A chilly New England day set the scene for today's holiday book signing and reading at Deja Brew Cafe in New Haven. Special thanks to owner Carol Frawley for hosting a lovely event. Carol prepared some delicious holiday treats for guests as well as delicious, frothy punch and hot cider! The fire was crackling and I settled in, not for a long winter's nap but a few hours of catching up with family and friends, signing books, and reading.
I love doing readings and one of my guests, Jaime Kane, remarked how wonderful it is to hear stories told out loud. I think that is one of the most wonderful things about being a writer is having a chance to read selected works to an audience. Think of it - we grow up listening to our parents read to us. What comfort that brought after a busy day and before our night's sleep.
I read several selections from Press Pause Moments - my short explanation about the cover of the book that depicts a photo of my late sister, Marybeth, at a cancer retreat she attended on the coast of Maine; my essay about going back to graduate school in my 40s; Thelma Zirkelbach's story about widowhood and tackling the possum that got into her home; and Mary Emerick's piece, The Kayak Ranger Diaries. I also read some essays from my thesis, a collection of essays about being a working mother. My influences were Jean Kerr, Shirley Jackson, Erma Bombeck and Nora Ephron - evidenced in the humorous holiday essays I shared about our first gingerbread house experience and an off-key town tree lighting featuring chicken artichoke gorganzola soup! It reminded me how much I love this book-length collection - and how it's time to prep some book proposals to get it published!
What I also love about readings is when people come up later and remark how they liked certain pieces. The possum triggered a gift idea for my sister-in-law's friend who recently lost her husband. Another friend remarked how he was reminded of my big decision to leave a job I loved to pursue my graduate degree and the sacrafices involved. He, too, is working on a work transition in his life in pursuit of something different and fulfilling.
In stories we all find a piece of ourselves. I am so thrilled my speaking schedule and readings are filling my calendar in the new year. I just love getting out and sharing with audiences. I feel my adrenaline pump and remember why it's so important I made this leap in the first place.
I hope you all can join me for other events in 2011!
Apple's Mac party line has long been promoted as safer than the competition, but as Mac sales and market serving thicken, it's grace a bigger target.
Nowhere is that clearer than with the Flashback Trojan, a gnarly piece of malware designed to steal in person dope sooner than masquerading as very mainstream browser plug-ins.
Yesterday Russian antivirus crowd Dr. Web said that an estimated 600,000 Macs are now infected as a consequence of users unknowingly installing the software.
So here's a express FAQ on the Flashback Trojan, including word on what it is, how to refer to if you have it, and steps you can abduct to confuse rid of it.
Posted by: snytrast | 04/13/2012 at 04:40 AM