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Nora Roberts's |
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Sue's Report from Philadelphia (West Chester)
In times of loss, I think that surrounding yourself with family and friends is the best way of coping. Over the weekend, I was able to spend time with my blood family—and celebrate the life of my grandma; on Tuesday, I was able to spend time with the family of my heart—and my good friends. I cannot begin to express how thankful I am for you—how much I appreciate all your kind words, but mostly—and especially, how much I appreciated the hugs and love. You all helped me through a difficult week in my life. ——
As it is, I was just a *bit* wired with the events of the previous week catching up to me ... lack of sleep ... and just sheer adrenaline flowing through my veins. I have to wonder if Nora just didn't want me to shut the hell up!
I made GREAT time in getting to Chester County Books; in fact, I was absolutely amazed that I made it there before the *Philly gang*—JB, Mama Jean, Suz, Mary, and PJ. As it is, they were stuck in the same traffic jam that Nora spoke of in her report. I came to Route 202 via the turnpike, so I missed quite a bit of congestion.
When I pulled into the lot in front of Chester County Books, I saw Debs and Kelly! Debs had a new set of wheels to show off. Unfortunately, I had to go to the facilities, so I didn't get to check it out that much. Next time Debs!
I went inside CCB, and up front, holding down the front row, was Debbie! Debs also had prime real estate. [Note/suggestion to Chester County Books—when you have an author of Nora's magnitude appearing at your store (after all, she IS the second best selling author in the solar system to J.K. Rowling!)—it'd be to your advantage to MOVE some of the book shelves out of the way so that you can provide a place for your customers to sit. We (aka ADWOFFers) would even be willing to help you!]
I couldn't sit still, so I kept walking in and out of CCB ... waiting for the Philly gang ... waiting for time to pass ... then it dawned on me—I needed to get my bfa back in there and reserve seats for Mary (who just had major surgery) and Mama Jean. I then guarded those seats zealously as others eyed them.
It was tough on me because I wanted to keep MOVING ... like I said, I was WIRED, but a friend has to do what a friend has to do.
As it is, I—like everyone (but Lynn
) had my GMA t-shirt on (note to Nora's publicity people—if we would've had extras there, they would've sold like hotcakes to a starving band of gypsies!) ... I guess it made me look *official* as I had a number of *store questions* tossed my way (example: can I get a coffee from the cafe and bring it back in here? SURE! 
) ... and then I began to field a bunch of questions regarding Nora, her books, and ADWOFF. Of course, stoooopid me forgot to bring down the extra ADWOFF business cards that Suz made up ... but I still tried to talk it up as best I could. I told everyone within hearing distance NOT to ask Nora about Eve having a baby—but someone didn't hear me, as that question was asked! I explained the reasons why Nora was only signing Penguin Putnam books ... and explained how Silhouette is trying to ride Nora's success for their own profit. One woman was heart broken that there'd be no more MacGregor books and declared that Silhouette really cut off its nose to spite its face.
Yup, that they did.
We talked a bit about the GMA appearance ... some saw us there without realizing it was *us* ... until we explained how we came across the t-shirts.
A little after 6, I started to get worried about the Philly gang—especially when someone from CCB informed me that if they hadn't gotten there by 6:15, the chairs would have to be given up. :eek:
Finally, I spotted Mary (who has lost 29 pounds since her surgery—WOO-HOO!) and the Jeans and Suz and PJ.
I'm still EXTREMELY WIRED ... could barely sit still ... I hope those around me didn't get too annoyed!
I met Joanne—who remembered the original Sanctuary on AOL ... and the various message boards that Nora used to post to ... Joanne and some friends actually traveled to Turn the Page about 7 years ago. I told her how it's changed a bunch!
Around me, we talked about Divine Evil and how Boonsboro is so much like the setting of that story. One person wondered how Nora could write so many books ... so fast ... if it was *really her.* I explained that Nora is extremely disciplined; that she literally puts in a full day's work on writing when she's at home. Plus, I told her that Nora would say that her Catholic upbringing with the nuns drilled discipline into her veins!
The CCB people—despite the set-up—were well organized ... they had the rules for the signing on a handout ... they came around with the sticky notes in advance for us to get our books ready.
FINALLY, the *star* of the evening arrived! Right off the bat, Nora dove into the Q&A. At first, the audience was a little shy and bashful, but they quickly warmed up and bantered back and forth with Nora.
Nora, for her part, was as feisty as I've ever seen her! She fielded the Eve pregnancy question and sequel questions—especially regarding the Quinns. Once, she said with exasperation, "USE YOUR IMAGINATION!"
She explained that she rarely visited the places she wrote about—but relied heavily on the Internet and research books. She explained the J.D. Robb pseudonym. Someone wondered if she used computer software to "help" her write; she emphatically said, "No!" And Nora explained that anyone who did use package software programs to help with characters, settings, et al, was not a writer.
She also said no emphatically to having someone HELP HER with the typing of her stories ... that she very much is into being ALONE ... I couldn't help but think of the location she has listed for ADWOFF—The Fortress of Solitude.
Nora said that her characters aren't based on real people—that she knows of no one that interesting. She did say, though, that she was sure someone like Johnny Depp was interesting, but if she used him as a model for a character, she'd be seeing Johnny Depp instead of the character. For Nora, writing—developing characters—comes from the brain, the heart, and the gut.
