

"Wishing you more sweet than bitter"

It doesn't get any sweeter than this.

Feeling Left Out...And No Time To Think About It

If you haven't noticed, I did not put up any announcements about joining in on the NaNo fun that so many of my fellow bloggers are enjoying.  Yeah, a part of me really wished I could do it but unfortunately deadlines with school and lots of essays still to write dictate my schedule these days.  So instead I've snatched tidbits of time to sneak peeks at everyone else's posts about their progress.

Don't get me wrong.  I'm very happy that so many of you have decided to do NaNo.  While it's not for everyone, I found it to be a great tool for getting a story started and blasting through a first draft.  I'm just feeling envious.

On another topic, I will soon be the envy of everyone else (okay, maybe not everyone but possibly a couple of you). Saturday morning, I'll be in an awesome writer's workshop with the one and only Jamie Ford!

Oh yeah, oh yeah!  Even though that day is our anniversary, my loving wife has agreed to grant me two hours of non-anniversary time.  Either she really understands how HUGE a fan I am of Jamie or she's planning on subjecting me to chick flicks and quality time for the rest of the day.  We're a pretty boring couple though.  I asked her the other night what she wanted to do for our anniversary and her response was less than earth-shattering.  She just wanted to go have dinner somewhere nice.

Yep, after 18 years of wedded bliss (not every single moment mind you, but enough of them), we don't really need much from each other besides time together.  And though I might make fun of my wife's choice of chick flicks at any opportunity, I guess I don't mind sitting through a Sleepless in Seattle-esque movie.  After all, she puts up with my crazy writerly dreams.

I just hope when I meet Jamie, I don't stumble over my feet and make myself look like an idiot.   You know how it is.  You see a celebrity on television and think how awesome it'd be to meet the person, but when you're there in the flesh, all common sense seems to evaporate from even the best of us.  Jamie seems to be a very down-to-earth guy though, so perhaps he'll forgive a bit of personal excitement on my part.  I'm taking my copy of Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet too, with the hope that I can beg a signature or something.  I'll try to get a picture too and post it here.

Anybody else going to a workshop, meeting a famous writer, doing something we can be envious of?

How Can You Tell You're A Fan?

First off I'd like to say a big thanks to Elana Johnson.  Being a part of The Great Blogging Experiment was fun and I got a ton of people stopping by to comment, so that was also awesome.  Count me in anytime, Elana.

If you haven't been a longtime follower (and welcome to all of you who recently joined), I'm a huge fan of Jamie Ford.  Ever since I picked up his debut novel Hotel On The Corner Of Bitter And Sweet, I've been following his blog, keeping track of what he's up to, waiting anxiously for his next book to come out.  I had the honor of actually interviewing him a while back and found out what a cool guy he is, good writing aside.

I missed the opportunity to get my copy signed when Jamie came through Denver, and I've been kicking myself ever since.  You can imagine my excitement then, when I read he's coming through once more on Nov 6th.  I double and triple checked his schedule to make sure I wasn't reading it wrong, but he is set to be at One Book Broomfield in Broomfield, Co (a burb on the outskirts of Denver).  He's hosting a Writer's Workshop (which hopefully I can manage to attend) and a author talk/book signing that evening.  I WILL be at one or the other.

Oh damn.  Then I remembered something very important.  Nov 6th is my wedding anniversary.  Yep, 18 years ago I asked (surprisingly I didn't have to beg) and she said yes and we're still happily together.  So my wife and I were laying in bed watching TV and I casually slipped it into conversation.

"Hey hon, I need to ask you a huge favor.  And feel free to tell me if you'd rather I didn't go.  Jamie Ford is having a book signing in Broomfield.   You remember, that awesome author I interviewed a while back?  It's on our anniversary hon, but it's the only time he's going to be here."

(Smile lovingly and hold my breath)

I got it all out in one quick breath rather than give her tons of time to think it through.  I mean, it's our anniversary.  I could see her calculating just how important it was to her.  Her eyebrow raised, and I'm sure she was deciding how hard it'd be to get me committed.  Or killed.  Finally she said,

"Well, since it's not our 20th, I suppose you can go.  As long as it's not all day long.  And you better have a really large diamond prepared for my finger when the 20th does come around."

I nodded like an eager puppy.  Anything you say, baby!  Yeah, my wife loves diamonds and I do my best to keep her happy with 'em.  It's easier than trying to afford the cherry red Corvette she'd rather have.

How can you tell if you're a true fan of an author?  When you're willing to risk life and limb from a spouse to attend a signing.  Yep, I guess I am that big a fan.  Anyone else done something similar to see their favorite author?

UK Book Shops Need Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet

If you don't know I'm a fan of Jamie Ford and his book, you haven't been reading my blog much. Unfortunately, our friends across the pond do not have direct access to this wonderful tome. Fear not Jamie, help is on the way. My bud Rebecca has a great idea, which you can read about here. Rebecca has some great ideas for using Twitter:

Help through Twitter by doing the following:

1. #followfriday Jamie (@JamieActual)
2. #fridayreads Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet.
3. Link to this post mentioning Jamie or Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford
4. Help to make #jamiefordinUK a trending topic

I've copied from her blog, so I hope she won't mind. Run your own blog post (with the exact same title as mine here) and let's get the word out. If you haven't read this book, go get it right now. To quote a great 80's movie line, "It's a moral imperative!" Bonus points for those who know what movie that quote is from. C'mon blog-o-sphere. It's a damn shame the UK doesn't have access to this book, so help us do what we can to get it there.

You may now return to your regularly scheduled broadcast.