"Why do books have to look like they did in the 1500's? Why are they still made of paper? Imagine a beautiful synthetic book, feather weight, with bright white pages, impervious to mildew, water, or rot. Why not? Why is there no investment in this area? A new synthetic book could preserve the age old fonts, the glory of full color illustrations, the beautiful feel of the volume in hand, yet be cheap to produce, cheap to ship, and easy to store. To save the book, we need to remake the book. We have reinvented clothing with synthetics. Why not books?" – Anne Rice (Facebook post)
It's been a busy October full of literary happenings. I started the month out travelling across the state line to historic Jefferson, Texas, dressed in full black Victorian attire, to have dinner and meet author Karen Essex. Having written the novel Dracula In Love, I was excited to chat with the woman who dared to take on Bram Stoker's legendary vampire. She was elegant and witty and shared with the dinner guests the short play Asylum that she wrote based on her novel. It was a wonderful evening and I now find myself reading the original Dracula for the first time since grade school, now able to look at it in a whole new light. I am also reading The Countess by Rebecca Johns about the first female vampire Erzsebet Bathory...historic novels fit for Halloween!
Just a few days after having dinner with Karen Essex, I sat with several book club friends in front of the web cam, having a Skype interview with Major Pettigrew's Last Stand author Helen Simonson! She is such a sweet lady and inspiring for those of us who have to balance writing and family life.
Speaking of family life...with motivation from my husband and friend Connie, I have started writing again, although just in time for my daughter's fall break from school. Argh! I bought a new lamp and set up a little computer station in the living room. Each morning I fixed a cup of coffee in my favorite New Orleans coffee mug and turned on jazz from Terence Blanchard on my iTunes and typed away. Let's hope the muses stick around and are patient with the Caddo Parish School System calendar.
So, Saturday is the day. After much waiting, I will be speaking on a panel at the Acadiana Book Festival in Lafayette. I am excited to meet new and interesting authors and I hope to have many photos and stories to share with you soon.
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