She was also asked who her favorite characters are—and told everyone that it's the people she's currently writing about. Nora stated that if characters didn't take over, then she wasn't doing her job as a writer. She also said that she's in the middle of a new DEATH story, but that her brain is fried because of the tour—so it'll have to wait until she gets home.
Yes, she hopes to write about Ireland again. Yes, she'd love to do another story idea like Remember When—but the story would have to evolve for her on its own—in other words, she couldn't purposefully sit and force the story. It's too hard; too complicated.
What else? I'm sure there are other tidbits I'm missing. All in all, a wonderful Q&A—full of banter and laughter.
——
The signing itself was extremely well organized. With the help of a CCB employee and Publicity Kristy, *all* Nora had to do was sign the books ... IOW, she didn't have to open them to the correct page ... didn't have to ask for the name and correct spelling ...
Not only did it make things easier for Nora, but it also allowed her more time for talking with her readers.
I wish I would've captured their picture, but there was a husband/wife there—waiting to get Northern Lights signed to the two of them. Another man was going to be a *hero* to his wife as he picked up a copy of NL for his wife for Christmas. Yet another man was in line—talking on his cell phone ... he exclaimed, "She looks just like the picture on the back of the book I'm holding!"
One person asked me how she could get on a program like GMA with Nora ... I said to her that she needed to sign up for ADWOFF and let me know her location—just in case we get to play again!
There was one woman—in her 90s—who had read everything Nora had written ... absolutely THRILLED to meet Nora.
When April approached Nora with Dylan in her arms, I accused her of trying to soften Nora up—that Nora couldn't resist a baby—and sure enough, as soon as Nora spotted Dylan, her face lit up ... and she reached across the table with her bowl of M&Ms to entice him into becoming her new best friend!
I asked Nora when she spotted us—if she wanted to go running, screaming into the night (after all, we're EVERYWHERE!), but she graciously said no ... that seeing us helped to energize her. That's cool. I hope more ADWOFFers could get to tonight's signing ... and to the NYC signings, the final New Jersey signing on Friday, and then the Connecticut signing.
As always, Nora was so gracious. She patiently took pictures with anyone who asked. I saw Suz, and said, "Aren't you going to get your traditional picture with Nora?"
Suz replied, "I'm sure Nora's sick of getting pictures with me!"
Nora overheard this and claimed (with a straight face
) that she looked sooooo forward to the *Suz/Nora shot* ... and that she'd be so disappointed if Suz denied her it.The pictures didn't quite capture the moment (Suz laid a big
on Nora)—and the bantering between the two—but it was obvious to all that Nora DID want the picture with Suz! So much going on ... I can't possibly remember everything! Nora said she'd be willing to get a group shot with all of us, so we waited patiently for her to finish her work (the signing blew by with the new rules—something that has surely *saved* Nora on this tour) ... and while Nora signed hundred of copies of Northern Lights for CCB, Suz entertained us by reading Hallo-Weiner (think that's it).
JB and I saw this really FABulous NL publicity poster board of the cover at the same time. The manager of CCB saw us eyeing this, and quickly informed us that it was HIS, HIS, HIS!
Finally for Nora, the signing part was over ... she posed for the group shot with us while Publicity Kristy and CCB's manager patiently took picture after picture with our cameras. Nora is such a pro ... and so gracious and patient with us.
All she wanted to do was get a smoke ... and get back to her hotel so she could *crash.* She is so looking forward to the end of the tour and being able to see her family and spend time with them in NYC.
No one deserves it more, Nora. Thank you so much for such a great signing.
——
For us, it was time to refuel. Since it was too late to eat at the cafe inside of CCB, we decided to go over to this sports bar. Of course, my appetite was nearly ruined by this garbage that I found on my car window.
I quickly tore up the revolting piece of you-know-what and dumped it on the ground where it belong!The Stadium Grill is a cool, no thrills sports bar. You place your order—and then go and sit and wait for them to call you.The entire bar area is surrounded by TVs with every sport imaginable. Most of our table was interested in the World Series game—cheering on the Red Sox (to be a rebel, I yelled, "Go Cardinals!"
).Much to our pleasure, Suz finished Hallo Weiner (yes, we're easily amused). Our food was then ready. Scrumptious!
We ate and yakked about the signing ... about ADWOFF ... about Maggianos ... about life ...
As always, though, good things must come to an end ... and we had to wish everyone a good-night.
Suz and I drove back to the Jeans to wait for them and Mary. Once there, all we could talk about was the signing—the people and, of course, Nora.
I think Kelly summed it up best. She's been to a lot of signings at TTP—which are great, in and of themselves ... but it's *special* to see Nora do a Q&A. So if you have chance either this year or next (or whenever) to see Nora do a Q&A, GO! You will NOT regret it.
For the people we met and talked to at the signing—if you're out there reading these reports—please sign up for ADWOFF and join our InSaNiTy! We rarely bite ... we mostly have a lot of fun and do our best to celebrate Nora. It was so much fun meeting Nancy and Lynn for the first time.
For my friends who joined me at CCB—Debs, Kelly, Jenn, April, Jenelle, Debbie, Tami, Lynn, PJ, Mary, Mama Jean, JB, & Suz—thank you so much. You were the perfect remedy for an aching heart.
~Sue
ADWOFF > NORA'S TOURS > Northern Lights Tour > Philadelphia (West Chester) > Sue's Report
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