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| Robert Ellis |
I met with a book club
recently at the home of a friend who lives in Connecticut on Long Island Sound.
This was the second time Marge has hosted an event dedicated to my novels, and
like the first meeting, the entire evening was terrific.
I love meeting with book
clubs whether I'm able to actually attend the event, or as it often happens, attend
via Skype on my computer. What's so satisfying about these meetings is that I
can speak freely about a story without the worry of spoiling anything. Everyone
has read the novel, and in most cases, has a better feel for story details than
I do!
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| The Black Rock Book Club |
But even more important
is the dialogue between the members themselves. Usually the conversation takes
off in a direction of its own, and as the writer, I learn things. What works
and what doesn't, what they thought would happen and what actually did. I've always enjoyed putting at least one horrific murder in my novels,
set in real time. Knowing how far I can take things, testing the waters with a
reading group, brings a lot of laughs and is a real kick.
But perhaps the very
best part of meeting with a book club has nothing to do with talking about my
work at all. It's hearing each member discuss what they're reading. It's
listening to them talk about who they like or don't like, and why. This is
where the learning process really begins. In this dialogue. In this discovery.
Why readers think a story worked or didn't work. Why they couldn't get past a
hundred pages, then picked up the next book by the same author, and read it
straight through with the doors locked.
Like I said, my evening
with the Black Rock Book Club was terrific. Many thanks!
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